Google’s acquisition of fitness-tracking company Fitbit seemed like a big move at the time, but four years later, Fitbit’s future looks uncertain. Recently, Google discontinued Fitbit products in several countries, and despite promising to make fitness “more accessible to more people,” Google has only released one new Fitbit-branded product in 2023.
None of these decisions have had a positive impact on the company, which has a history of discontinuing popular products, sometimes arbitrarily.
As noted on Google’s support website seen by Android Authority, Fitbit products are no longer sold in 11 EU countries, including Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Slovakia. Are going. Products are also sourced from five locations in the Asia-Pacific region: Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. According to Tech Central, Fitbit products are also being pulled in South Africa.
And it doesn’t stop here. As spotted by 9to5Google, a separate support page from Google indicates that Fitbit products are no longer being sold in Mexico or any other markets in Latin America. It includes Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Fitbits were previously sold in all these countries, but have since disappeared.
Google did not provide any convincing reason for removing such a large number of Fitbit products, instead telling Tech Central that it was done to “align our hardware portfolio to get closer to the regional availability of the Pixel.” Google says it will continue to provide software releases, security updates, warranty fulfillment and customer service for existing Fitbit products in those regions. Still, this doesn’t inspire much confidence in the future of the brand.
Meanwhile, as 2023 nears its end, there is only one new Fitbit wearable launched this year – the Fitbit Charge 6. Interestingly, it is almost identical to the Charge 5.
To compare, in 2022, Google launched three new Fitbit products: Inspire 3, Versa 4, and Sense 2. A year ago, it released the Fitbit Lux and Charge 5.
Looking beyond Google’s statement, what else could be the reason for this change in Fitbit’s strategy? While poor sales may be the most logical reason, the fact that Google has only released one new Fitbit product this year suggests that something else may also be at work. It’s possible that Google’s long-term fitness product plans may not include the Fitbit name, or the company may have decided to focus on only certain regions around the world.
Looking on the positive side, the absence of new products from Google this year could also indicate that the company is preparing to launch several new offerings in the coming years, possibly starting in 2024 and beyond.
Luckily for consumers, there are plenty of great wearable fitness products on the market, including fitness trackers and smartwatches from a variety of companies. Time will tell whether the Fitbit name will stick or not.