I'm sure the sentiment here will be very much against this acquisition, but keep in mind that Fitbit was getting killed and would likely have gone out of business without this. It is tough for a company like Fitbit to compete with Apple & Samsung.<p>This should lead to more competition by making it possible for Fitbit to compete with Apple. If it doesn't then the acquisition was a failure for Google anyway - Fitbit's current market share is not acceptable for a company like Google.
One thing that confuses me is why this data needs to be stored within the internet at all.<p>Why can't I have an entirely offline driven system? Data stays local, no ability to upload it online at all, and all processing is done without ever needing the internet.<p>That's a key criteria if I ever was thinking of getting a smart wearable, I'm not going to generate even more data that can be profited from and potentially used against me.<p>It's increasingly looking like storing data is a huge responsibility (although, if it <i>is</i> ever leaked, sadly humans don't tend to see prison time for this crime).<p>What we need is a clause that says "if this data ever touches the internet whether accidental or otherwise the CEO goes straight to jail, are you sure about this?".<p>Sadly, I think society as a whole is just "used" to this by now and a second thought is rarely given, disappointing this merger was approved, especially when the EU is investigating several "anti trusts", why give them even more power?<p>Oh well, I'll see you fellow HN readers on the next "major data leakage from misconfigured MongoDB and nobody is punished" thread.
I wonder how engineering integration works for an acquisition this size (Wikipedia: ~1694 employees). Google interviews test for very specific things so it's unlikely every engineer in Fitbit would have passed. Fitbit's big enough that I doubt you'd re-interview every engineer and doing that would scare engineers away, but Fitbit's not big enough where you'd let Fitbit continue to do their own thing for a long period of time. Would you just convert every engineer into the Google leveling system best you can and see how it shakes out over time in performance review? Do these things get talked about during acquisition talks?
I don't understand the fear of Google from FitBit users in these comments. Google has a clear user agreement with how they use your data, including not selling it - and they rely on users trusting them. I'd rather my data be with one of the tech giants than a unprofitable start up
Any statement made by the leader of an acquired business unit should be read like a letter burning in a bonfire - they may mean it at the time, but they have no real power to make it true in the future.
I had a Fitbit Charge 3, and had to replace it about 3 times IIRC in a little over a year period. The 3rd replacement happened a week after the warranty expired, which to their credit they still replaced it. But it once again died shortly thereafter, at which point I just bought an Apple Watch. Mainly for the ECG function -- my wife had bought me the Fitbit after I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, so I figured I'd rather have something that could help me check more than just my pulse to determine if I was out of rhythm.
What is a good lightweight 24/7 heart rate and sleep tracker that's not a Fitbit? I have an Apple Watch but the Fitbit's sleep tracking is way better and I keep it on for days (whereas I charge my Apple Watch overnight). I am super happy with my Fitbit but given Google I assume it will be "sunset" within a year or two so I want to switch early.
If someone from Fitbit is reading this: It is asinine that the data from my wearable has to go to my phone, up to the cloud, and back down to my phone for display.
I was about to buy a new fitbit as my current one is basically dead after 4 years. But the way Google handles things they buy doesn't inspire confidence. I guess I'll investigate others and probably end up with an Apple Watch.
It's becoming more and more difficult to keep away from Google eyes these days. Picasa, Waze, Nest, Fitbit where all companies whose products I used before the acquisition.
Maybe Google will be a bit faster with new features. It took almost six years and a 544 post thread in their community forum to finally provide the ability to use kilojoules instead of calories. It's just a multiplication factor like feet to meters or pounds to kilograms. <a href="https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Suggestions/Option-to-show-Kilojoules-in-Dashboard-and-all-apps/idi-p/36199" rel="nofollow">https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Suggestions/Option-t...</a>
Hopefully this means better support for exporting, say, step and minute by minute heart rate data to Apple health and vice versa. I want to be able to do what I want with my data.
I guess it's time to de-activate my FitBit account. It was nice while it lasted. I wish companies wouldn't fall prey to Google money on principle, but that money is oh so good...
I deleted my account and uninstalled the app a few days ago - just in time to prevent google from slurping up my health data.<p>I purchased a Mi Band 5 for $35 which is a vastly better device than fitbit equivalents for a quarter of the price. You can use it without data being sent to the cloud if you use the open source package GadgetBridge.
