Fitbit user communities seem to be under attack – from Google
, both lack third-party app support, and Google has its own Wear OS to look after. However, no mention of this was made in the above announcement, most likely because this is not a user-facing change but a developer-facing one.A post on Reddit
shows Fitbit’s Features Suggestions page overflowing with pleas to keep Challenges, and the Fitbit community forums are similarly up in arms. Although Fitbit is keen to emphasize that some features are still up, such as the forums and closed group, the logical question is ‘how long for?’In its haste to integrate Fitbit into the wider Google ecosystem, parent company Alphabet has been axing important Fitbit feature left and right.
Fitbit owners are right to be angry as many of these features were advertised as being included with the device, and people based their initial purchases on being able to use them. People use the Challenges features to motivate themselves and each other to stay active, and open groups allow participants to connect with fellow Fitbit users all over the world.
Google’s message seems to be that it doesn’t need or care about current Fitbit users. It’s not surprising that, when you read the forums and Reddit posts, many people are looking at switching to Apple or Garmin. Google’s treatment of Fitbit does nothing to inspire a sense of loyalty to the brand. It even included a link at the end of the email and forum post, informing users how to delete their accounts if they were unsatisfied with the change.
Although there is a significant overlap between Fitbit’s watches and Google’s own Pixel Watch, it seems the two brands cannot sit side-by-side for very long in Google’s stable. Fitbit accounts will require Google logins from this year, and we’re likely to see more changes very soon.
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