Google buys Fitbit for $2.1 billion to Compete with Apple Watch :- Google has struck a $2.1bn deal to buy fitness-tracking pioneer Fitbit, as the two Silicon Valley companies team up to take on Apple’s fast-growing wearable-tech business, Google announced on Friday evening.
Google buys Fitbit for $2.1 billion
Fitbit is Google’s biggest acquisition in consumer electronics since it paid $3.2bn for smart home company Nest in 2014. The deal could put Google in the sights of antitrust authorities.
Rick Osterloh, who heads Google’s devices division said, “Today, we’re announcing that Google has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Fitbit, a leading wearables brand. Fitbit has been a true pioneer… By working closely with Fitbit’s team of experts, and bringing together the best AI, software, and hardware, we can help spur innovation in wearables and build products to benefit even more people around the world.”
Apple has in the last few years seen impressive growth in the sale of Apple Watch, and with its focus on health-related features. After several failed attempts to compete with Apple Watch, Google is hopeful that Fitbit will help it mount a better challenge in a market. Reportedly, apart from Apple, Fitbit arguably has the best footing in the smartwatch and fitness band markets, although, in terms of volume companies like Xiaomi, Samsung and Huawei are ahead.
Google Fitbit Compete with Apple Watch
Meanwhile, interestingly, Fitbit doesn’t use Google’s Wear OS software instead it has its own software for its smart gadgets.
Notably, fitness data is quite private and anything that has Google involved raises privacy concerns in the minds of users, Osterloh in his official blog post highlighted how the company will guarantee the privacy of Fitbit users. He wrote, “Similar to our other products, with wearables, we will be transparent about the data we collect and why. We will never sell personal information to anyone. Fitbit health and wellness data will not be used for Google ads. And we will give Fitbit users the choice to review, move, or delete their data.”
