Fitbit is to be acquired by Google for just over US$2 billion

Fitbit has announced that it is to be acquired by Google for US$7.35 per share, or a total of $2.1 billion in cash. This statement has confirmed rumors the health-focused wearables company, albeit ones that indicated it was the Mountain View firm's parent Alphabet that was to make this move. However, the fact the search giant has done so directly suggests that they wish to apply Fitbit's expertise to its own smartwatch platform, Wear OS.

This theory is borne out in corresponding statements by Google executive Sameer Samat and by its head of wearable tech, Rick Osterloh. The former mentions that the acquisition represents "an exciting opportunity" for this variation on Android, whereas the latter notes that the deal will "[bring] together the best AI, software and hardware". This may draw curiosity about the future of Fitbit's own proprietary system and suite of apps.

Furthermore, users of the approximate 100 million Fitbit devices sold worldwide may now worry about what may happen to the personal, often welfare-related data they have committed to this ecosystem. For one, the company asserts it will continue to remain "platform-agnostic across both Android and iOS" following the acquisition; however, this does not address the question of which OS will be used at that point.

Then again, Fitbit has also insisted that it never has sells personal information, and also intimated that it does not plan to start now. The well-known workout-tracker brand also asserted that the data it has accumulated "will not be used for Google ads". Time will most likely tell on this issue, however.