{"id":2356,"date":"2022-03-26T14:37:34","date_gmt":"2022-03-26T14:37:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/26\/where-is-fitbits-wear-os-watch\/"},"modified":"2022-03-26T14:37:35","modified_gmt":"2022-03-26T14:37:35","slug":"where-is-fitbits-wear-os-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/26\/where-is-fitbits-wear-os-watch\/","title":{"rendered":"Where is Fitbit\u2019s Wear OS watch?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2022\/3\/25\/22996549\/fitbit-wear-os-smartwatch-fitness-tracker<\/a>
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2022 is going to be a big year for Wear OS. Google\u2019s rumored to be making its own Pixel Watch<\/a> (again). Older Wear OS 2 watches are expected to finally make the transition to Wear OS 3<\/a>. Samsung\u2019s promised that Google Assistant will<\/em> be coming to its Galaxy Watch 4<\/a> in the \u201ccoming months.\u201d But there\u2019s something notably missing from this Wear OS lineup: Fitbit.<\/p>\n

Since Google and Samsung first announced their partnership<\/a> at last year\u2019s Google I\/O, Fitbit CEO James Park hasn\u2019t been coy. He\u2019s said multiple times that a premium Fitbit smartwatch running Wear OS was in the works. This year will be the one where Wear OS 3 debuts on a wider scale. It would\u2019ve been stellar timing to unveil a Wear OS Fitbit. However, a 9to5Google <\/em>report<\/a> notes that although code uncovered in the Fitbit app hints at several new products, not a single one will run Wear OS.<\/p>\n

Instead, it looks like Fitbit may be planning a Sense 2, a Versa 4, and a Fitbit Luxe 2. The code reportedly makes reference to a \u201csoftware bridge\u201d that shares data between the device and phone using Bluetooth. According to the report, Wear OS uses a different method of sharing data between your phone and watch \u2014 meaning Wear OS watch likely wouldn\u2019t need that so-called bridge. Two of the rumored devices share the same square screen resolution as the Versa 3 and Sense. The other matches the Luxe. That hints at updates to existing product lines rather than creating something new. If true, all this strongly suggests it\u2019s not likely we\u2019ll see a Wear OS 3 Fitbit anytime soon. <\/p>\n

Of course, none of this is official. Things can dramatically change between when a product is in testing and when it actually lands on shelves. It\u2019s just disappointing to see \u2014 and for Fitbit, rehashing the same formula isn\u2019t in its best interest.<\/p>\n

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No cheating: Is this a Versa, Versa Lite, Versa 2, or Versa 3?<\/em><\/figcaption>Photo by Victoria Song \/ The Verge<\/cite><\/p>\n

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In 2014, Fitbit was a leading wearables maker, with nearly 40 percent of the market. According to Statista<\/a>, Fitbit\u2019s market share in 2020 had dwindled to a measly 2.9 percent. Every year has seen Fitbit\u2019s piece of the pie get smaller, and smaller, and smaller. There\u2019s no one factor that led Fitbit here, but if I had to pick one, it\u2019d be that Fitbit products have gotten a bit stale.<\/p>\n

In my reviews, I often joke that Fitbit doesn\u2019t like to fix what isn\u2019t broken. You can look at the evolution of its popular Charge fitness trackers to see that in action. If you lined up the Charge 2<\/a>, 3<\/a>, and 4<\/a>, I guarantee you most people wouldn\u2019t be able to tell the difference. Similarly, once it became clear that its original Versa smartwatch<\/a> was popular, Fitbit began pumping out Versas left and right. Again, if you lined up the Versa, Versa 2, Versa Lite Edition, and Versa 3, you\u2019d be hard-pressed to say what was distinctive about each. I reviewed all four of them, and even I\u2019d have to take a second look. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s why it was a breath of fresh air in 2020 when Fitbit lobbed a hail mary of a fall product launch. The Fitbit Sense <\/a>introduced FDA-cleared EKGs and added an electrodermal activity sensor \u2014 something that no other wearable company had done yet. Google Assistant was added to the Sense and Versa 3. The company also upgraded its Pure Pulse 2.0 heart rate tracking tech, and all around, meaningful updates were to be had. That energy continued into 2021, when Fitbit made the first significant updates to the Charge lineup in years and introduced the fashionable Luxe. <\/p>\n

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The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is the only Wear OS 3 watch that\u2019s currently available.<\/em><\/figcaption>Photo by Dieter Bohn \/ The Verge<\/cite><\/p>\n

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But unless Fitbit has some new sensor it\u2019s been hiding or finally figures out how to add LTE to its trackers, it\u2019s hard to get jazzed over a Sense 2, Versa 4, and Luxe 2. There are so many more affordable Fitbit alternatives these days \u2014 and many of them are quite good. <\/p>\n

A Fitbit Wear OS smartwatch, however, would give a much-needed boost to the Wear OS ecosystem.<\/p>\n

Right now, Wear OS watches are predominantly Fossil Group watches. They are fine. Samsung\u2019s there now, too, with the Galaxy Watch 4<\/a>, and there\u2019s a smattering of luxury brands for absurd prices. Fossil and luxury smartwatches prioritize the aesthetic. Samsung\u2019s Galaxy Watch 4 is actually great but also doesn\u2019t serve non-Samsung phone owners well. <\/p>\n

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