Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
Google is having a moment in the sun this week. Aside from one technical mishap, the Made by Google 2024 event went off without a hitch, and we have a ton of new hardware to get excited about. But not everything the tech giant touches turns to gold, and we're not the only ones who think so. Many people think Google is the Fitbit brand, and we have a recent poll to prove it.
As a background, Android Authority senior writer Andy Walker took an in-depth and considered look at the direction of Fitbit since it was bought by Google. He pointed out that the fate of the once leader in follow fitness began to decline before the acquisition in 2021. Despite hopes for a rebound, Google's focus on integrating Fitbit into its own health ecosystem led to the removal of beloved features and disappointing hardware releases like the Sense 2 and Versa 4.
Andy balanced this by pointing to some recent signs of promise, but the overall trajectory suggests Fitbit's future under Google is uncertain. He concluded that Fitbit isn't quite “destroyed” yet, but that it's heading that way.
We wanted to know if you agreed with him, so we ran a poll in the article with a simple question: Has Google ruined Fitbit? Over 3,000 of you responded, and the results were decisive.
Did Google ruin Fitbit?
Nearly 66% of you answered yes to our poll question, meaning that nearly two-thirds of you went a step further than Andy and suggested that Google has ruined Fitbit. It was admittedly a binary yes-or-no question, and undoubtedly many people shared Andy’s frustration. Those readers may have voted yes to express that, while agreeing that the brand isn’t entirely ruined. Still, it’s a damning indictment of Google’s approach.
Readers weighed in with their thoughts in the comments section of our original article. One person concluded his reasoning with, “I’m going to buy someone else’s watch that has decent fitness tracking without a super expensive subscription and diminishing features.” Another added, “I dropped Fitbit as soon as they removed the online dashboard,” which was one of the changes Andy cited as a way to drive away loyal Fitbit customers.
The overwhelming majority of comments on the article agree with the poll results, with several respondents saying they upgraded to a Garmin fitness tracker and never looked back. But it wasn’t all Google-bashing. One reader stated that “Fitbit would have been dead long ago if it weren’t for Google’s acquisition.” They may be right, although two things can be true at the same time: Google may have saved the brand from the brink of extinction, but it still has work to do to restore it to its former glory.