It hasn’t been a great time for Fitbit fans since the great Google takeover in 2021, with the recent axing of the brand’s popular web dashboard feature being the latest in a list of many blows.
But in the first positive news for a while, Google is now rolling out some big software updates for trackers, including the Fitbit Charge 6, Fitbit Versa 4, and Fitbit Sense 2.
The updates, which are being pushed out in phases, aren’t quite on the scale of a reborn web dashboard, but they do promise to bring some genuine quality-of-life upgrades and improved accuracy. The Charge 6, Sense 2, Versa 4, and Inspire 3 are getting updated to version 210.26, and Google recommends checking the app to see if it’s arrived for you and then plugging your device into a charger during the update.
Firstly, the Sense 2, Versa 4, and Charge 6’s Auto Detect mode will now be more versatile. It will automatically track your exploits in rowing, elliptical trainers, and spinning classes. This joins its existing ability to auto-recognize running, walking, and biking. All three devices will also get improved GPS accuracy thanks to a new ability to switch between onboard and connected GPS modes during workouts.
Older trackers aren’t getting quite as big an overhaul as the current best Fitbits, but they aren’t being entirely left out either. The Fitbit Charge 5 and Luxe, for example, will now let you see your daily readiness score on the tracker, while the Versa 2 and 3 are getting an injection of bug fixes and other improvements. For a full list of the features coming to your checker, head to Google’s official update page.
A well-earned breather
Since the Google takeover, Fitbit’s direction of travel has largely been downward, at least according to the brand’s fans on its Community forums and Reddit.
From removed features to seemingly bodged firmware updates, Fitbit fans haven’t exactly been enamored with Google’s approach, which appears to involve pushing Fitbit’s fitness trackers closer to the Pixel Watch and abruptly canning older features.
This big batch of software updates is, then, some welcome relief for Fitbit owners, with Google’s presence seemingly bringing some positive benefits for a change, like improved heart-rate tracking accuracy thanks to its machine learning algorithms.
With Fitbit’s ‘AI chatbot‘ also coming “later this year” for Android users, Fitbit owners have reasons to remain cautiously optimistic. But owning a Google-owned gadget always carries the nagging fear of a one-way ticket to the Google Graveyard.
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mark.wilson@futurenet.com (Mark Wilson)
