You Can Enjoy Third-Party Apps Until June Before Google Yanks Them
The European Union’s Digital Markets Act focuses on making things better for consumers, and for the most part, I’ve been able to appreciate that logic in most of the shake-ups that have occurred due to the DMA. But this recent one is a bit odd. Google states the following on a Fitbit support page:
Following a careful assessment of the impact of new regulatory requirements, we have made the decision to remove third-party apps and clocks from the Fitbit app gallery for users in the European Economic Area in June 2024. You can continue to download and install third-party apps until that date. Afterwards, you’ll have access to a selection of Fitbit and Google apps. Users in other countries will not be impacted.
As you can see, they’re very unspecific about the exact regulatory requirements that somehow impact their support of third-party apps, but considering this is limited to the EU, it has to be referring to the Digital Markets Act. Having access to only first-party apps removes a lot of the appeal of owning a Fitbit wearable for many people. Most people might be better off with a smartwatch with Wear OS at this point.
Sure, you have a grace period of about two full months until then, but it sucks to know that your Fitbit is going to get its functionality amputated very shortly.
Which Fitbit Wearables Are Going To Be Impacted By This Move?
If you own any of the following Fitbit devices and you happen to live in the European Economic Area, you’ll be affected by this new change:
- Fitbit Sense
- Fitbit Sense 2
- Fitbit Versa
- Fitbit Versa 2
- Fitbit Versa 3
- Fitbit Versa 4
- Fitbit Versa Lite
- Fitbit Ionic
As you can see, this seems to only target Fitbit smartwatches. By the way, if you own a Fitbit Ionic, there’s a voluntary recall on those watches due to the risk of burns sequel to overheating. Just saying, in case you somehow didn’t hear.
This Comes Soon After Google Simplified The Branding For Fitbit
Google only recently made its Fitbit branding a lot more straightforward, so you don’t need to worry about them leaving you in the dark. While the brand used to be referred to as Fitbit by Google, they’ve decided to make things a lot easier to say and simply cleaned things up to Google Fitbit.
Google hasn’t given up on Fitbit, as this change only affects the smartwatches in the EU, so anyone using a Fitbit elsewhere will be fine.
