Earlier this week, reports suggested Google may be retiring Fitbit as a flagship tech brand, but the tech giant attempted to clear up matters in a statement.
This all started after Google announced the Pixel Watch 3. A spokesperson said “Pixel Watches are our next iteration of smartwatch for Fitbit,” according to Engadget.
This suggests there will be no Fitbit Versa 5, and no Fitbit Sense 3. The current Sense 2 and Versa 4 watches were marketed as smartwatches, despite being notably less smart than the Apple Watch. They were the most visible and desirable watches in the Fitbit line-up.
Following these reports, Google released a statement downplaying the idea Fitbit is on the way out.
“We are very committed to Fitbit, and even more importantly to the customers that use and depend on those products and technology. It's also worth noting that many of the health and fitness features we launched in Pixel Watch 3 were because of Fitbit's innovation and ground-breaking fitness advancements. In addition, we just launched Fitbit Ace LTE, and you’ll continue to see new products and innovation from Fitbit,” it reads.
While the Fitbit Ace LTE does not have quite the glossy mainstream appeal of a new Fitbit Sense watch, it does have some of the “innovation” Fitbit cites.
The watch lets kids unlock access to games by moving more throughout the day. And there are the equivalent of virtual pets, called Eejies, that get more “happy and healthy” when the person wearing the Fitbit Ace LTE meets their activity goals.
What else does Fitbit have left? If the brand, as it seems, is no longer going to make higher-end smartwatches that might step on the Pixel Watch series’s toes, we’re left with bands like the Inspire, Charge and Luxe.
These are fitness trackers rather than smartwatches, providing a more limited set of features in exchange for longer battery life and a smaller, more petite frame.
The question is how these series of trackers might be able to deliver features that stand out, as the Fitbit Ace LTE arguably has.
Fitbit’s Charge 6’s most notable addition was on-watch directions, as part of a tie-in with Google Maps. In practice, this comes across as a watered-down smartwatch feature, though, and of course, requires a paired phone nearby.
Fitbit’s most recent fitness trackers are the Charge 6 from October 2023, the Inspire 3 from September 2022 and the Luxe from all the way back in April 2021. There’s currently no word as to when the next Fitbit product may appear.
