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Apr 12, 2001
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Last month, news surfaced of Apple's plans to cease selling Fitbit's line of activity tracking devices in its stores, and as of today, it appears the company has followed through with that decision. All Fitbit products have now been removed from the online Apple Store and Apple has begun removing the devices from its retail stores as well.

Apple previously sold both the Fitbit Flex, Fitbit's activity tracking band, and the Fitbit One, a standalone tracker that could be clipped to clothing, for $99.95. It is not known why Apple opted to remove Fitbit's products from its online stores, but the decision follows Fitbit's announcement that it had no plans to integrate with Apple HealthKit, as it is "working on other exciting projects" for Fitbit users.

fitbitflex-500x298.jpg
Fitbit's activity trackers are similar in function to Apple's upcoming Apple Watch, offering users the ability to track steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, stairs climbed, and more. Last week, Fitbit announced a new Surge "Fitness Super Watch" that also includes GPS functionality and a heart rate monitor, bringing its tracking capabilities even more in line with the Apple Watch.

Though Fitbit devices have been removed from Apple Stores, Apple is continuing to sell other fitness tracking products, including the UP from Jawbone and the Nike Fuelband. Jawbone recently introduced the UP3, its most recent fitness tracking device that includes skin and ambient temperature sensors along with a heart rate monitor. It is unclear whether Apple will continue to sell these devices as the launch of the Apple Watch approaches or if the ban is limited to Fitbit.

Fitbit's activity trackers are not the first products that Apple has removed from its stores in recent weeks. Earlier in October, Apple removed Bose audio products from its stores, no longer offering the headphones online or in retail locations.

Article Link: Apple Follows Through With Plans to Stop Selling Fitbit Devices
 

longofest

Editor emeritus
Jul 10, 2003
2,925
1,693
Falls Church, VA

proline

macrumors 6502a
Nov 18, 2012
630
1
Good decision. When I shop at Apple stores, I expect a selection that's curated to include only companies that support the latest iOS features. If I want to take my chances, I go to best buy.
 

Jws

macrumors regular
Aug 16, 2013
199
127
AR
Good decision. When I shop at Apple stores, I expect a selection that's curated to include only companies that support the latest iOS features. If I want to take my chances, I go to best buy.

Jawbone's app doesn't integrate with Health, does it?
 

MH01

Suspended
Feb 11, 2008
12,107
9,297
Good decision. When I shop at Apple stores, I expect a selection that's curated to include only companies that support the latest iOS features. If I want to take my chances, I go to best buy.

Should that include apple themselves ??

FYI not all Apple products support the latest iOS features ;)
 

Born Again

Suspended
May 12, 2011
4,073
5,327
Norcal
You know Tim Jobs why don't you remove Kindle, Pondora, Spotify, any Google App fromyour Apple Store? Clearly they're your competition.

Give us choice or we shall leave!

:apple:
 

heeloliver

macrumors 6502a
Sep 6, 2014
639
423
Apple is banning FitBit because they refuse to use HealthKit, and instead want users to use their own app.
 

crisss1205

macrumors 6502a
Oct 7, 2008
931
267
NYC
You know Tim Jobs why don't you remove Kindle, Pondora, Spotify, any Google App fromyour Apple Store? Clearly they're your competition.

Give us choice or we shall leave!

:apple:

You can still go to Best Buy, Amazon, Target, etc...
 

Rogifan

macrumors Penryn
Nov 14, 2011
24,149
31,205
I don't get what the big deal is. Fitbit says they're not supporting HealthKit and Apple says well then we don't need to sell your products in our stores. What Apple chooses to sell online and in their B&M stores is highly curated anyway. If someone wants to buy a Fitbit there's plenty of other places to buy it from.
 

gugy

macrumors 68040
Jan 31, 2005
3,892
5,309
La Jolla, CA
I hope Apple and Nike is working on a band device that tracks all sort of data and above all is waterproof. I much rather have this than the :apple:watch to monitor my workouts.
 

Patriot24

macrumors 68030
Dec 29, 2010
2,813
805
California
This will be viewed negatively, but it makes sense on a few levels:
  • Square footage. There are a large number of Apple Watch models and bands. There is only so much square footage in a retail store. Streamlining the number of products and accessories affords them the required space to sell an ambitious new line of products.
  • Simplification of the story. When a customer comes in, the choices and messaging around Apple Watch is going to be complex. Why complicate it further by having competing products on the shelf that retail employees have to compare/contrast with customers?
  • Ecosystem. FitBit has chosen to not add support for HealthKit. Not much else to say about this.
 

genovelle

macrumors 68020
May 8, 2008
2,102
2,677
You know Tim Jobs why don't you remove Kindle, Pondora, Spotify, any Google App fromyour Apple Store? Clearly they're your competition.

