Google (Alphabet) In Bid To Buy Fitbit
According to Reuters, Google (GOOGL) has made an offer to acquire Fitbit (FIT). The report explicitly states that there is no certainty that the offer will lead to a deal. But think about this… what could Google/Alphabet be thinking? Google’s existing wearable strategy is not working. Fitbit’s wearable strategy is not working. WearOS requires more processing power and battery life than can be had in a smartwatch, so the user experience is awful (and I’m being kind).
If that’s not a big enough head scratcher, who at Google thinks health conscious humans are going to willingly contribute their personal health information (PHI) to the Borg? Seriously? Google already knows more about you than you do. But… let’s pretend, since this is 100 percent hypothetical, that Google would agree to keep your personal health data private. Without data to turn into profits, there’s really no reason for Google to get into this at all.
This one fascinates me. FoodFighter, my side hustle, is all about collecting PHI to help win my daily battle with food. Our beta testers are happy to work with us precisely because we are not Apple or Google. They know we’re a small science-based company and our goal is specific – help our users maintain your goal weight. They know they are contributing PHI, but they also know it won’t be used for anything other than our stated goal. Google can’t come close to making that claim. And if they did, no one would believe them. We’ll be keeping a close “watch” on this one.
Shelly Palmer is Fox 5 New York's On-air Tech Expert (WNYW-TV) and the host of Fox Television's monthly show Shelly Palmer Digital Living. He also hosts United Stations Radio Network's, ...
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Fitbit has the technology for battery life that is desired most by google, they made this acquisition about 18 months ago and it is why the Ionic and Versa can last 5 days without charging. Google understands without this added feature most critical to the ecosystem it has no potential to grow its smartwatch category sales. The technology also has clinical applications that stretch beyond Philips, Johnson Mead etc. Homework, homework.
#Fitbit will have a great 2020 with the deals and partnerships it has lined up. A buyout is a good deal for #Google or #Amazon.
Sales for Fitbit are only likely to continue to falter long-term as is the case historically for all one-trick hardware centric entities. They have deals and partnerships every year, none of which lend themselves to any meaningful increase in demand, ever.
You best do some dd then. Park has been really busy working on health care deals. 2020 will be great year for fit...with or without a partner and Google knows it. 5x more android users than apple too.
There has not been a time over the last 4 years that Park has not been working on health care deals, yet no more than 1% of total annual revenues have been captured in the healthcare applications sector. You might do yourself a favor and read my works an all things related to Fitbit's initiatives in digital health over the last 3-4 years. None of which have amounted to material revenues as the total addressable market simply isn't what the average person thinks it to be.
Good deal for fitbit. Bad deal for Amazon or Google. i bet that park will lose money again in 2020 and without a google/amazon fitbit wont have the money to keep up with Apple and the others...