How Google Is Using Fitbit To Compete With The Apple Watch
Following its Google acquisition, Fitbit will say goodbye to its own log-in features and will require a Google account to log in and use a Fitbit device, however, all user progress will still be tracked ad-free.
If you don’t know by now, Fitbit was acquired by Google last year for $2.1 billion. Yup, mark that moment as “Google enters the watch game.” Fitbit came under fire (literally) earlier this year as the tracker was burning the wearer’s skin due to an overheating battery, but, the backlash seemed short-lived as the pros of the fitness device acting as a medical device outweigh the cons.
With the acquisition firmly behind them, Google will start to phase out the Fitbit platform as all things Fitbit will soon live in the Googleverse. You’ll have to have a Google login to get your Fitbit info.
Fitbit’s Transition
According to Engadget, Fitbit will launch support for Google on its help page in 2023. And, by 2023, your Fitbit login will no longer exist. The Fitbit accounts will be phased out by 2025.
You’ll simply go to your Google.com login to log all those meals. I mean, where else do you go to search for things? Seems pretty handy and consolidated.
Fitbit reports that all users will have 100% transparency as to when and how accounts will be merged. And, what’s even more exciting, is that Google has promised not to see your information from the trackers to show you targeted ads. Promise? Yes, they pinky swore on it.
Google Being Good (For Now)
But seriously, that is a big deal. You don’t want to get ads for Wendy’s if you logged that you ate a small burger. Or even a large one.
It’s refreshing to hear that a tech company, like Google, will hold onto Fitbit’s mission: To empower and inspire you to live a healthier, more active life.
It appears that here, Google realizes that it must draw a line when it comes to one of the best fitness trackers on the market. No one gets true health inspiration when being sold to (Thanks Google). Plus, no one would enjoy entering their weight to track physical changes and then have their web browser advertise shapewear.
But What About The Pixel Watch?
Google is still launching its Pixel Watch in a couple of short weeks and is proud to say that it is the first smartwatch built from the ground up. (Read: “no, we didn’t have anything to do with Fitbit’s humble beginnings.”) However, the Fitbit branding and platform are part of the watch’s benefits. See, Google is playing nice.
Thusly, the Apple Watch better watch its back. The Pixel watch is coming. And with the new Apple Watch Ultra on its debut, you can believe that the Pixel Watch will be comparable. Fitbit was just there to give it the boost it needed.
