I like how the author says Google killed the Fitbit Sense so they could sell an inferior product without having to compete ... then said author reluctantly buys and recommends that inferior product. I'm way pettier than that. I'd use anything else, even if it sucked, rather than directly reward a company for fucking me over.
this post was submitted on 07 May 2025
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It's a really horrible way of doing business. Fitbit had its own niche, kind of great products, name recognition, global distribution and more. Then Google came, bought them and now we're left with one Pixel watch, everything else on life support and a destroyed company.
Exact same thing they did to Nest too.
It's the Google way. They frequently shut down even good and popular products of their own when they don't align with some obscure corporate plan. The lesson is that you should never depend on a Google product or service.
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That's just the reality of these tech circles. The goal isn't to complete. The goal is to eliminate your competition, one way or another.
It's happened with smartwatches, it happened with Nest, it happened with voice Assistant/Home devices, and it'll continue happening with the rest of what they make too
At this point if I can't put cfw on it I don't want it.
cfw?
Custom firmware, like an OS that doesn't depend on google.
Oh, I thought you had some specific project in mind.
I opt for the happy middle route- I use gadgetbridge on a huawei watch fit 3 so I still get good stats/UX but I'm not reporting back to anyone.
I am eyeing the new pebble watches, though
Una Watch from a small team in Ireland has a promising vision for those who want to rid themselves of Google. I had a Fitbit step tracker that didn't fit into Google's plans so they made it unusable after Fitbit cashed out.
I'm glad Fitbit got paid but that doesn't mean we're stuck with Google.
Ooh that looks quite promising. I'll keep an eye on those guys.
I had two fitbit trackers before getting Sense, and honestly, I keep it on life support, buying replacement 3rd party straps and charging cables.
When it inevitably dies, I'd move on. I never found a use for Google assistant, it can't even set my google maps navigation properly, can't set a reminder.
The only thing it ever did of value to me is 5 minutes of asking it for a joke.
Garmin Instincts are amazing. Looks like a dumb watch, has most smartwatch features, the 3 Solar version lasts 40 days between charges.
I found Google Assistant on the Sense useful for reminders. That was about all I used it for, and it was a bit annoying that Google took it away. It's odd that these Google-made smartwatches now only support Amazon's voice assistant.
I haven't used it but the Bangle.js 2 looks almost perfect for a cheap, open/hackable GPS smartwatch. I'm always surprised I don't hear more about it. Leads me to believe it's not as good as it seems, but very interested to hear if anyone has real life experience of it.
Currently I just stick with my Garmin. I'd prefer something more open but it's good at what it does and pretty durable.
I have one, it's not great but it's not terrible. The heart rate monitor leaves much to be desired and I've never gotten the GPS to work. It's pretty cool if you need a new project to sink some time into.
What's the tricky part about the GPS? I am considering buying it, but GPS would be essential.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it just breaks and you need to reset the watch. When it does work, it takes forever to find a signal. That's been my experience, anyway.
Thanks a lot for the insight.
Can anyone comment on the Bangle.js 2 vs. the Pinetime?
I doubt I'd be customizing firmware in the Pinetime so I'm thinking Bangle.js might be a better option.
My use case is mostly around walking/running tracking and maybe heart rate checks. I don't think I really care about much integration with my phone
I unfortunately am a victim of this. My Sense was great. Then a forced update pushed despite never allowing the Fitbit app to update. Now the battery life is horrible and I am of course encouraged to buy a new one and move my Fitbit information to Google.
Fitbit bought Pebble like fucking Judge Doom bought the Red Car; fuck Fitbit.
My sense 1 died a month ago and I got a sense 2. Mainly because of the battery life on any wearos device doesn't compete at all with the sense series.
Oddly enough I didn't notice the lack of features since I don't use them.
Capitalist Innovation Smash the other kids sand castles So your shitty little sand castle is the only one standing.... this is literally American foreign policy. Your children die for incompetent suits.
Never really liked fitbit when they used subscription model to access your detailed data, I don't mind other stuff under subscription, but blocking detail on your own data under a sub was the nail in fitbit coffin.
I think Garmin might be better, but I haven't really looked into smartwatches for a long time. seem like it is going downhill, too, based on others' comments.
Garmin is good, their pay system was handy and I liked it not being google.
That said smartwatches are boring. They went the wrong direction.
The new Pebble watches look interesting. Relatively basic, but long battery life (they promise) and open-source operating system.
yea, pebble does seem good enough, will see when it's released.
Fitbit was a great product! and yes I agree with others, big companies like google destroy the ones who make good products, things that they work and you most likely buy it again.