What you need to know
- Google announced a host of updates to its Wear
OSplatform, including greater Fitbit services integration at I/O 2021. - Fitbit CEO James Park confirmed that the company's next smartwatch would run the Wear operating system.
- Neither Google nor Fitbit provided any specific details on the new watch or launch date.
At the information-dense Google I/O keynote earlier today, we were treated to all manner of updates on Google search, shopping, Maps, and Android 12, but one of the most highly anticipated sections of the presentation was on Wear OS (now referred to simply as Wear).
During the Wear section of the keynote, we learned that Google is developing the latest iteration of its smartwatch platform in conjunction with Samsung. In the process, it is reimagining a number of its most popular apps for smartwatches. Apps like YouTube Music, Google Maps, and even Fitbit will be updated and available to all OEMs who wish to develop for the platform.
Now that we're a part of Google, we're working on bringing the best of Fitbit to Wear, and we'll be making some of Fitbit's most popular features available on Wear watches, including tracking your health progress throughout the day and on-wrist celebrations to keep you motivated." — Fitbit CEO James Park
In addition to commenting on the Fitbit feature sharing, Park also slipped in a little teaser about upcoming Fitbit hardware.
In the future, we'll be building premium smartwatches based on Wear that combine the best of Fitbit's health expertise with Google's ambient computing capabilities.
Park didn't divulge any further details such as the smartwatch's design, price, or launch date, but this news has many excited about what might be coming from Fitbit and Google later this year. Is this the rumored Pixel Watch we've been expecting? Or is it something else entirely? And how will it compete with whatever Wear-powered Galaxy watches that Samsung is working on? Either way, it's sure to be the best Fitbit we've ever seen. We'll just have to wait to find out what that looks like.
Best pre-Wear
The Sense is Fitbit's most advanced smartwatch and fitness tracker to date, with an array of advanced sensors and a premium build. It also comes with Google Assistant onboard.
