Federica Laricchia
Research expert covering the global consumer technology industry
Get in touch with us nowFitbit trying to secure a spot in the growing wearable market
Fitbit’s first device, the Fitbit Classic, was released in the consumer market in 2009 and had limited features compared to the most recent models. To stay competitive in the fast-growing wearable technology industry, the company made available multiple models and features throughout the years. Since 2010, Fitbit has sold over 136 million devices worldwide and counted around 120 million registered users in 2022. Despite its prices being lower than those of other market players, Fitbit has struggled with declining sales in recent years and has been competing with the likes of Apple, Xiaomi, and Huawei. Particularly, Apple leads the wearable device market, counting over 146 million units shipped globally in 2022.Google acquires Fitbit
In early 2021, Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, completed the acquisition of Fitbit in a deal that valued the company at 2.1 billion U.S. dollars, making Fitbit Google’s fourth largest acquisition. Thanks to the acquisition, it is likely that Google will be more established in the wearable industry, while Fitbit devices might come back into the race for the top spot in the wearables market. Evidence of this is the new Google Pixel Watch, which will supposedly integrate Fitbit’s ecosystem, including the Fitbit app, health sensor, and heart rate monitor.
