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Fitbit will lay off 110 employees amid challenges in wearable market

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Re: Fitbit will lay off 110 employees amid challenges in wearable market

#61

Post by CN7R »

dkonofalski wrote: post #22
dec0dedab0de wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have an aria and it syncs with my fitness pal just fine.

Yes, but it doesn't sync with HealthKit/Google Fit directly. You have to go through MyFitnessPal and login to your Fitbit account. You're two steps removed from direct integration and sharing with any other apps on your device.

I can see why there's no direct integration -- isn't it better for a company to ask permission for your data before using it? Like how if you want to sign up for a website through Facebook or Google, they ask first.

Re: Fitbit will lay off 110 employees amid challenges in wearable market

#62

Post by 2-4-Flinching »

phhlho wrote: post #24

After 3 Fitbit Charge HRs dying on me within a year, I've left FitBit and moved on to Garmin. It's a shame because my Flex was solid for multiple years.

hmm, that is the opposite of my experience. My mom has an original fitbit and me and my wife have the fitbit charge HRs. I actually thought when I read the title that it was due to lack of demand as everyone I know has one and sees no reason to get a newer one.

Re: Fitbit will lay off 110 employees amid challenges in wearable market

#63

Post by thearn4 »

CydeWeys wrote: post #28

I've said it before and I'll say it again: A big part of Fitbit's problem is the poor hardware quality of their products, especially considering the high price. A lot of people, me included, will never buy another Fitbit after having been burned. Their warranty only lasts one year, yet I've had to replace both Fitbit devices I've had twice within that one year. I'm now Fitbit-less because the latest, a Charge HR, fai…

Yikes, I just picked up a FB Charge 2. I like it so far. Disappointing to hear that it may fail prematurely.

Re: Fitbit will lay off 110 employees amid challenges in wearable market

#64

Post by vpribish »

CydeWeys wrote: post #28

I've said it before and I'll say it again: A big part of Fitbit's problem is the poor hardware quality of their products, especially considering the high price. A lot of people, me included, will never buy another Fitbit after having been burned. Their warranty only lasts one year, yet I've had to replace both Fitbit devices I've had twice within that one year. I'm now Fitbit-less because the latest, a Charge HR, fai…

I went through 3 charges in 13 months - two had the band delaminate and split, one bricked during a firmware upgrade.

Warranty replacement was fine in that first 12 months, just a week or two to get the replacement. The final one they just offered a discount on a new purchase. At this rate it's more like you are leasing their band a year at a time. I'm done.

Re: Fitbit will lay off 110 employees amid challenges in wearable market

#65

Post by anonyfox »

drewg123 wrote: post #34
CydeWeys wrote: post #28

I've said it before and I'll say it again: A big part of Fitbit's problem is the poor hardware quality of their products, especially considering the high price. A lot of people, me included, will never buy another Fitbit after having been burned. Their warranty only lasts one year, yet I've had to replace both Fitbit devices I've had twice within that one year. I'm now Fitbit-less because the latest, a Charge HR, fai…

I think this is a problem with wearables in general. All in all, I've never seen a wearable last more than 9-10 months. I'm not that rough on them either. My MS Band 1 lasted ~8 months before it suddenly died. MS replaced it. I then borrowed a friend's Band2 which had already been replaced 4 times. It died twice for me. MS replaced it once, then issued a refund check when they ran out of stock. And then there is the…

meanwhile I'm still in love with my perfectly working apple watch (1st gen). There was (and is) laughter about the topic and apple doing it, but really, this $300 device integrated in my daily life to the point of missing it when not wearing.

Plus, it is way more than "just" a fitness wearable. Where I live (northern germany) I see more and more people silently migrating to one, it is even impossible to get a watch at any local retailer now, sold out everywhere.

Re: Fitbit will lay off 110 employees amid challenges in wearable market

#66

Post by nfriedly »

Bummer, I hope they can recover from this. I just got my wife a Charge 2, and she really likes it. It definitely does a better job at tracking things and encouraging fitness than any of the other devices we've owned (Flex, Charge, Apple Watch, Huawei Watch).

I can't comment too much on quality yet, but the charging cable now grips the entire device, so that should help avoid some of the issues they've had in the past.

Re: Fitbit will lay off 110 employees amid challenges in wearable market

#67

Post by teach »

CN7R wrote: post #54
teach wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a Fitbit for exactly two reasons: sleep tracking and heart rate. The step counter is interesting , but I wouldn't have bought a device just for that.

I have a charge hr -- mostly for silent alarms to wake me up without disturbing my roommates, and timer function in case I need to track something. Oddly enough I don't care about the step counter or the heartrate sensor.

They used to say that most people only used 40% (or 80% or whatever) of Microsoft Word's features, but that each person used a different 40%.

I suspect that fitness trackers and smartwatches are like that, too, but that it's more like 20% of the features.

Re: Fitbit will lay off 110 employees amid challenges in wearable market

#68

Post by CN7R »

trendia wrote: post #14
sremani wrote: post #6

I have bought my share of fitbit, Band etc. The only way to make wearables tolerable is making them less smart and more accurate. Accurately measure my heart rate and stop bugging me about a stupid text!

The new Charge costs more than the old one and doesn't have a GPS. Now I have to run with my phone on me to get accurate location data. They're regressing.

The charge 2 is the same price as the old one -- but I'd agree if they could put an actual gps tracker on a $150 watch -- like with polar m200 -- it'd be a better competitor to other fitness bands.

Re: Fitbit will lay off 110 employees amid challenges in wearable market

#69

Post by hboon »

Relevant to those mentioning the build quality of Fitbit devices:

FWIW, my wife and I used several generations of Jawbone UP over a few years and, we roughly go through 1 every 3-6 months. It's certainly not Fitbit only.

Compared to the Apple watch, we have a pair of 1st gens, one of them's battery and display spoilt after 12-13 months, the other is still going strong at ~14/15 months.

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