The Fitbit app and Google Fit will continue to co-exist, at least for now
AtGoogle I/O 2022, we were greeted with the announcement of thePixel Watch, the very first in-house Wear OS smartwatch released by Google. While enthusiasts have been expecting it for some time, it was made possible in part byGoogle’s acquisition of Fitbit in 2019. And while it has a ton of Google DNA, it also gets a lot of its fitness features from Fitbit watches. In fact, it will be the first Wear OS watch with Fitbit integration. That probably doesn’t mean anything if you’re a frequent Google Fit user, though, at least not for now.
In an interview with CNET, James Park, Fitbit’s co-founder and current head of Google’s wearable division, went above and beyond in explaining a little better how things stand with Fitbit, and its hardware lineup, now that the Pixel Watch is a thing. Among other questions answered, he mentioned that while the new Google-made smartwatch will get the Fitbit experience, the Fitbit app itself won’t replace Google Fit. Instead, at least for now, they’ll co-exist. Park believes each app already has its own set of users, and Google doesn’t want to interrupt their experience with a merge probably nobody is asking for.
I think for now, Google Fit and the Fitbit app are just going to continue as is – I don’t think we want to interrupt the experience for either set of users. Both user groups, which are fairly substantial, like the app they are using for a variety of reasons. For now, we don’t see any reason to change that.
That doesn’t mean there won’t beanykind of integration, though. He mentioned that some Google services might integrate onto Fitbit smartwatches, just like how Fitbit will be present in the Pixel Watch. He also confirmed that Fitbit continues to be committed to the Versa and Sense lineups, since they have natural advantages in terms of battery life and affordability.
If you decide to get a Pixel Watch this fall and forego the Fitbit stuff and work straight with Google Fit, that’s an option you have — it won’t be going anywhere.
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