Google last month announced the acquisition of fitness wearable manufacturer Fitbit after several months of speculations. As an aftermath of the acquisition, some of the brand’s wearable devices are now on sale on the Google Store.

The Fitbit watches and trackers are listed alongside Google Pixels and Nest gear and can be purchased right from the Google Store. There are presently four Fitbit products on sale in the Google Store and they include the Fitbit Sense, Versa 3, Inspire 2, and Fitbit Charge 4. The smartwatches are on sale exclusively in the United States.

Regardless of the listing on Google Store, the smartwatches are still on sale on Fitbit’s on the store as well a by other retailers. The prices still range from $329 and below which is consistent with the prices on other channels. The good thing about the Google Store listing is that the consumers now have the option to buy these products while also buying unlocked Pixel smartphones and even fund the purchase with the same financing option.

The Fitbit Versa 3 is even listed on the Google Store homepage, right next to the new Nest Thermostat and Google Pixel Buds. The Store has even gotten an exclusive Fitbit products tab at the top row which takes users directly to the product page. The store’s redesign includes a banner about Google’s acquisition of Fitbit and it leads to the Fitbit landing page.

Google also included some outbound links to the Fitbit store for other products not listed on the Google Store such as watchbands and chargers, the Aria Air smart scale, as well as the monthly Fitbit Premium subscription service.

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In what would be considered one of the fastest acquisition deals in the face of antitrust concerns, Google has finally acquired watchmaker Fitbit. The two companies commenced acquisition talks over 14 months ago but the bid was faced with serious scrutiny by regulatory authorities such as EU’s European Commission over privacy concerns.

The final acquisition means the road has been cleared for the deal to happen but obviously, Google had to make a series of “binding commitments with global regulators” that ultimately quelled the privacy concerns. It comes in a record time considering how long it took before the T-Mobile and Sprint merger was allowed to sail through last year.

The acquisition deal will see the search giant dole out a little more than $2 billion for the renowned wearable manufacturer established in 2007. Google says it is planning to work closely with Fitbit to “create new devices and services” helping you “enhance your knowledge, success, health, and happiness.”

In his official blog post announcing the completion of the acquisition, Google’s Senior VP of Devices & Services Rick Osterloh didn’t elaborate on the tech giant’s future hardware plans. However, the post explicitly mentioned the recently released Fitbit Sense and Inspire 2 which seems to suggest their successors could very be in the pipeline.

Also, there was no indication if Google will try to blend its own Wear OS with the Fitbit OS software platforms going forward. But then, it is too early to phantom the duo’s future plans for the partnership.

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Latest data released by IDC indicates that the global shipments of wearable devices reached 32 million units in the third quarter of 2018, up 21.7% from the previous year. The data shows that the astronomical rise in shipments YoY is due to a sporadic increase in the number of new wearable devices OEMs introduced during the quarter. Specifically, new products from the likes of Fitbit, Garmin, and Huawei were shown to have helped the basic wearables category return to growth during the quarter.

The data also showed that growing demand in markets like Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) was another driving factor and this accounted for more than half of all shipments. The growth in these markets was up to 21.4% higher than the previous year, according to IDC. The US market transitioning from one driven by new users to one that relies on replacement devices and upgrades and so, the market declines 0.4% Year on Year.

In the third quarter under review, Xiaomi grabbed the top position, thanks to the success of the Mi Band 3 and its significant expansion beyond its home country of China. Though typically China accounts for well over 80% of Xiaomi’s shipment volume, this quarter that share fell to 61% as the company managed to grow its presence in other markets such as India, Europe, and Middle East and Africa.

Closely following, is Apple which managed to launch its Series 4 Watch, its first watch approved for medical use, towards the end of the quarter. The new design and sizes along with the latest version of Watch OS were welcome changes although the latest series only accounted for less than 20% of all Apple Watch shipments. The reduced price on the still affable Series 3 accounted for the majority of Apple’s shipments during the quarter.

On the third spot is Fitbit whose latest devices, including the Versa, Charge 3, and the Ace, helped the company slow its decline compared to previous quarters. The success of the Versa catapulted the company back into reckoning as the second largest smartwatch vendor. IDC expects this to continue in the near term. Furthermore, Huawei edged Samsung to maintain its number four position worldwide but the majority of the firm’s wearable devices were sold in China. On the other hand, the Honor sub-brand introduced a new set of earphones that tracks heart rate during workouts.

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The fifth spot is occupied by Samsung which stretched its lead past other contenders. Samsung’s product arsenal isn’t too broad and it relies on the Gear S3 and Fear Fit wristbands to drive sales volumes. The company also launched its next-generation smartwatch, the Galaxy Watch, marking the first time that a wearable device moved away from its traditional “Gear” moniker to the “Galaxy” sub-brand, alongside its smartphones and tablets.

(source)

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Fitbit is happy with the numbers its latest smartwatch – the Fitbit Versa – is pulling. The watchmaker has announced that it has shipped over 1 million units in less than two months.

The Fitbit Versa can be called a cheaper version of the Fitbit Ionic – another smartwatch released this year. The low-price and also female health tracking feature seems to have helped the watch gain popularity.

Fitbit said over 2 million people have used the female health feature which logs period, records symptoms and compares cycles since it announced it in May.

READ MORE: Xiaomi Launches Mi Band 3 Fitness Tracker In China, Price Starts At 169 Yuan ($26)

The Ionic, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be doing so well. Fitbit said it didn’t meet the sales target it set. The Ionic has built-in GPS unlike the Versa and sells for $249 ($299 before) as against the Versa’s $199.95 tag.

(Source)

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