Key Takeaways
- Despite Google’s acquisition of Fitbit in 2021, the brand has retained a loyal customer base.
- Over the past 3 years, Fitbit has begun losing its identity. Its name got changed to Google Fitbit, paired with new users being required to sign up with a Google account.
- Now, the fitness tracker-maker’s website is shutting down, and all Fitbit business will now take place on the Google Store.
Fitbit burst onto the fitness tracker scene in 2009 with the Fitbit Tracker, and since then, it has offered users a consistent and robust fitness tracking experience with user-friendly trackers that have only improved — all the way upto 2024’s Fitbit Ace LTE.
Along the way, Fitbit has garnered a loyal following of users who swear by the brand, many of whom weren’t fazed by Google’s acquisition of the brand in 2021. At the time, there was no reason to be fazed. Google suggested that it would take good care of the brand, promising a bright future for Fitbit.
The tech giant subequently changed Fitbit’s name to Fitbit by Google, and eventually to Google Fitbit. This is when Fitbit started losing its identity, with Google officially announcing support for transferring your Fitbit account to a Google account. As it stands now, new Fitbit users require a Google account to sign up, while existing users would need to make the switch sometime in 2025.
Subsequently, a major blow to Fitbit fans came soon after the Made by Google event on August 13, when Sandeep Waraich, Google’s Senior Director of Product Management for Pixel Watch and Fitbit trackers suggested that Fitbit would no longer make smartwatches, and focus only on fitness trackers. “Pixel Watch is our smartwatch part of the portfolio,” he said.
Visit the Fitbit website one last time while you can
Following the demise of its smartwatches, the fitness tracker-maker’s website is now going down too. If you visit www.fitbit.com right now, you’ll be greeted by a banner on top of the webpage that reads “On 10/1 the Fitbit store is moving. Shop Fitbit on Google Store.” 10/1 is today, and although the webstore is still up, it likely won’t be for too long.
Tapping on the banner promptly takes you to the ‘watches’ page on the Google Store, with a top banner that reads “You made it! Google Store is your new home for all things Fitbit. Start shopping below or get help with your Fitbit account here.”
Elsewhere, even if the website is up, it is just a shell of its former self, considering that it forces you to redirect to the Google Store to make any purchases — even Fitbit’s smart scales and accessories.
While the writing has been on the wall for some time now, and Fitbit’s presence in the wearable market is shrinking, this isn’t the end for the brand. In a comment given to Android Authority back in August, Google indicated that it is fully committed to supporting Fitbit in the future. “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.”
