The Google Pixel Watch is official, it’s coming this fall, and it’ll bring some Fitbit features with it. Fitbit users can also use the smartwatch with their Fitbit account and the Fitbit app, for example – this works in parallel with Google Fit.
The Fitbit smartwatch with Wear OS
But what about Fitbit? Here are only successors for the Sense and Versa in the room, which James Park (Head of Wearables at Google) did not want to confirm directly in an interview with Cnet, but it sounds as if they are coming soon.
In March, however, we also asked where the Fitbit smartwatch with Wear OS was. Fitbit has been part of Google since the beginning of 2021 and exactly one year ago there was official talk that there would be smartwatches with Wear OS.
So, where’s the Fitbit Watch with Wear OS 3?
As part of Google I/O 2022, this was not mentioned at all, not even when Google announced more smartwatches with Wear OS. And James Park, who by the way was previously the head of Fitbit, is now reacting very cautiously. You “still evaluate something like that” and it will “develop over time”, but he didn’t want to be really specific. A year later one is unfortunately vague:
Wear OS is a very powerful operating system that offers a lot of interesting features. Not only on the smart side, but it also allows us some interesting opportunities on the health and fitness side. That’s something we’ll definitely be evaluating for the Fitbit lineup.
Google Pixel Watch is the flagship
Incidentally, at the beginning of the interview, Park repeatedly spoke of “premium” for the Pixel Watch. Things like the design and LTE are expensive. It almost sounds like Google’s smartwatch is set to become the flagship with Wear OS.
If models come from Fitbit itself, then they will probably classify themselves a little below. However, he did not want to answer the question about a Fitbit smartwatch with Wear OS, Google seems to have revised the strategy since May 2021.
Let’s wait and see what autumn brings. However, I am not currently assuming that we will see a Fitbit model in 2022. The Google Pixel Watch is the focus of attention this year and a Fitbit Watch is likely to be a topic for 2023.