The search engine giant company based in the US, Google has already announced its intention of acquiring the fitness wearable brand commonly known as Fitbit but in a report, it was shown that Facebook was also planning to buy it. Facebook is also trying to improve its portfolio for hardware with Oculus Virtual headsets, planned AR glasses and Portal smart speakers.
Facebook has also acquired a fitness app in 2014 which was known as Moves. This might not be surprising that Facebook is planning to buy the fitness smartwatch maker.
The price of thedeal announcedby Google to acquireFitbitwas around $2.1 billion andFacebookwas interested in spending about $1 billion to acquire the company which was only half the price asreportedby the Information.
This move was made in order to expand the business ofGooglefrom search engines to hardware business. Fitbit is also struggling against big rivals like Apple so the backup from a company like Google will surely give them a required boost.
Even though, Fitbit was the first to launch fitness bands in the market it is still losing to the competition. During the second quarter of 2019, Fitbit was in fourth place and it was behind Xiaomi, Apple, and Huawei who are big names in the smartphone markets. So to get success Fitbit also requires help from some big company.
Fitbit was first launched in 2017 and since then it has lost its position to several other companies, mainly to Apple Watch.
Google is already facing a lot of pressure around the world due to its dominance on the Internet and they are planning to boost its hardware offerings along with their Pixel Smartphones, speakers and tablets
Peter Beaumont is a senior reporter on the Guardian’s Global Development desk. He has reported extensively from conflict zones including Africa, the Balkans and the Middle East and is the author of The Secret Life of War: Journeys Through Modern Conflict. Email: peter@thehearus.com