Enlarge / The Mark 5 (pictured) has been a source of competitors for Fitbit customers.
For the reason that acquisition closed in 2021, the Google-fication of Fitbit has largely supposed a reduction in points and a spotlight from Google on getting folks onto the Fitbit app. Long-time customers enjoy flocked to Fitbit—usually upon Fitbit’s quiz—to portion a total bunch of complaints about latest adjustments. On the assorted hand, Google has been largely unresponsive to buyer suggestions.
Web app discontinuation angers customers
In June, Google offered it used to be discontinuing Fitbit.com’s online dashboard. After July 8, customers in search of the same points that the rep app offered need to download the Fitbit mobile app. On Fitbit’s Neighborhood forum, a firm consultant confirmed that customers’ “details and logging for actions, nutrition, sleep, and weight” would live available by job of the app. On the assorted hand, the commerce inconvenienced customers who most current or wished to acquire admission to such recordsdata on a larger display than a phone’s. Worse, the app lacks a couple of of the points of the rep dashboard, reminiscent of meals logging.
Despite these glaring user drawbacks, the want to Googlize Fitbit regarded to pressure the commerce. Announcing the info on the Neighborhood forum, a Fitbit firm get mentioned:
Mixed with Google’s decades of being the totally at making sense of recordsdata, it’s our mission to be one blended Fitbit and Google team. Consolidating the Fitbit.com dashboard into the Fitbit app is a component of that mission, and might well well aloof enable us to point of interest on points that supply even more treasured insights to our customers.
Google has invested within the Fitbit app, which contains plans to let top rate subscribers test experimental generative AI Fitbit points soon. Google shall be constructing a trim language mannequin for designate contemporary points for the Fitbit app that customers are being forced onto. Google has been pushing customers to the Fitbit app for a while; in 2022, Fitbit units lost the flexibility to sync with computer programs.
Or no longer it’s price stating that customers disgruntled with Fitbit usually have a tendency to whinge online. On the assorted hand, it be necessary that Fitbit’s announcement has been met with 1,523 (as of this writing) largely unfavorable replies, with contemporary responses aloof coming in. One other thread on Fitbit’s forum that requests to set the rep dashboard on the moment has 601 upvotes. You might well maybe also gather outraged customers on Reddit, too.
The most general complaints are around shedding beforehand available points.
“Exchange is okay. Striking off key points is no longer,” Neighborhood member Seymourh86 wrote in June. “Until you want folks to head to competitors …”
Comments from this week display that customers are no longer over the commerce. DebL555, shall we embrace, mentioned this day that they’re “extremely upset and pissed off I can not acquire admission to my Dashboard on my PC.” Yesterday, NessWeb dubbed the commerce “an incredibly execrable decision,” adding:
Or no longer it’s critically unpleasant for any individual with a visual incapacity or a finger dexterity pronounce. Or no longer it’s aloof execrable for everybody else on memoir of you factual can not center of attention on as much on a 3″ display as you are going to be ready to center of attention on on a true computer …
Bid support the rep interface!!
As has been the case every time there enjoy been issues with Fitbit submit-acquisition, theories that Google is making Fitbit worse to push folks in direction of the Pixel Stare dart rampant. Others on the Neighborhood forum enjoy been upset on memoir of they felt treasure Google used to be ignoring suggestions from long-time Fitbit customers.
In June, a user going by jessicabilasano wrote:
I factual hope Fitbit does no longer cease up treasure one one more Google aquire that turns into a nightmare product/firm. Google, quite than casting off issues that customers worship about Fitbit points, why no longer toughen them? Be all ears to your customers/patrons.
On the assorted hand, an absence of response to public, unfavorable buyer suggestions has change into identical previous for the Fitbit designate no longer too long within the past.
