Buying Fitbit wont save Googles failing Wear OS – Android Police

OS bye-bye. So, that indicates we can depend on Google leveraging Fitbit’s renowned hardware to finally give Wear OS the horse power and capabilities it requires to complete with Apple, right? Well, no. Fitbit’s smartwatches have actually been most admired for their long battery life, which has historically been enabled by very sluggish but extremely power-efficient processors. The Versa 2 apparently features substantial performance improvements, but as a smartwatch, it simply isn’t extremely … smart. Michael Fisher explains in his review that the Versa 2’s near week-long life on a single charge is only excellent when taken a look at in an extremely generous light. The Versa 2 doesn’t have GPS, the battery only lasts that long when not using the always-on display screen (with AoD, it’s closer to 3 days), the watch itself does not work for practically anything however fitness tracking on its own, and most of your interactions with it wind up occurring on your mobile phone anyhow. I can likewise inform you from experience that the Apple Watch Series 5 lasts about two days on a charge with the always-on display enabled (and Samsung’s watches last even longer), so Fitbit handling a day more which a much less helpful watch isn’t exactly game-changing technology.

You’ll have to excuse me for not being passionate.

In a method, Google getting Fitbit is sort of best: the company that, after 5 years, has actually stopped working to construct an effective smartwatch platform, is buying a company that not only did the very same thing,

but lost a great deal of money doing it. Much like Wear OS itself, Google is investing in a loser.

Google announced earlier today that it would acquire Fitbit, the ailing producer of fitness-focused wearables and smartwatches, for $2.1 billion. As tech acquisitions go, this one was small: Google valued Fitbit at a cost equivalent to that of budget TELEVISION producer Vizio back in 2016, a company whose value exists mainly in its retail distribution network.

That all leads us back to the huge concern: what is Google’s strategy? Thinking about all the possibilities, and the information we have, I truly wonder if Google in fact has one. This acquisition feels even more like a top-down decision from executives who see Wear OS having a hard time, and discovered enough puppets to conclude that purchasing Fitbit might achieve some nebulously business regulation like “injecting new members” or “doubling down on IP” to “accelerate growth and gain momentum.” And for that factor, I believe anybody suggesting Fitbit will significantly change Google’s technique to wearables is borderline delusional. Nothing about today’s news suggests big modifications for Wear.

Simply put, Fitbit’s items are not ones Google must be excited about buying. The hardware is nothing special, and the software is plainly entering the dumpster. What has Google bought, then? The sad, very useful truth is probably engineers and patents. Fitbit does develop a minimum of a few of its hardware in-house, and most likely has a good variety of patents associated with physical fitness tracking and standard wearable innovation, including those stemming from

its acquisition of Pebble. Its item engineers would receive resources and tools at Google that Fitbit may not have actually afforded them. In other words: Google’s purchase is nearly definitely a speculative one. Google is hoping that Fitbit’s technology portfolio and its engineering talent can produce a much better, quicker, stronger Wear OS watch. That isn’t the type of acquisition that screams “our product is effective,” it’s one that looks much more like a Hail Mary from a business that is quickly losing any hope of staying relevant in the wearables area. A more cynical view of Google’s acquisition might argue that this is more about Fitbit’s brand name and users than anything else. If Google just markets its internal smartwatches as Fitbits running Wear OS, it would be more able to use Fitbit’s existing consumer base and retail relationships. Customer base is something Wear OS is sorely missing at the moment, and Fitbit is a brand that many customers acknowledge, albeit mainly for the business’s “dumb” physical fitness trackers, not its smartwatches. Speaking of, offered Google’s focus on Wear OS as part of this acquisition, my guess is that those more popular but very standard trackers will be stopped. My gut sensation is that Fitbit as a brand name is going away completely, due to the fact that it is perfectly clear Google will want to leverage the Pixel environment in promoting whatever smartwatch is birthed out of this acquisition. Pixel phone, Pixel Buds, Pixelbook, Pixel Watch. That part just makes good sense. So, I think the chances that Fitbit will reside on within Google a la Nest are slim. Google likewise purchased Nest when it was on a clear upward trajectory; Fitbit is an unprofitable, publicly-traded corporation probably on its last legs. That’s probably not a brand Google would be delighted to market.

As I pointed to in the opening line, Fitbit isn’t doing well. Its stock peaked shortly after its IPO in 2015 around $45 per share, and even after the statement of Google’s acquisition,

sits at just over $ 7 today. This is due to the fact that Fitbit’s newest items aren’t, well, great: its most ambitious yet, the Versa 2, has actually undergone criticism nearly completely for the software it runs, while the hardware does little to set it apart meaningfully from makers like Samsung and Apple. And hardware is what Google seeks, with a post cleatly specifying its acquisition of Fitbit has to do with future Wear OS devices, implying you can probably kiss Fitbit’s unloved smartwatch

Its stock peaked quickly after its IPO in 2015 around $45 per share, and even after the statement of Google’s acquisition, sits at just over $ 7 today. So, that means we can count on Google leveraging Fitbit’s prominent hardware to finally give Wear OS the horse power and abilities it needs to compete with Apple? Fitbit does develop at least some of its hardware in-house, and most likely has a good number of patents related to fitness tracking and fundamental wearable technology, consisting of those stemming from its acquisition of Pebble. If Google merely markets its internal smartwatches as Fitbits running Wear OS, it would be more able to tap into Fitbit’s existing customer base and retail relationships. My gut feeling is that Fitbit as a brand name is going away totally, due to the fact that it is generously clear Google will desire to utilize the Pixel community in promoting whatever smartwatch is birthed out of this acquisition.

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