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Google denies reports that it’s discontinuing Fitbit products (arstechnica.com)

submitted 3 months ago by Xatolos@reddthat.com to c/technology@lemmy.world

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[–] Ebby@lemmy.ssba.com 155 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (3 children)

As a longtime Fitbit user, the writing is on the wall. The Google buyout has been horrible, features disappearing, support sucking, no more web dashboard, payment issues, calorie goals no longer customizable, etc.

They bought the company for user data and patents. Merge what they want into their watches and discontinue the rest. Absolutely minimize maintenance costs by dropping features and firing employees. They'll keep the Fitbit name, maybe roll that into a watch sub-series, but the buyout was definitely a gut-and-dump deal.

Too bad the antitrust suit won't save what used to be a great product and company in time.

[–] fishos@lemmy.world 21 points 3 months ago (6 children)

What are the good alternatives? Been a fitbit user for a few years now and not sure who to switch to next.

[–] DirtMcGirt@lemmy.world 61 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

As s former Fitbit user: Garmin. Excellent hardware, excellent software.

[–] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I was just going to second Garmin. I have an instinct solar and it's absolutely amazing. If you get good sun exposure it only needs charging once every 2 weeks in normal mode.

[–] Ebby@lemmy.ssba.com 10 points 3 months ago

I was also leaning towards Garmin, but the price and style kept me with Fitbit for now. I really wanted to jump ship recently though.

[–] dmtalon@infosec.pub 25 points 3 months ago (5 children)

Garmin watches, IMHO more rugged and they do not put their software behind a paywall. You'll pay for it in the cost of the watch.

I've been using Garmin for fitness since about 2013, I have use a Charge HR for steps/fitness alongside my Garmin watches when I used them only for activities.

Eventually I replaced that with a garmin Fenix 3HR that did steps, activities and looked good enough to wear all the time

I have a Fenix 6 now.

[–] ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net 10 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I feel like I was too hard on Garmin. Their GPS hardware in the late 2000s were outdated and so I rooted for Apple/Google to replace them with map software and phones.

And here I am watching Google destroy Fitbit and eyeing Garmin again.

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[–] aln@lemmy.world 17 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Garmin if you want a watch that receives notifications and can do basic replies. Anything else if you want a mini phone.

Spoken from an ex Pebble user here that's been rocking a Garmin 245 since 2020. Finally now starting to get a bit meh in the battery department and I will probably upgrade maybe next year to another Garmin?

[–] PerogiBoi@lemmy.ca 16 points 3 months ago (4 children)

Garmin. Vivoactive 3 purchased in 2017 is still working perfectly today. I’ve upgraded because I’m an unethical consumer but my mom now wears it. Other than less battery capacity, works perfect. Touchscreen, waterproof, and all.

Fitbit wristbands are faulty and keep detaching.

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[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Not a direct replacement by any stretch, but I've been looking at the PineTime. Not sure how accurate anything it has is, but it's FOSS, so that's nice.

Other than that, the last time I looked for watches, it was between FitBit and Garmin for me, so I'll echo what others are saying.

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[–] Zorque@lemmy.world 13 points 3 months ago

The antitrust won't save shit, it's just a move to let other vulturous companies have a piece of the public corpse, not for any kind of consumer protection.

[–] henfredemars@infosec.pub 12 points 3 months ago

The poor Sense 2 was supposed to be the value feature phone of smart watches, and it was absolutely gutted. I’m sure it was simply purchased to remove it from the market so as not to compete with the Pixel Watch.

[–] schizo@forum.uncomfortable.business 90 points 3 months ago (5 children)

Yeah, and Google Stadia had great new games coming and they were totally committed to it until woops, never mind, it's dead.

Google has a hell of a credibility problem at this point.

[–] TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 30 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

People were literally still working on stadia as they announced its cancellation.

Google didn't even tell all of the stadia team that stadia was being cancelled. Or devs that were working on Stadia games, even ones they had close exclusivity deals with.

[–] IllNess@infosec.pub 21 points 3 months ago

Google also laid off thousands of people. Yeah, that product is gone.

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[–] nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 64 points 3 months ago (5 children)

Either Google continually buys companies for far more than they should or they really suck at buisness. How many times have they aquired healthy companies then absolutely destroyed them? It's hard for me to believe they're not actively trying to at this point.

[–] psmgx@lemmy.world 47 points 3 months ago (1 children)

The point is to exterminate them. To paraphrase another company, embrace, extend, extinguish.

[–] Badeendje@lemmy.world 7 points 3 months ago

In this case it's more if you can't beat em buy em. But it's from the same school of business.

[–] nucleative@lemmy.world 19 points 3 months ago

Yeah, if they are healthy companies they could snag some market share from one of Google's products.

Easier to kill them early.

[–] TAG@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago

I would assume some of that is acqui-hiring. Google acquires a company and looks at which employees are the outstanding talent. The best employees are poached for projects Google cares about while the rest are left to keep the product going without the thought leaders who built it.

