What that you must know
- Fitbit watches are quickly shedding assist for Google Assistant.
- Google introduced that Assistant could be phased out on Fitbit watches within the coming weeks in a neighborhood put up final month.
- Fitbit homeowners can nonetheless use Amazon Alexa as a voice assistant in supported areas.
Some Fitbit smartwatches assist utilizing a voice assistant like Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, however Google is at the moment phasing out Assistant assist. House owners of the Fitbit Sense, Fitbit Sense 2, Fitbit Versa 2, Fitbit Versa 3, and Fitbit Versa 4 will quickly uncover that Google Assistant is not obtainable, if it hasn’t disappeared already.
The phaseout was formally announced final month, and e-mail notices are being despatched out to affected Fitbit customers.
“Over the subsequent few weeks we might be progressively phasing out Google Assistant in your Fitbit system,” a community post explains. “This alteration implies that Google Assistant voice management for actions will quickly not be obtainable in your Fitbit system.”
Fitbit customers of those units can nonetheless use Amazon Alexa as their voice assistant in these supported regions, together with the U.S.
Google is following up its earlier neighborhood put up and e-mail notices with a notification despatched to Fitbit watches (by way of Android Authority). “Google Assistant on Fitbit watches is being turned down, this characteristic will cease working within the coming weeks,” the notification reads.
It may appear odd that Google, which owns Fitbit, is pushing customers away from Google Assistant and towards Amazon Alexa. Nonetheless, the transfer seems to be a part of bigger modifications to Google Assistant. The voice assistant has seen numerous feature deprecations since the start of 2024, and can quickly get replaced on cellular with Gemini.
Ultimately, Gemini will substitute Google Assistant on Put on OS, at least in name. However since Fitbit smartwatches run Fitbit OS — not Put on OS — it’s miles from assured that Gemini will arrive on older Fitbit watches.
Amidst the announcement of the discontinuation of Assistant on Fitbit watches, there was no official point out of a voice assistant alternative, apart from the aforementioned Alexa assist.
