If you have not already known, Google completed its acquisition of Google very early in 2021. The price of that acquisition? A cool US$ 2.1 billion, with a ‘b’, yes. We thought that this could be a rather important acquisition for Google, especially in their pursuit of making an Android wearable product that can compete with the likes of Samsung’s Galaxy Watch and Apple’s Watch products.
Since the acquisition, the Mountain View giant has not exactly sat still with developing Android Wear. They introduced a new Wear OS 3. With that new Wear OS 3, they also announced a new partner in making their Google Wear. They eliminated a competition to Wear OS in tandem to that announcement. Google Wear OS 3’s new darling flagship watch would be made by Samsung into their Samsung Galaxy Watch 5, which also means the TizenOS for watches is no more. What about Fitbit?
In the two years that Google has owned Fitbit, it seems like business as usual for Fitbit. The app remains the same, the devices have not changed, the functions remain the same, they introduced their new products as Fitbit products with no association to Google or Android. Everything sort of changed when Google started making plans to integrate Fitbit into Google and consolidate the Fitbit platform into Google’s own.
Consolidating one platform to another can be a grueling and long process. Just last month, to make things easier to integrate, Google shut down one of the most unique features for Fitbit owners like community adventures and challenges. In the coming months until 2025, Google will start allowing users to log into the Fitbit app with their Google accounts. It is not the end of the story yet though for your old Fitbit login, at least for now. You have until 2025 to migrate and port your data over from the Fitbit account into your Google account though. If you are just starting out with a new Fitbit, you can only register with a Google account instead of the Fitbit accounts that are being phased out.
It does not mean that Google is closing the Fitbit app though. It just means that you must sign into your Fitbit app with your Google account in the future. Once you transition from Fitbit login to your Google login, Google says that you will still have access to all your Fitbit data from the past and have full access to the Fitbit app in all its glory and functions. It adds a degree of convenience for users for sure. It also allows Google to keep all your data in a single place and consolidate it into a single security structure that they have control over. According to their Google Blog announcement, Google claims that the Fitbit data you keep with Google will be safer in their hands. You also do not need to be afraid of having Google Ads targeting you, because Google is keeping the data separate and away from Google Ads.
The transition to Google apps is not a surprising one, considering that Google owns Fitbit. While it took this long for Google to finally require Fitbit users to consolidate their accounts into Google, we have also mentioned that transitioning and consolidating two platforms is no easy task. We are also expecting to see new iterations of Android Wear with elements of Fitbit’s clever platform built into Android Wear. In that case, you can expect a new Samsung Galaxy Watch with plenty of what used to be Fitbit exclusive functions.
If you are a Fitbit user still on Fitbit’s proprietary login, we would recommend you switch over as soon as possible. Although Google did say that you are in no hurry, you have until 2025 anyway. For new users looking to get into fitness tracking, you still can buy a Fitbit, but you want to keep in mind you are signing up for it with Google.
