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Alphabet in bid to buy Fitbit

reuters.com

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Re: Alphabet in bid to buy Fitbit

#531

Post by Terretta »

nradov wrote: post #463
agloeregrets wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think they mean in the US (which obviously is not the whole world) Here in the US the iPhone is more than 50% market share (likely much higher, if you were to count hours of use rather than just raw devices. Many mid-range android users own one simply because it’s what the company told them to buy and they “just wanted a phone” while low end android devices lack battery life.) In the wearables market in the US, Gar…

In the US, iPhone market share is 41%. Garmin sells a wide range of fitness trackers, only some of which are targeted to hardcore athletes. They have other models for casual users or those who care more about style.

But 83% among teens (still ticking up) as of October 2019

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191008005671/en/Pip...

Re: Alphabet in bid to buy Fitbit

#532

Post by amaccuish »

propogandist wrote: post #530
mafuyu wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The location services is likely due to both Android and iOS requiring location enabled for Bluetooth, as BLE Beacons can be used for location tracking. https://developer.android.com/about/versions/marshmallow/and...

this seems to have been an intentional change, to group bluetooth scanning under locations -- which would mean most people leave location feature always enabled, and all the apps that access location (especially play services) gains consent to transmit your location information to Google.

Not really because bluetooth and wifi scanning can give you location, so it makes sense programmatically to put it under the "location" banner.

Re: Alphabet in bid to buy Fitbit

#533

Post by amatecha »

diffeomorphism wrote: post #529
amatecha wrote: post #524

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's right, a watch that does literally nothing but tell the time lasts a long time on a single battery charge. If having to charge your watch is not worth the benefits/luxuries provided by an expensive smartwatch, a smartwatch might not be for you.

> I don't use mine extensively, though I do use Apple Pay for every transaction that I can. That is why I was asking. The only "benefit/luxury" you mention is apple pay and you say that you are not using it much.

To give a quick summary: I look at the upcoming weather, see the times of upcoming meetings, see messages people have sent me, pause/resume/skip tracks on currently-playing music, track hikes or walks, record audio, check my heart rate, check the current time/date, and pay for stuff.

Re: Alphabet in bid to buy Fitbit

#535

Post by kevingrahl »

krick wrote: post #405

Ok, are there any wearables left that can be trusted with personal data? I want to use it to track my own activity/heartrate, not to be used and tracked by somebody else for their shady purposes.

Personally I’m using a Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 4 on iOS 13 with an open source on device firewall. That way I can still use the official Apps like MiFit or AmazFit to sync all data to Apple Health without it being uploaded from their App to elsewhere. Make sure to use iOS12 or upwards and you’ll have to enable 2 Factor Authentication in order for your Apple Health data to be end to end encrypted.

I’m not sure how Android holds up but it should be possible to achieve something similar there, I’d guess. On Android there are third party Apps for syncing which should make things easier.

Pros: * Mi Band 4 is very cheap * Reliable HR, steps, activity & sleep tracking * Easy and quick setup * > 20 days battery life * Custumizable watch faces * 5ATM water resistant

Cons: * Xiaomi and Huami are Chinese companies * No always on display (but raising watch turns on display) * Some data could leak should the firewall fail * Currently no third party Apps for syncing to iOS

I wrote a short article about using the Mi Band 4 on iOS with a focus on privacy on my website if you’d like to know a bit more.

Re: Alphabet in bid to buy Fitbit

#536

Post by Breza »

amaccuish wrote: post #532
propogandist wrote: post #530

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this seems to have been an intentional change, to group bluetooth scanning under locations -- which would mean most people leave location feature always enabled, and all the apps that access location (especially play services) gains consent to transmit your location information to Google.

Not really because bluetooth and wifi scanning can give you location, so it makes sense programmatically to put it under the "location" banner.

Exactly. If you have Bluetooth and wifi turned on, you're sharing your location. So the OS makers decided to make that obvious by requiring you to have location turned on.

Re: Alphabet in bid to buy Fitbit

#537

Post by darkarmani »

amatecha wrote: post #418
darkarmani wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm still using the original pebble. Unfortunately, i'm getting hit by the screen tearing problem and it is so old that i can't even open it to fix the problem. I don't want a watch that i have to charge daily, or i'll take it off and end up never putting it back on. I've been thinking of buying up some refurbished old pebbles as they have the exact features I want without the downsides of ALL of the newer watches/fi…

In what way can you not open it? Are the torx screws stripped? I did the "display shim" fix a couple times and it worked very well, but indeed it does rely on opening the case and putting it back together...

I don't have any torx screws. I think the whole thing is glued together.
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