It’s not yet clear exactly how Fitbit will change under Google’s ownership; so far it looks like the brand will still differ from Google. This is how things looked when Google bought Nest – the smart home brand has finally lost its status as a separate business and is now just a sub-brand of Google’s hardware division. When the deal was first announced, Osterloh noted that the deal was an opportunity for the company to make ‘Made’ of Google portable items, and comments from both Osterloh and Park make it sound like future devices Google’s own Wear Will use OS software. Whether that means Fitbit’s software on future devices will be completely replaced by Google remains to be seen.
Fitbit hasn’t slowed down in the last year and released the Sense fitness watch in September. It’s probably the most advanced device Fitbit has made to date, adding a number of new health tracking features such as EDA and skin temperature sensors, as well as an updated heart rate sensor. The Sense also has a much better battery life than Samsung’s and Apple’s watches, although it’s also very slow when you start apps or move through the interface. The Sense now also has the distinction of being the last major product that Fitbit released before Google took over, and we’ll now look at how long it will take before Google’s influence begins to appear in new products.