This can only be good. I have had 3 WearOS watches over many years. None last more more than a few months of use due to the mindblowingly bad WearOS. 256,000 reviews and 120,000 one star reviews. I have a drawer full of perfectly working hardware that I can't throw out.<p>The bot based support question answers is a complete joke.
Maybe not Google's fault but the connectivity between the watches and the phone is the most flakey thing ever. Considering a $20 Xiaomi Band can keep a bluetooth connection forever I don't think it is the hardware.
The rest of the software stack is hobbled my a java stack that needs gigs to run.
Good jumping off point to ask: What can we use to get our fitness data from our smart watches and keep the data private to ourselves?<p>I have gadgetbridge with a Lenovo WatchX. Cheap, cheerful, works ok without competing with apple watch for quality. Great battery life.<p><a href="https://gadgetbridge.org/" rel="nofollow">https://gadgetbridge.org/</a><p>What else is there?
More evidence that Google can't create any good, innovative products anymore - they just acquire them.<p>Can't make good watch hardware OR software? Just buy part of Fossil and Fitbit to handle that.<p>Can't make good smart home devices to compete with Amazon's Ring or Simplisafe? Just buy Nest, Revolv, and a huge stake of ADT.<p>etc. etc.
Although I criticize Google many times and I try to avoid their products as much as possible, I don't have many alternatives at hand for products like WearOS and Google Fit.<p>And both of them have had major usability, integrations and stability issues over the years that are hard to ignore.<p>In an ideal world, I wish that small companies like Fitbit could compete with Google and Apple and release good all-inclusive smartwatches that developers can use to bukld good general-purpose apps, with a well-designed interface, and that are also very solid fitness trackers.<p>Unfortunately we aren't in an ideal world though, so I can just hope that this acquisition helps bringing some proper vision in the current chaos that reigns in the WearOS and Fit departments.
This will certainly help give Google an advantage if they enter into health insurance.<p>Aplhabet has non trivial stake in Oscar health, and this fitbit acquisition plays right into being price health insurance policies for users.
I have a Fitbit 3 that is awful for synching with my iPhone. Not sure if it's just me or the SW is a pile of pooh. I'm not really sure if this change will help Fitbit or me.
Fitbit has made some solid devices but seriously lacks in the software area. Finding/Installing apps on your versa is as bad as it was on my palm pilot.
DC Rainmaker has a detailed analysis of what this means for consumers.<p><a href="https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2021/01/google-completes-acquisition-of-fitbit-analysis-of-what-it-means.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2021/01/google-completes-acquisi...</a>
Well, RIP FitBit's Health API, that'll probably be rolled into Google Fit.<p>As a mobile developer, when we do any Health integration, the topmost platforms by usage are Apple Health and Fitbit, followed by Samsung Health and lastly Google Fit.<p>This easily lets them catapult in second place.
I wish them luck. I got a Versa 3 for Christmas because I hated charging my Apple Watch everyday. I tried it for the past 3 weeks and have finally gone back to my Apple Watch. The Versa 3 is fundamentally worse at everything...except battery life.
My concern is not for my data (because I don't care, not because I trust in Google's goodwill and governance), but Google has a sad history of mismanaging their smaller side projects.<p>I pray that this time, it's different, but I'm not holding my breath.
I'm sure Google is merely interested in having another great product and this wasn't just another way to expand surveillance data collection.
My mom got me a fitbit for Christmas and I think I'll return it unopened now. I've thought about warning her about this new relationship with Google but she's elderly, it's probably not an issue she cares as much about and I'm the one who introduced her to fitbits in the first place.
It's incredibly scary to see how many people on HN are content with giant corps becoming even bigger. I would much rather see Fitbit naturally fail and go bankrupt than become part of Google. We need regulations and we need them yesterday. This cannot go on the way it has.
So to be clear... Despite trying to avoid big Californian tech companies my health data is now going to Google, my chat data to Facebook and my insurrection attempts to torrent websites?<p>Please make it stop....
Great. Bring back Pebble. Low power, unlit low-res screen, week-long battery. Give me notifications, directions, and the time on my wrist and nothing else and I'm happy.
Another one for <a href="https://ourincrediblejourney.tumblr.com/" rel="nofollow">https://ourincrediblejourney.tumblr.com/</a>
Will Fitbit end up in <a href="https://killedbygoogle.com/" rel="nofollow">https://killedbygoogle.com/</a> too?