When Google acquired Fitbit in 2019, it could have been a match made in heaven. With Google's massive budget for marketing, research, and development, Fitbit devices could have been stronger than ever before. Unfortunately, that's not the path Fitbit devices went down following the merger.
Google has squashed smaller brands after acquisition in the past, so Google phasing out Fitbit devices isn't entirely surprising. But the quickness and severity with which Google has ripped features from Fitbit devices—smartwatches, in particular—has been shocking. These are the most significant ways Google has ruined Fitbit since acquiring the once-successful brand.
1. Removing Fitbit Challenges and Adventures
Perhaps the most devastating loss to Fitbit Premium since Google took over is the removal of Challenges and Adventures. For many people, Challenges and Adventures were what made Fitbit Premium worth it.
These mini-missions and competitions against other Fitbit users kept your workouts from getting stale, and sometimes motivated you to start working out in the first place. Then, you could participate in location-specific Challenges that highlighted national parks and landmarks near you. You could complete location-specific Challenges by yourself or in multiplayer “Adventure Races” to compare your time and progress against other Fitbit users.
Though there are other Fitbit fitness features you can utilize, Challenges and Adventures were top-tier features that will be missed. Without these features, both the Fitbit app and Fitbit Premium feel lackluster. All the trophies and badges everyone worked so hard for have now disappeared completely.
2. Making Offline Music Inaccessible
Google removed Fitbit Connect, which was the original software used to pair a Fitbit device with a computer. Without this service, users weren’t able to upload offline music for playback during a run or a hike.
For many people, being able to upload their music library to their device via Fitbit Connect was the biggest reason for purchasing the device in the first place. Fitbit Connect was an innovative software that excited many people, and with one fell swoop—er, acquisition—it’s gone.
3. Stopping Developers From Creating Third-Party Apps
As if removing the ability to upload offline music to your Fitbit wasn’t enough, Google also shut down the ability for developers to create third-party apps. The most popular third-party apps were for music, like Deezer, Pandora, and Spotify, but many people also frequently used Uber, Starbucks, and Google Calendar.
Image Credit: Fitbit
Fitbit’s previous generation smartwatches—the Versa 3 and Sense—did have third-party app support, Wi-Fi, and downloadable offline music. The Versa 4 and Sense 2 are capable of all of these things, and probably more, but the features have been ripped away. Instead, focus is being directed toward Google’s Pixel Watch, which has all the features the Versa 4 and Sense 2 are now lacking.
4. Preventing People From Socializing With Open Groups
One of the best ways for Fitbit users to socialize with each other was through Open Groups. You could find like-minded people who were just as into yoga, hiking, or swimming as you were. You could get extra motivation from other people who were just beginning their fitness journeys, or even other mothers who were trying to ease into movement after giving birth.
The support you could find in Fitbit’s Open Groups was unparalleled, and its removal from the app had a strong negative impact on the user community.
You can still create closed, private groups with your Fitbit friends, but many people might not know or be close to anyone else with a Fitbit. Or, people might not feel comfortable tracking their progress with friends or family for fear of judgment, lack of commitment, or insecurity. With Open Groups, everyone was a stranger and there to help you move closer to your goals.
5. Not Dealing With Multiple Server Outages Quickly
In February 2023, Fitbit users experienced some unfortunate server outages. Across the Fitbit mobile app and the website, users were having issues with syncing their data, setting up devices, or viewing updates. Some users tried to uninstall and reinstall the mobile app, but this locked them out completely and wouldn’t let people log in or pair their devices again.
The issue was supposedly fixed on the same day that the outage started, but over the next few days, outages continued. This prolonged outage meant that many Fitbit users weren’t able to sync step and exercise data for three to four days.
Most server outages from major companies don’t last more than a few hours, much less a few days. Since Fitbit’s founding in 2007, the company hasn’t had a major server outage like this before. The customer service experience many users had during the outages wasn’t great. Around the same time of the outages, Google was starting to remove all the Fitbit features people loved, which added to people’s negative opinions.
6. Leaving Long-Time Fitbit Users Confused
When Google removed important Fitbit features like Challenges, Adventures, and Open Groups, the company said that the features were of limited use. Supposedly, removing these features was all done to better integrate Google’s tech into Fitbit’s tech and “[streamline] areas of the Fitbit app,” according to a Fitbit Support tweet.
However, the Fitbit community has yet to see anything useful added to the Fitbit app. So far, features have only been removed. Plus, the removed features were extremely popular and motivating to the Fitbit community, despite Fitbit’s support team making it sound as though they were unused, unhelpful features in the email sent to users and published by Connect the Watts.
The most frustrating thing about Google’s choices with Fitbit technology is that there was little warning for existing Fitbit users. People who have been invested in Fitbit’s Versa watches since the first iteration likely thought they were getting a new and improved smartwatch with the Versa 4, only to be greatly mistaken when it felt like an entirely different device missing half of its features.
The decisions Google has made in a short period of time have left long-time Fitbit users feeling like their device isn’t even worth keeping anymore.
7. Refusing to Improve on What Fitbit Had Built
If Google had gone in a different direction following its acquisition of Fitbit, the Versa 4 and Sense 2 could have been two of the world's best smartwatches to date. Building on the features that already existed in the Versa 3 and Sense could have made these two smartwatches competition for the mighty Apple Watch.
Fitbit watches could have been equipped with 4G LTE technology and Google Maps could have been integrated, making Challenges and Adventures even more motivating. Google could have expanded third-party app support and given users more exciting ways to use their devices, making a Fitbit smartwatch something worth buying.
Instead, the Versa 4 and Sense 2 were downgraded, receiving poor reviews from major websites and the public—all right before the Pixel Watch launched.
People Are Wary of Both Fitbit and Google Now
Due to the closeness of launch dates for Google's Pixel Watch and Fitbit's Versa 4 and Sense 2, people drew quick conclusions about Google's long-term intentions for the Fitbit brand. It's pretty clear that Google was trying to push the Pixel Watch as the best option because features were taken away from the Sense 2 and Versa 4 for no clear reason.
This badly-executed marketing ploy didn't do what it set out to—it actually backfired. Now, people are trying to get rid of their current Fitbit in exchange for a fitness tracker or smartwatch from an entirely different brand, and they're vowing to never buy a Fitbit or Google wearable ever again.