Google is currently being investigated by the United States Department of Justice; however, they are in the final stages in the process of acquiring Fitbit. According to Ars Technica, Google had this to say: “We complied with the DOJ’s extensive review for the past 14 months, and the agreed-upon waiting period expired without their objection.
We continue to be in touch with them and we’re committed to answering any additional questions. We are confident this deal will increase competition in the highly crowded wearables market, and we’ve made commitments that we plan to implement globally.”
As the legal issues will play themselves out, Google has gone forward with the process of acquiring FitBit. Google has made successful acquisitions in the past, but the FitBit deal is interesting because it is a wearable, IOT device. The market for wearable technology has grown significantly in recent years.
FitBit remains to be a popular device for users that are looking for a method of managing their health information, while still having the ability to access content and deliver messaging. Google’s interest in FitBit is to get the wearable’s large userbase to use Google applications while using the device. These applications will be integrated within FitBit Sense smartwatch, Inspire 2 tracker and manage health metrics. Google is hoping that its Google Fit app will provide additional opportunities for the FitBit technologies they develop.
Google wants to “make health and wellness more accessible to more people” and “We’re confident the combination of Fitbit’s leading technology, product expertise and health and wellness innovation with the best of Google’s AI, software and hardware will drive more competition in wearables and make the next generation of devices better and more affordable.”
James Park, Fitbit’s CEO and co-founder, released a blog post stating “many of the things you know and love about Fitbit will remain the same. We’ll stay committed to doing what’s right, to putting your health and wellness at the center of everything we do, and to offering a no-one-size-fits-all approach with choices that work across both Android and iOS.”
As the CEO asserts that its products going forward will have a special emphasis on working just as well on Android as it does iOS will be a great decision for consumers. There are many IOT devices and some of them work exclusively with either Android or iOS. Since FitBit can work with both operating systems, and Google is going to make their applications accessible to the future product line of FitBIt, it is apparent that the acquisition will significantly help Google distribute it applications to consumers that may not have access to them otherwise.
Rick Ostherloh, Google’s senior Vice President of Hardware, announced that Google has closed its acquisition of FitBit in a $2.1 billion deal. The deal was originally announced in November of 2019, which spurred a regulatory review by the Department of Justice and other government agencies in order to make sure they are not creating a monopoly and that they are appropriately collecting and managing user data