Give us choice or we shall leave!

:apple:
If the company promotes they will not support Apple's health kit, consumers buying from Apple should not have to look at press releases to see it it does or not. Why should they sell a product that might not even exist if Apple didn't allow native apps for the iphone and were showcased often by then, but refuses to integrate with Apple tech. Sounds like they are partnering or attempting to sell to someone else. Otherwise it makes no sense because the other companies still do other stuff to. It's fitbit that is preventing choice. I like and use the health app with my health apps. Being in the Apple Store is a privilege that says this is compatible. This can no longer be said of Fitbit.
 

markgpearse

macrumors 6502
Nov 11, 2010
377
339
Except that Fitbit has the ability to last several days on a charge as well as track sleeping habits.

In my opinion, while the Apple Watch is an amazing technlogical achievement, it looks so 20th century. I would prefer to wear a FitBit than a clunky watch.

I bet Apple will sell the Apple Watch by the billions, proving me wrong!
 

kironin

macrumors 6502a
May 4, 2004
623
262
Texas
Not caring.

Interested in the Jawbone UP3 for something beyond an activity tracker.

Looks cheap in comparison to the Apple Watch. I don't need a watch. :cool:
 

Chupa Chupa

macrumors G5
Jul 16, 2002
14,835
7,396
Fitbit's Reply in a nutshell:

Image

My guess is that Fitbit started the "war." When HealthKit was announced at WWDC Fitbit was the poster child. Something happened in the intervening months because then Fitbit said it would not support Health app.

This has zero to do with Apple getting behind competing products -- it sells plenty of non-Apple activity bands in its stores -- and everything to do with not wasting valuable store or web space promoting a product that isn't compatible with the Health App.
 

gadgetguy03

macrumors regular
Nov 1, 2012
223
143
You know Tim Jobs why don't you remove Kindle, Pondora, Spotify, any Google App fromyour Apple Store? Clearly they're your competition.

Give us choice or we shall leave!

:apple:

There are many people with an insatiable desire to give their money ONLY to Apple. Handing it to BestBuy just give them the same feeling of ecstasy.

It's not about competition.

I'd rather buy something from an Apple store that I know will fully integrate with my iPhone. If Fitbit chooses not to support the Health app then it's their choice. Apple has responded accordingly and I am on their side with this. If you wish to still buy a Fitbit and use their app you are still free to do so and the app will still be available in the App Store.
 

imola

macrumors newbie
May 30, 2010
17
0
Best Buy and Target? Hmm, MCX stores that refuse to support Apple Pay/NFC? No thanks.
 

Rogifan

macrumors Penryn
Nov 14, 2011
24,149
31,205
My guess is that Fitbit started the "war." When HealthKit was announced at WWDC Fitbit was the poster child. Something happened in the intervening months because then Fitbit said it would not support Health app.

This has zero to do with Apple getting behind competing products -- it sells plenty of non-Apple activity bands in its stores -- and everything to do with not wasting valuable store or web space promoting a product that isn't compatible with the Health App.

Bingo. Though I'd be curious to know why they chose not to support Health. Are they supporting Google Fit?
 

tasset

macrumors 6502a
May 22, 2007
572
200
What deters me from buying a Fitbit/Jawbone/MicrosoftBand/etc is their A)determination to upload my data (in this case very personal health data) to their own servers to further monetize and B) not giving me an easy Healthkit app datsharing so that I can keep the data that I own.
For years Apple has been hammered for not having the cloud expertise as Google or these startups. They are clearly turning this negative into a strength going forward and becoming the privacy company. Keeping a user's data is as much a liability in their eyes as it is a datamining opportunity for everyone else.
 

brianvictor7

macrumors 65816
Oct 24, 2013
1,054
429
United States
This will be viewed negatively, but it makes sense on a few levels:
  • Square footage. There are a large number of Apple Watch models and bands. There is only so much square footage in a retail store. Streamlining the number of products and accessories affords them the required space to sell an ambitious new line of products.
  • Simplification of the story. When a customer comes in, the choices and messaging around Apple Watch is going to be complex. Why complicate it further by having competing products on the shelf that retail employees have to compare/contrast with customers?
  • Ecosystem. FitBit has chosen to not add support for HealthKit. Not much else to say about this.

This makes sense to me. Why sell a competitor in your retail stores?

----------

Fitbit's Reply in a nutshell:

Image

Ironic image use: didn't Saruman lose?
 
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