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Fitbit is now officially part of Google

blog.fitbit.com

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Re: Fitbit is now officially part of Google

#41

Post by webkike »

james2406 wrote: post #34
petercooper wrote: post #28

What is a good lightweight 24/7 heart rate and sleep tracker that's not a Fitbit? I have an Apple Watch but the Fitbit's sleep tracking is way better and I keep it on for days (whereas I charge my Apple Watch overnight). I am super happy with my Fitbit but given Google I assume it will be "sunset" within a year or two so I want to switch early.

I've heard good things about the Oura Ring https://ouraring.com/ . It tracks sleep and has a 7 day battery life.

Oura ring is good. Tracks heart rate and sleep satisfactorily. I heartedly recommend.

Re: Fitbit is now officially part of Google

#42

Post by aboringusername »

One thing that confuses me is why this data needs to be stored within the internet at all.

Why can't I have an entirely offline driven system? Data stays local, no ability to upload it online at all, and all processing is done without ever needing the internet.

That's a key criteria if I ever was thinking of getting a smart wearable, I'm not going to generate even more data that can be profited from and potentially used against me.

It's increasingly looking like storing data is a huge responsibility (although, if it is ever leaked, sadly humans don't tend to see prison time for this crime).

What we need is a clause that says "if this data ever touches the internet whether accidental or otherwise the CEO goes straight to jail, are you sure about this?".

Sadly, I think society as a whole is just "used" to this by now and a second thought is rarely given, disappointing this merger was approved, especially when the EU is investigating several "anti trusts", why give them even more power?

Oh well, I'll see you fellow HN readers on the next "major data leakage from misconfigured MongoDB and nobody is punished" thread.

Re: Fitbit is now officially part of Google

#43

Post by erinnh »

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #13
that_guy_iain wrote: post #10

I was about to buy a new fitbit as my current one is basically dead after 4 years. But the way Google handles things they buy doesn't inspire confidence. I guess I'll investigate others and probably end up with an Apple Watch.

I'm waiting for PineTime, personally. My significant other just switched from a Fitbit Ionic to an Apple Watch SE and definitely likes the upgrade. Battery life is your biggest loss if you leave Fitbit, almost nobody was making smartwatches as battery efficient.

How long do they last?

Personally, Ive been using Garmin smartwatches for a few years now and they last about a week, with O2 sat scanner enabled over the night. Definitely been happy with them.

Re: Fitbit is now officially part of Google

#44

Post by petercooper »

burlesona wrote: post #39
petercooper wrote: post #28

What is a good lightweight 24/7 heart rate and sleep tracker that's not a Fitbit? I have an Apple Watch but the Fitbit's sleep tracking is way better and I keep it on for days (whereas I charge my Apple Watch overnight). I am super happy with my Fitbit but given Google I assume it will be "sunset" within a year or two so I want to switch early.

I use the Oura Ring and really like it for sleep tracking. It also tracks heart rate, but with a caveat which is it doesn’t track while you’re moving quickly, so it’s not really an exercise tracker. (Something about how it’s tiny sensors work) My combo is Apple Watch by day, Oura Ring by night. I don’t often wear them together. Very happy with the setup and would recommend.

Thanks for reminding me about the Oura ring, I've seen a few people say they've been happy with it on Twitter in the past year, it sounds like an ideal place to start - thanks! :)

Re: Fitbit is now officially part of Google

#46

Post by phire »

breck wrote: post #27
DaftDank wrote: post #17

I had a Fitbit Charge 3, and had to replace it about 3 times IIRC in a little over a year period. The 3rd replacement happened a week after the warranty expired, which to their credit they still replaced it. But it once again died shortly thereafter, at which point I just bought an Apple Watch. Mainly for the ECG function -- my wife had bought me the Fitbit after I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, so I figured…

Interesting. In my experience it used to be the case that my FitBit would break once or twice a year—and like you they would always replace it. But I've noticed a trend toward reliability. My Versa 2 has been operating like a champ since the day I got it when it came out. I push it too the limit in the outdoors with activities like surfing, snorkeling, et cetera. Every year I buy the Apple Watch thinking this will be…

My Versa 2 started dying as soon as I got it would just lag every time you tried to interact with it (touch screen, button, gestures). Eventually it degraded so much that it would even stop measuring activity at random. Apparently it's a known hardware issue, even if it really felt like a software issue.

This all happened during the first lockdown, so I had to wait weeks for the stores to open and get it replaced.

But the replacement is going strong, I've had it for 9 months now.

Re: Fitbit is now officially part of Google

#47

Post by cosmojg »

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #13
that_guy_iain wrote: post #10

I was about to buy a new fitbit as my current one is basically dead after 4 years. But the way Google handles things they buy doesn't inspire confidence. I guess I'll investigate others and probably end up with an Apple Watch.

I'm waiting for PineTime, personally. My significant other just switched from a Fitbit Ionic to an Apple Watch SE and definitely likes the upgrade. Battery life is your biggest loss if you leave Fitbit, almost nobody was making smartwatches as battery efficient.

RIP Pebble. Their watches lasted over a week on a single charge. Fortunately, my Pebble Time Steel is still ticking, but it's only a matter of time before it breaks somehow. I already cracked the screen. :(

Re: Fitbit is now officially part of Google

#49

Post by silicon2401 »

that_guy_iain wrote: post #10

I was about to buy a new fitbit as my current one is basically dead after 4 years. But the way Google handles things they buy doesn't inspire confidence. I guess I'll investigate others and probably end up with an Apple Watch.

Same. The Google brand is a kiss of incoming death as far as I'm concerned. They were in fact one of the primary motivators for my beginning to work on a personal archive last year. I'm glad I did, not a few months after I bought some hard drives, google photos announced their service changes with no longer allowing unlimited storage. I really think they made/buy some great products, their management just makes it crazy to me to have a dependency on something they own.

Re: Fitbit is now officially part of Google

#50

Post by wsloth514 »

Vermeulen wrote: post #15

I don't understand the fear of Google from FitBit users in these comments. Google has a clear user agreement with how they use your data, including not selling it - and they rely on users trusting them. I'd rather my data be with one of the tech giants than a unprofitable start up

It isn't just the data people fear. It is the product support, hardware decisions, and lifetime of the product. One, they have been become known for not making great hardware quality (See recent Pixel line issues). Besides Pixel lineup, there have been multiple hardware issues so they are not known for quality. Two, they have been known to screw up hardware features and do their own thing, see Nest lineup. This can be seen as a good thing and as a risk. An example of this is they like to 'beta test' new features on the customer to try to get an edge on the competition. But it can backfire and provide a worse user experience. I am referring to the Pixel 4 with Soli sensor that killed the battery. There have been other instances where they add a new feature on Android or WearOS to only drop support later. Look at the Google Cardboard, dead. Even WearOs they had to rebrand. Third, they are known for dropping support for a product after what 3 years? Just look at https://killedbygoogle.com/ I use to be a huge Google fan in terms of both software and hardware. Their software is still great. But the competition is catching up. So where does that leave Google in the market? I realized that the Android phones from other hardware vendors are a lot more impressive and cheaper. So will I buy a new fitbit after the first 4 I had broke before Google? I don't think I will any time soon until Google's reputation has changed my mind when it comes to hardware.
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