Sunday running day
In this weekly column, Michael Hicks, Wearables Editor at Android Central, talks about the world of wearables, apps and fitness technology as it relates to running and health in light of his quest to get faster and fitter.
Google has accommodated runners like me with the Pixel Watch 3, and aside from a few bugs and missing features, it’s done a great job. But my enthusiasm was immediately dampened when it was announced that Fitbit had found another nail in the brand’s coffin: one that limits who can actually use these new running tools.
Until now, running with a Pixel Watch was a spartan experience. You turned on the GPS, saw a few stats on your wrist during the run, and then got a simple summary afterwards.
The Fitbit operating system is a little better, but I found certain features, like creating intervals, to be unnecessarily complicated. Also, the daily recommendations and premium workouts always seemed to be geared more towards indoor workouts.
The Pixel Watch 3 changes that, adding tools like custom workouts, AI-generated runs based on your daily fitness, a cardio load score that takes into account weeks of training data and your target load, running form insights, and a Morning Brief that summarizes everything you need to know before a run.
Google even claims that heart rate accuracy while running has been improved by reducing “light artifacts” caused by rapid arm pumping. Based on our testing results, the Pixel Watch 2 was nothing to sneeze at in this area.
It is not everything To be clear, I wouldn’t expect anything from a running watch. The Pixel Watch 3 doesn’t let you beat times. You can’t download offline GPX maps, and Google hasn’t fully exploited the capabilities of Google Maps for things like routes or back to start. There’s also no Garmin Coach equivalent for long-term training plans. But that’s nitpicking, and Wear OS 5 is on the right track.
I’m rather disappointed that Google didn’t follow Samsung’s lead with the Galaxy Watch 7 and include dual-band GPS in the Pixel Watch 3. I’ve had bad luck with the Fitbit Charge 6’s GPS-only tracking, although the Watch 3’s antenna should be much better. I can’t really criticize it until I test the accuracy myself, but it feels like a slight missed opportunity.
So what is the real Problem? It’s because the future of Fitbit smartwatches appears to rest on the Pixel Watch, and it remains uncertain whether Google intends to bring these Fitbit learnings to Fitbit-branded watches (and I wouldn’t bet on it).
Engadget’s Cherlynn Low was interviewing Sandeep Waraich, senior director of product management for Pixel Wearables, at the Made by Google 2024 event earlier this week when Waraich gave her some bad news.
Low asked Waraich about other Fitbit-branded smartwatches. He replied that “Pixel Watch is our smartwatch portfolio piece” and that all future Fitbits will offer a minimalist experience. He says Fitbit users want “a simple experience” and pointed to the Fitbit Inspire 3 as an example.
He clarified that Fitbit Sense 2 and Versa 4 will still be available, but Sense 3 and Versa 5 may not be released for a long time, or may never be released.
Android Central reached out to Fitbit to ask if these new running features could be added to previous Sense and Versa watches, and to confirm the above news. A spokesperson responded that Google is “very committed to Fitbit” and “the customers who use and depend on these products and technologies.” However, they did not comment on whether we will see these new running features on your Fitbit in the near future, which doesn’t make me very hopeful.
RIP Fitbit as a standalone unit
I’ve written about Fitbit’s problems as a brand in the past, so I’ll keep this brief. Fitbit was once one of the best-selling wearable brands, but fell from 7th to 10th in total sales in 2022, according to Counterpoint, and now rarely appears outside of the “other” category in industry reports.
Google halved the territories in which it sells Fitbit devices at the end of 2023. A few months later, Fitbit executives — including founders James Park and Eric Friedman — left Google under unclear circumstances. Since then, Fitbit has presumably fallen under Google’s wearables umbrella, and there is no one left to advocate for Fitbit as a standalone company.
The last Fitbit-branded device—released before the exodus of executives—was the respectable Fitbit Charge 6. It was essentially a repackaged Charge 5 with new Google apps and a Google-developed algorithm for better heart rate. We were hoping new Sense and Versa watches would be next; instead, we’ll likely see a dainty Fitbit Inspire 4 wristband next year.
Here’s the problem: Fitbit’s focus on cheap fitness bands makes little economic sense. Check out this 2024 Canalys report showing how smartwatches dominate basic bands in overall sales. In 2020, trackers and smartwatches made up 46% and 37% of the market, respectively; today, basic bands make up just 17%, versus 37% for smartwatches. By 2028, analysts predict, that will be 12% and 48%, respectively.
Ditching your Fitbit smartwatches for the Pixel Watch 3 and tiny Fitbit wristbands feels… shortsighted. It excludes Fitbit’s many iOS power users and Android-using athletes who want a lightweight fitness watch that will last a week, not a 24-hour Pixel Watch or an Inspire with a tiny screen and no built-in GPS.
Although the Fitbit Charge 6 is the best fitness tracker currently available, many people shy away from it because of its relatively high price and subscription. Jitesh Ubrani, research director for wearables at IDC, says Fitbit struggles to compete against “low-cost, value-oriented brands like Xiaomi, Amazfit or Huawei.” Why spend $160 + $10/month when you can pay for a Xiaomi Smart Band 9 for $40?
With that in mind, I’d always hoped that Fitbit would double down on its fitness smartwatches by optimizing its fitness software and health sensors for the Sense and Versa lines and then porting those features to the Pixel Watch for Android power users who don’t care as much about battery life.
Instead, this evolution will see Fitbit enter a more niche market than ever before, as the company increasingly turns to the fitness bracelet form factor that most people are increasingly abandoning in favor of smartwatches or smart rings.
Brands like Garmin, Coros and Polar still target runners, but they focus much more on training guidance than health data. The Pixel Watch 3 takes the opposite approach and I’m really excited to put it through its paces. However, Fitbit’s hardware could have struck a balance between fitness and health, and intelligence and efficiency. That’s not going to happen now.
