Fitbit Plumbs New Depths Of Bottomless Suckiness After Google Acquisition
from the first-do-no-harm dept
Shortly after the company’s $2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit in 2019, Google Senior VP Rick Osterloh wrote a blog post proclaiming that the merger would result in better and cheaper fitness tracking tech:
“We’re confident the combination of Fitbit’s leading technology, product expertise and health and wellness innovation with the best of Google’s AI, software and hardware will drive more competition in wearables and make the next generation of devices better and more affordable.
Fitbit users don’t seem to agree.
Three years after the deal closed and users increasingly argue that Google’s acquisition has made Fitbit products worse. There have been constant complaints of quality control issues, and the elimination of a long list of functionality, including social features, the ability to sync with computers, and the browser-based SDK for developing apps. And what basic features remain are increasingly being hidden behind subscription paywalls.
Last week, Google announced that it was also shutting down the Fitbit web app, which included many features not available on the mobile app:
“Dumping the web app leaves a few holes in Fitbit’s ecosystem. The Fitbit app doesn’t support big screens like tablet devices, so this is removing the only large-format interface for data. Fitbit’s competitors all have big-screen interfaces. Garmin has a very similar website, and the Apple Watch has an iPad health app. This isn’t an improvement.”
Users at Reddit are…not pleased, listing a variety of the functionalities they’ll be losing as Google takes Fitbit app only. And Reddit is absolutely packed with similar threads about deteriorating quality.
As the Ars comment section notes, this is driving many users to Apple or to Garmin, which tends to offer more functionality and doesn’t bury features behind a subscription paywall. To hear Google tell it, they’re primarily focused on Fitbit as an app for its own watches, but despite promises of looming “AI” integration,” it’s not remotely clear that anything about the strategy is resulting in better product.
None of this really helps blunt the criticism of antitrust reformers that say large tech companies are increasingly interested less in innovation, and more in stock-bumping, tax-cut generating catch and kill acquisitions whose primary function is to slowly strangle anything deemed a competitive threat to the company’s current or future products.
Filed Under: acquisitions, fitbit, fitness tracker, health, mergers, smart watch
Companies: fitbit, google
Comments on “Fitbit Plumbs New Depths Of Bottomless Suckiness After Google Acquisition”
Yep, that’s the last time I’ve heard about Fitbit.
We’re supposed, ten years back, to excepted to live permanently with theses devices, and get a healthier life. Seems that the plan was to get a more frustrated with useless technology.
Re:
So, basically the same as the earlier pedometer booms. They were apparently huge in Japan in the late 1960s; and, in North America, quite some time before the Fitbit. Calorie-counting is an occasional fad based on the same idea: collecting more data will make us more fit.
Re: Re:
If you want to get fit, collecting data will absolutely help you, chubby.
This isn’t rocket science.
Yo, dawg. I heard you like AI, so I put some AI in your AI, so you can query recursively.
I was not impressed with their quality pre-Google, so that’s scary.
We asked our AI if it was a good idea, it said yes so we did it.
This seems to be the source of every stupid thing Google has done.
Fitbit
As we all know, anecdotal evidence isn’t all that persuasive so take this with a grain (or gallon) of salt. I’m on my 3rd generation of Fitbit watches. They work for me (e.g., resting heart rate down) and have never broken. Had to call tech support once or twice in the last 5 years but they answered the phone and were helpful. Phone app plus watch are all I use so cannot comment on criticisms outside of those.
Re: Well
Wasn’t that a lovely anecdote.
Re:
I haven’t had too many issues until recently. Every time I have had an issue, Fitbit sent me a replacement, and all was good.
I bought the last one after Google took over in 2020 and it has died twice. Both times it was like pulling teeth to get them to do ANYTHING.
I have now started looking at the Garmins because I fear Apple will go the same way and claim it was their idea first to add AI to it
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adita malik
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I actually thought their “quality” pre acquisition was terrible so, oddly, I feel like this has upped their game…..though I suppose being relatively to mediocrity this may not be major progress.
I suspect Google’s strategy now, not 2019, is to push the Pixel ecosystem forward and if they sacrifice some of the value of the Fitbit brand to move the Pixel Watch/Phone platform forward so be it.
They will let Garmin have the hardcore fitness geek market, and leverage their Fitbit assets to capture the, like Apple but less expensive, market.
At the moment they are adequate for the lethargic grandmother market but Garmin seems to be the gold standard and one that even this lethargic grandmother is contemplating embracing.
I have always been a big fan of Google. However, I am on the fitbit forums blasting them after my wife’s Charge 5 went black (along with many others’) and their lame troubleshooting suggestions wasted my time before I was informed there was no warranty (< 1 year old) because I bought it from Amazon. They had previously taken away the bingo game, which was a fun way to interact with my spouse. So fitbit can get f-d. We love our Oura rings… highly recommend!
I feel like maybe google does this kind of crap all the time in a bit of a lengthy reorganizing or products, including their internal ones, and eventually makes it better overall, but they never announce the plans to do so and end up paying for it with user sentiment.
Been bad for a long time
While it is easy to blame Google, the Fitbit products have been bad for quite a long time. Hardware and software issues, poor quality control, non-existent support. I remember going through 3 different Versa 2’s before getting one that did not brick when updated. Fitbit support did not even blink at it, just kept having me return it and sending out new ones.
Switched to a different brand and it has never failed in the 2 years since I got it. It is 2x the cost of the Fitbit, but worth the money to avoid the frustration.