Fitbit

The company was founded as Healthy Metrics Research, Inc. in San Francisco, California, on March 26, 2007, by James Park (CEO) and Eric Friedman (CTO). In October 2007, it changed its name to Fitbit, Inc.[1][7]

In January 2015, the company successfully defended against a trademark lawsuit from Fitbug.[8] On March 5, 2015, Fitbit acquired fitness coaching app developer Fitstar for $17.8 million.[9][10] In June 2015, the company became a public company via an initial public offering, raising $732 million.[11][12][13][14]

In May 2016, Fitbit acquired a wearable payment platform from smart credit card company Coin.[15][16] In October 2016, CEO James Park announced that the company was undergoing a major transformation from what he called a "consumer electronics company" to a "digital healthcare company".[17] On December 6, 2016, Fitbit acquired assets from Pebble for $23 million.[18][19][20][21][22]

On January 10, 2017, Fitbit acquired Romania-based smartwatch startup Vector Watch SRL.[23][24]

On February 13, 2018, Fitbit acquired Twine Health.[25] In February 2018, Fitbit announced a partnership with Adidas to release an Adidas-branded Fitbit Ionic; it was released on March 19, 2018.[26] In August 2018, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association announced a partnership with Fitbit in which BCBS will include Fitbit's wearables and fitness trackers in its Blue365 program.[27]

In January 2021, Fitbit was acquired by Google and absorbed into its hardware division.[6][28][29] The acquisition was scrutinized by regulators concerned over Google's access to personal data in both the United States and Europe.[30][31][32]

Fitbit Flex, with the functioning unit removed from the replaceable wristband.

The first product released was the Fitbit Tracker, which was released in 2009.[33][34]

In 2012, Fitbit began offering activity trackers, along with a website and a mobile app for iOS, Android and Windows 10 Mobile[35] This allows the trackers to sync to devices such as mobile phones via Bluetooth, or to a Bluetooth-equipped computer running Windows or MacOS.[35] Users have the ability to log their food, activities, and weight, to track over time and set daily and weekly goals for themselves for steps, calories burned and consumed, and distance walked. The app also offers a community page where users can challenge themselves and compete against other users.[36] The social element anticipates an increase in motivation, and finds that users take an average of 700 more steps per day when they have friends on the app.[36] Users can also choose to share their progress pictures and achievement badges.

In 2017, the company released its Fitbit Ionic smartwatch, [37] and in 2018, it released a redesigned, lower-priced version of the smartwatch called the Versa.[38][39]

The Fitbit Charge 3, a wristband health and fitness tracker introduced in October 2018, was the first device to feature an oxygen saturation (SPO2) sensor; however, as of January 2019, it was non-functional and Fitbit did not provide an implementation timeline.[40]

The Fitbit Charge 3 comes with two different-sized bands: small and large. The small is around between 5.5–7.1 inches (14–18 cm) and the large is 7.1–8.7 inches (18–22 cm). Additionally, the screen is larger than the Charge 2 by approximately 40%. Fitbit Charge 3 comes in two color combos: a Rose-Gold case with a Blue Grey band and a “Graphite Aluminum” screen case with a Black band.[41]

On December 17, 2018, Fitbit released the Fitbit OS 3.0, which included an extended dashboard, quick logging for weight and water intake, and goal-based exercise mode. The new extended on-device dashboard (Fitbit Today) would include more data regarding sleep, water intake and weight.[42]

There are three versions of the Fitbit Versa, standard, Special, and Lite.[43]

In December 2018, Fitbit added an API and open source tools to allow developers to better build apps for its smartwatch products.[44]

On January 2, 2019, the company announced the release of the Fitbit Charge 3 in India.[45][46]

On June 3, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company announced Fitbit Flow, a ventilator in response to the shortages of ventilators in medical centers and hospitals around the world which are needed to treat critically ill patients.[47][48] Despite getting emergency approval from the Food and Drug Administration,[49] the company does not consider Fitbit Flow as a drop-in replacement for traditional ventilators. Instead, the product is meant as an alternative when more the expensive option of traditional ventilators is not available. Therefore, the company intends for Fitbit Flow to be used only during the COVID-19 pandemic.[50]

In August 2020, Fitbit also announced new smartwatches, the Versa 3, the Inspire 2, and the Fitbit Sense, which includes new health metrics and analysis such as stress sensing, oxygen saturation, and skin temperature. The Sense also promises to show changes in skin temperature to catch signs of sickness.[51]

In August 2021, Fitbit also announced new smartwatches Fitbit charge 5 tracker, which is water resistant to a greater degree but not waterproof. It has a water resistance of up to 50 meters, meaning you can submerge it in water up to a depth of 50 meters. One of the essential properties that a fitness tracker must have is the water resistance feature. With the waterproof characteristic, you can take your tracker with you in heavy rain or to a swimming pool.[52]

Certain Sense, Versa, Ionic, and Charge products support Fitbit Pay, which is a digital wallet that uses near field communication to make payments at point of sale. Google has stated their intention to eventually discontinue this payment method and fully replace it with Google Pay.[53][54]

In August 2022, Fitbit announced new smartwatches, the Versa 4, the Inspire 3, and the Sense 2, featuring incremental improvements mainly in fitness tracking features and battery life over the last iterations.[55]

On February 20, 2014, Fitbit worked with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to recall the Fitbit Force because some users experienced allergic reactions to the materials used in the product. On March 12, 2014, the CPSC made the recall official. At that time, there were 9,900 reports of skin irritation and 250 reports of blistering.[64]

In April 2017, a woman claimed her Flex 2 device malfunctioned and caught fire, causing second-degree burns on her arm.[65] Following an investigation, Fitbit was adamant that the exploding tracker was caused by external forces, and assured customers that it was not aware of any other complaints and that they could wear their own Fitbits without concern.[66]

On March 2, 2022, Fitbit issued a voluntary recall of its Ionic smartwatches after reports of overheating batteries which caused skin burns for some owners.[67] At the time of the recall, there were 78 reports of skin burns.[68]

The company's devices have also been used in criminal investigations; in one instance, a rape claim against an unnamed intruder was turned around to a criminal charge for false reports based on data from the claimant's Fitbit.[76][77][78][79][80]

On March 10, 2015, a woman allegedly fabricated a story in which an intruder appeared in her employer's home she was staying at and raped her. She told police that a man had assaulted her around midnight. Police found a Fitbit lying on the floor when they arrived at the scene. Prosecutors used the Fitbit as evidence and data to determine what had occurred. The Fitbit revealed that the woman was active throughout the night, and the Fitbit surveillance analysis demonstrated the woman had not gone to bed as she stated to the police, proving that the woman had lied to the police.[81][82]

In 2017, a Fitbit device played a role in solving a murder.[83] Victim Connie Dabate was murdered by her husband Richard Dabate. Initially, Richard framed the situation, telling police and law enforcement officials that an intruder had broken into their home and fatally shot his wife.[83] However, Connie's Fitbit tracker showed that she was at the gym at the time Richard told police his wife was shot. Using Connie's Fitbit and analyzing her movements, analysts were able to create a timeline that proved Richard had created a false story.[84]

In 2018, a Fitbit device played a role in solving another murder. Anthony Aiello murdered his stepdaughter Karen Navarra while visiting her home and her body was found five days later. Data from her Fitbit fitness tracker showed that her heart rate spiked when Aiello visited her and stopped five minutes before he left. Aiello was arrested in September 2018 on murder charges and was booked into the Santa Clara County Jail.[85][86]

• Quantified self

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fitbit.

• Official website