Fitbit to discontinue Mac/PC syncing & music transfer from October
Google-owned wearable manufaturer Fitbit will be killing its Mac/PC software for syncing and music transfer from this October.
As first spotted by 9to5Google, this was revealed on the company’s support pages. The Fitbit Connect app is being discontinued according to a newly added note.
“On October 13, 2022 we’re removing the option to sync your Fitbit device with the Fitbit Connect app on your computer. Download and use the Fitbit app on your phone to sync your device.”
This means that you will only have the option to sync if you have the Fitbit app installed on your phone or tablet. There will be no other options.
It is not clear why this decision was made. Perhaps the company is planning to merge its software platform with Google.
For those not in the know, Fitbit Connect is free software that you can currently install on your Mac or PC computer. It lets you sync data from your tracker to your account and transfer music. This can be achieved via a Bluetooth connection or by connecting the two with a wireless sync dongle. Of course, you can also connect a dock to your computer and plug in your tracker.
Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets
Once the service is switched off, you will still be able to do music transfer through the Deezer app. The other option for users in the US is to use the Pandora app. Fitbit adds that customers may qualify for a 90-day trial of Deezer or Pandora.
But this is not great news for owners of existing devices who have used the PC/Mac route to transfer local music files to their watches. Their only option will be to go through mainstream streaming platforms.
We’re guessing, if you have the Fitbit Connect software installed on your computer, it will continue to function beyond October 13th. So you may be able to continue doing music transfers on Fitbit watches with local storage for music that way. But the company has not confirmed this yet.
As of today, you can still download Fitbit Connect. The software works for Windows 10 and Mac OS X computers.
In a few weeks time we are expecting Versa 4, Sense 2 and Inspire 3 to land. Little is known about their specs but you can view the images of the upcoming devices on this link.
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