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Is Fitbit's paywall, Premium, about to collapse?
Many of Fitbit's top fitness training capabilities are still paywalled and only available to Fitbit Premium subscribers, who must pay $9.99 per month or $79.99 annually for access, even after Google purchased Fitbit in 2019.
That's going to alter soon.
Those who purchase the new Google Pixel Watch 3, which was unveiled at the Made by Google event, will get free access to the daily Readiness Score, one of Fitbit's greatest Premium metrics. This figure is determined by heart rate variability, average resting heart rate, and recent sleep quality. A higher number indicates you're performing at your best; a lower score suggests you might want to concentrate on rest and recuperation. The ratings range from 1 to 100.
Fitbit's Readiness Score, like Samsung's new Energy Score and Garmin's Body Battery, is powered by cutting-edge machine learning and aims to give you a better understanding of your overall health without requiring a membership.
Fitbit's Paywall Cracks for Pixel Watch 3 Owners
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Apart from Oura, Google is among the only significant manufacturers of wellness wearables that charges a fee for its greatest wellbeing data after you've purchased the gadget.
Nevertheless, a six-month complimentary membership to Fitbit Premium is included with most new Pixel Watches and Fitbit devices. With this membership, you can access not only your Readiness Score but also metrics like Target Load and Cardio Load, which are now free for Pixel Watch 3 owners, as well as a vast collection of instructional video content.
Using Target Load to monitor your training habits is highly recommended. This feature, which is included in the Pixel Watch 3 Morning Report, tracks how hard you exercise and tells you when to give it your all and when to take it easy. Cardio Load, on the other hand, offers information on the general health of your heart and its ability to withstand intense activity.
Will other Fitbit Premium features become free?
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Owners of Pixel Watch 3 devices will get early access to Fitbit's insights on Daily Readiness Score, Target Load, and Cardio Load at no additional cost. All indications, meanwhile, indicate that these functionalities will eventually be available for previous Pixel Wathces as well.
Of course, Fitbit Premium still offers a ton of features that make it well worth the $80 annual fee, including challenges, recipes, tools for mindfulness, and Wellness Reports that provide deeper insights on holistic health in general.
But if Fitbit's premium "wall" is really collapsing before our own eyes, I'd really want to see Google's sophisticated sleep insights—specifically, Fitbit's Sleep Score—be released as a public service very soon.