I am a long-time Fitbit user. I think they're some of the best fitness trackers you can buy. But recent changes are making me, and many other users, question the future of the fitness tracker brand and what makes it stand out. Namely, this involves the removal of Challenges and open groups, which are services targeted at community engagement, on March 27, 2023.

For me, challenges were one of Fitbit’s main strengths. You could strap a fitness tracker or smartwatch to your wrist, set up an account, and chances are at least a handful of your contacts were also Fitbit users. Then, you could add them as friends to compete and compare your progress. This seems like an insignificant "nice to have" feature, but the motivation it provides is precisely the aim of wearing a fitness tracker in the first place. And without open groups, you wouldn't have the opportunity to get to know like-minded users from around the world.

What did these Fitbit features do?

First, let's break down what these features did. Challenges let you set up competitions with 2-10 friends or family members, including daily, weekly, or weekend step competitions. They're not too challenging either, encouraging you to get your steps in and reach new personal bests.

A special kind of challenge is Adventures, immersive challenges with virtual tours of mesmerizing locations around the world. These also help you reach your step goals, but they're more interactive, letting you "find" landmarks and facts.

Open groups, meanwhile, allow Fitbit users from around the world to connect with other like-minded individuals. These might be other parents, people training for a 10K, or others who share similar interests, like healthy eating or weight loss. You'll still be able to create closed groups with friends and family members, but you can't use the platform to connect to anyone new or stay in contact with others you might have already built a camaraderie with.

Fitbit, which was purchased by Google in January 2021, says the decision was made to “enhance the Fitbit app with Google technology” and “develop new features, deliver faster load times, and improve your experience.” Even if that's true, it's removing one of some of the platform's most essential features.

Why this is bad news for Fitbit and Fitbit users

Fitbit Charge 5 in black lifestyle image
Sourcce: Fitbit

This decision eliminates one of the platform's best features: a sense of community. Reportedly, more than 31 million people use Fitbit at least once a week. That’s a staggering number and a group of customers ripe for creating and maintaining an active community.

At a time when the market is flooded with competing fitness tracker and smartwatch brands, it has become increasingly difficult to stand out. According to Statista, Fitbit has been leading the wearables space since 2014, accounting for almost half the worldwide market share at 45%. The company’s solid grasp on the market (though it now faces stiff competition from the likes of Apple, Garmin, and others) is partly because of the unique Challenges and groups. While other companies, like Apple, have a version of Challenges, they're not as robust as what Fitbit supports.

Nowadays, every smartwatch and fitness tracker can accomplish all the same things and record most of the same data. What makes the metrics stand out is when the data is actionable.

You can use Fitbit with both Android and Apple and don't even need to own a Fitbit to use some of the features of the app (tracking with the sensors in your phone). There’s no walled garden around it like you’ll find with the Apple Watch or limitations on what features you can use like with Samsung Galaxy watches.

Fitbit is not a phone company that one day started making watches, nor a health tech company that began developing wrist-based trackers to add to its growing list of products. Fitness tracking has been Fitbit’s bread and butter from the start, and it remains as such despite branching out into other products. Counting steps and tracking health metrics in a vacuum isn't enough anymore. Motivating, encouraging, and collaborating with a community of users through workouts, sharing stats, competitions, and comparisons is — or rather was — one of Fitbit’s biggest strengths.

It helped me with my motivation

fitbit competitions win

I know it works because I've frequently engaged in Fitbit Challenges. Seeing how many steps others have taken prompts me to go for that 4km walk or make time for the daily workout I was dragging my feet about. The comments from participants throughout each Challenge are also encouraging. We rib one another, share details about how we’re getting our steps in, and do anything possible to one-up one another.

Nowadays, every smartwatch and fitness tracker can accomplish all the same things and record most of the same data. What makes the metrics stand out is when the data is actionable. In many cases, as with Fitbit, this involves keeping on top of what others are doing and challenging peers as encouragement to work towards personal goals.

I recently started wearing an Apple Watch on my opposite wrist, and sharing data with others is truly motivating. I can see how I compare to friends and family members who are also Apple Watch users, whether it's daily steps, calories burned, and even what goals they have set for themselves. We engage in friendly competitions and encourage one another with congratulatory messages and emojis. The only downside is that Apple Watch Competitions only work one-to-one. But at least they’re possible, as is Sharing your stats with friends. Samsung similarly offers walking competitions through its Together feature in Samsung Health, global challenges, and team challenges.

Looking ahead

The Pixel Watch wants me to check the Fitbit app.

We'll see a more Google-centric approach in the future, including, most likely, the integration of WearOS in more Google Pixel watches and potentially other upcoming Fitbit-branded devices, slowly making them less Fitbit and more Google. The first-gen Google Pixel Watch, which boasts Fitbit integration, is just the tip of the iceberg. And we can expect a community aspect as well. Google supports a large database of users, after all, so it could potentially create a community unlike any other.

But will it be too late? I have already considered jumping ship to Apple Watch. This was partially because I'm an Apple device user, so the synergies make sense, but it was also influenced by how my Fitbit community has dwindled over the last few years. People in my inner circle have been moving to other platforms, most notably Apple, leaving fewer and fewer individuals to compete with anyway.

Perhaps my inner circle isn’t the exception, and Fitbit has been observing a similar trend overall. Other features are leaving too, like Google sign-in support, and Fitbit has already stopped computer syncing. People already could've been on their way out. Nonetheless, for anyone new to the market looking for a fitness tracker or smartwatch that can do it all and connect them to a wealth of information and a community of people, this news makes Fitbit a less appealing platform to consider. All we can do is hope for bigger and better things to come with Google integration in the future.

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