Next three Fitbit smartwatches seemingly won’t run Wear OS

Fitbit’s next three watches are unlikely to run the Wear OS platform, 9to5Google found while sifting through the code of the latest version of the Fitbit app. Such code snippets are often precursors to what’s to come. 

Although Fitbit started out as a promising player, it’s nowhere as popular as the undisputed leader Apple and distant runner-up Samsung, which has upped its game significantly. Part of the appeal of Samsung’s latest smartwatches is the new Wear OS platform that has been jointly developed by Google and Samsung and although Fitbit had promised to make premium watches based on this OS, it looks like we will be waiting a long time.

Considering Fitbit refreshes its lineups every year, it is not surprising to hear that new models might be on the horizon, but what was not expected is Fitbit OS. Google now owns Fitbit and it seemed certain that the company’s 2022 watches would run Wear OS, but apparently, all three newly discovered variants seem to rely on a bridge for connecting to a handset which wouldn’t have been needed if these were Wear OS watches. 

Fossil is pretty much the only well-known option for Android watch buyers who want to experience Wear OS without being hooked into the Samsung ecosystem and with Google’s first smartwatch now expected in October, now would have been a good time for Fitbit to release a Wear OS watch and attract that underserved market group.