Google, which recently announced its plans to further expand the accessibility of its AI-powered search engine, has now decided to withdraw Fitbit from several international markets, including countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as confirmed by the company itself. Therefore, while existing users of Fitbit smartwatches will still be able to use their devices, those who do not already have one will not be able to purchase them in the affected markets.
Google acquired Fitbit in 2021, and now, almost 3 years after this acquisition, Google has recently updated its documentation for the devices of the brand. This led to the announcement that Fitbit products will no longer be available in countries such as Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Slovakia. In Asia, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines are the territories affected by the company’s decision.
Fitbit says goodbye to several countries
Beyond this, TechCentral media was able to talk to people from Google, which confirmed that the Fitbit product line would also be withdrawn from South Africa, indicating that this is because they intend to “align the hardware portfolio with the regional availability of Pixel products“. They have also taken the opportunity to state that Mexico and the rest of Latin America will also be left without these smartwatches.
Likewise, the technology giant wanted to reassure users who already have one of the fitbit devices, indicating that they will continue to provide assistance to these people and their devices through new software versions, security updates, compliance with guarantees and access to customer service. They also stated that they can continue using their premium subscription services, as long as they are paid, of course.
We will see how long they last supporting customers in the aforementioned countries that lose the presence of the firm in their markets. For now, what we can be sure of is that the inhabitants of all these territories will no longer be able to access new Fitbit products and we will see the drift that the brand takes in the coming months and years. Perhaps Google is considering integrating its technology into the Pixel Watch line, although this is nothing more than mere speculation, both ours and that of other media that have echoed the news.
