Fitbit has one last shot at relevance in 2026, and | Tech News

I’ve been a Fitbit fan ever since I first strapped the Fitbit Charge 2 to my wrist in 2016. The firm was a pioneer of wearable health tech, producing an military of extremely popular trackers and watches over time.

But since Google acquired Fitbit in 2021, the long run of the well-known model has been up in the air. The present Fitbit vary contains the Inspire 3, Versa 4 and Sense 2, all launched back in 2022, whereas the Charge 6 got here out in 2023.

The children-centric Fitbit Ace LTE got here out in 2024, however for the US solely, suggesting Google’s plans for Fitbit aren’t solely international.

Google additionally makes use of Fitbit-branded software program to energy the fitness options of its Google Pixel Watch line up, prompting a company spokesperson in 2024 to say there’ll by no means be one other Fitbit-branded smartwatch.

For a whereas, it appeared as if Google was abandoning Fitbit {hardware} and pushing the Pixel Watch with, barely confusingly, Fitbit parts. But in October 2025, Google confirmed it can release “new Fitbit hardware” in 2026.

This announcement had me excited. I nonetheless love the Fitbit model because it represents the selection to have a easy, slim tracker on my wrist that captures my exercise with out pestering me for my consideration just like the Apple Watch or Pixel Watch does. Not to say the truth that the Fitbit Charge 6, my tracker of alternative, can last six days on a charge, beating any Apple, Google or Samsung smartwatch for longevity.

And whereas the Fitbit Premium subscription service is a tall ask for informal customers at £5.99 per thirty days, the app provides enough knowledge to non-paying customers to nonetheless make the trackers price shopping for, in my eyes.

In line with the promise of new {hardware}, the Fitbit app for iPhone and Android has been overhauled (albeit agonisingly slowly) over the previous 5 years with a visible redesign. I lament the elimination of easy, enjoyable perks just like the leaderboards you could possibly should strive and beat your pals’ step counts, however right this moment, the Fitbit app has a clean, straightforward to learn look that’s more befitting of a fashionable tech model.

But simply as this new design has settled in, Google is on the transfer again, and the new large redesign of the app will not be obtainable in the UK. Instead, Fitbit is slowly releasing a new, AI-infused overhaul of its app, however solely in the US.

Announced back in August, Fitbit is integrating a “personal health coach” utilizing its Gemini AI tech, altering the look and really feel of the app together with it. Users are promised a lot more personalised health suggestions, and you’ll be able to ask the coach to construct fitness packages for you.

It’s nonetheless in ‘Public Preview’, that means you must decide in if you wish to use it. This is common in fashionable software program, and permits people to check understanding there may be bugs, and lets the company type out any flaws customers discover earlier than a full release. Frustratingly, you must be positioned in the United States to offer the new Fitbit app a go, with no phrase on a full release in that nation, not to mention the UK.

When software program could be international, it’s disappointing to see Fitbit’s newest innovation restricted to the US. If the software program continues to be in preview, why not open it up to the UK and different nations to get more testers on board?

Maybe Google is seeing how the new app and its options carry out on the ageing Fitbit {hardware} on people’s wrists. Hopefully, we’ll see new Fitbit trackers launched in the approaching months, primed to be used with this new era app and offering the Fitbit model the lease of life it deserves.

For a few years, it appeared for all of the world like Google was killing off the previous Fitbit. But people love their Fitbits, and it lastly appears as if Google hasn’t forgotten that. As we enter 2026, I hope Fitbit can nonetheless offer the option of a easy, reasonably priced fitness tracker for these of us who don’t need a smartwatch. It feels just like the model’s last shot at relevance.