[–] TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 8 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

It means you get to dismantle a competitor, while also retaining the employees otherwise best suited to create a new competitor.

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[–] makyo@lemmy.world 39 points 3 months ago (1 children)

It's what Google does, launch products -> cancel them, buy products -> cancel them. I have been burned enough times by them that I don't use anything they make anymore out of the certainty that it'll get canceled just as soon as I've grown to depend on it.

[–] primrosepathspeedrun@lemmy.world 14 points 3 months ago (3 children)

what's the word for a thing that worms its way into your life, makes you depend on it, then uses that to exploit and damage you?

there's a word for that.

[–] wrekone@lemmyf.uk 11 points 3 months ago

I too was married once.

[–] j4yt33@feddit.org 8 points 3 months ago

Cat?

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[–] Erasmus@lemmy.world 29 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Same thing happened to Nest. The cameras and thermostats were great when they were a private company then sh*t the bed when Google took them over.

Google stopped support of their app almost immediately in support of ‘Google Home’ which was to control the thermostat and Camera - which is terrible and requires you to constantly log into it with your email and password if you want to access anything.

[–] aport@programming.dev 9 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Google Home is the biggest piece of shit I've ever had the displeasure to use.

It used to work really well, and now it's trash. I don't know how they could fuck something up so badly.

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[–] n2burns@lemmy.ca 9 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I don't think I've ever had to log into the Google Home app, it just uses the accounts on my phone. Or is this some sort of situation where, "I'm too Android to understand this problem?"

[–] subignition@fedia.io 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Having your Google Accounts linked to your phone is the same as being logged into them at all times. I believe the person you're replying to might not use Google Account integration.

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[–] altima_neo@lemmy.zip 27 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Rip Fitbit. They had a good run.

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 37 points 3 months ago (5 children)

I'm still salty over Pebble

[–] Quill7513@slrpnk.net 21 points 3 months ago

God the Pebble was such a nice piece of hardware. They really focused on the shit that mattered

[–] TrenchcoatFullofBats@belfry.rip 8 points 3 months ago

I've moved to Garmin now, but I have an ocean's worth of salt over Pebble as well.

[–] n2burns@lemmy.ca 7 points 3 months ago

I'm still wearing an OG Pebble (I've had about a dozen Pebbles total) . However, they're starting to get more rare and expensive. Also, while I'm still on Android 12, I understand Android 14 can break the app.

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[–] peopleproblems@lemmy.world 25 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (6 children)

I literally just bought a Fitbit because I really needed a watch and it has the features I cared about and was way less expensive than a Garmin.

Honestly I think Google will cancel them because they compete with Android Wear or whatever which can't hold a charge worth a damn. 24 hours for a Pixel Watch? Fuck right off.

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[–] Cypher@lemmy.world 23 points 3 months ago (2 children)

They don't need to, the day the acquisition was announced my Fitbit went in the bin.

Fuck google, the greedy rent seeking parasites.

[–] Frank_B@lemmy.world 8 points 3 months ago (4 children)

I had no idea Fitbit sold to google, and had in the back of my mind to buy one eventually. Guess that's not gonna happen, found any alternative?

[–] QualifiedKitten@lemmy.world 10 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Garmin. You'll probably spend a bit more on the hardware, but there's nothing locked behind a subscription. I had the Fitbit Sense and switched to the Garmin Forerunner 265. If the skin temperature sensor is important to you, you'll want a different model, but that's the only thing I've noticed as missing so far.

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[–] pound_heap@lemm.ee 8 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Garmin. Works reasonably well without connection to the phone. Some models supported by Gadgetbridge

Edit: corrected app name

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[–] rxbudian@lemmy.ca 16 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Glad I moved to Garmin a while back. I preferred Fitbit's Dashboard over Garmin
When I heard Google's buying it, I got a Garmin for my next smartwatch just to check the UI. I was thinking of moving back, but I guess I won't.
Garmin seems to be embracing smartwatches with a number of different series

[–] vividspecter@lemm.ee 7 points 3 months ago (5 children)

Garmin watches are now increasingly supported by GadgetBridge too, so you can have a fully offline setup.

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[–] Matriks404@lemmy.world 11 points 3 months ago (1 children)

The year is 2039.

After successful launch of AILook replacement NextAI, Google is discontinuing traditional Google Search.

[–] neclimdul@lemmy.world 7 points 3 months ago

You think it'll take that long? Seems optimistic.

[–] rxbudian@lemmy.ca 10 points 3 months ago (3 children)

FYI for those thinking of migrating to pixel watch: Big oof: The Google Pixel Watch 3 can't be repaired, only replaced

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[–] OneWomanCreamTeam@sh.itjust.works 8 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Of course they aren't killing ~~fotbit~~ fitbit. This week.

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[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 6 points 3 months ago

Lots of Garmin love in here! Anything affordable that handles GPS well?

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