Fitbit code hints at the Versa 4 and Sense 2 – but Wear OS is missing
No merge yet
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It seems thatFitbitis busy working on successors to theFitbit Versa 3and theFitbit Sense, based on code that’s been spotted inside the Fitbit app for Android – but at the moment there’s no sign of these future wearables supporting Wear OS.
The code digging has been done by9to5Google, and it’s revealed references to devices codenamed Hera (perhaps in reference to Hera Syndulla fromStar WarsRebels) and Rhea (perhaps in reference to one of the moons of Jupiter).
Fitbit often uses codenames related to science fiction and space, so there are no real surprises here. As these devices are also mentioned alongside a display resolution of 336 x 336 – the same as Fitbit’s 2020 smartwatches – we could well be looking at theFitbit Versa 4and the Fitbit Sense 2 here.
Where is Wear OS?
There’s another device mentioned in the code too, with the name Nyota – perhaps in honor of the Star Trek lieutenant Nyota Uhura. With a 124 x 208 resolution attached, this could well be an upgrade to the currentFitbit Luxe.
What isn’t included in the code at the moment is any reference to Wear OS. These devices are apparently still using the same software bridge to connect to Android as the current Fitbit range, rather than the one that Wear OS deploys.
While we are expectingmore Wear OS smartwatchesto show up eventually, it doesn’t look as though these devices are going to be runningGoogle’s own wearable software. Instead, it’s likely that they’ll stick with the current Fitbit app and associated code.
Analysis: Fitbit is still Fitbit for now
It took Google’s parent company Alphabet a couple of years to finalize the acquisition of Fitbit – the deal closed last year – and as yet we haven’t really seen any signs that Fitbit and Google are working closely together on hardware or software.
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The long-awaitedPixel Watch– which should beshowing up later this year– is rumored to have been in development for many years at this point. Unless Google has started again from scratch with the wearable in that time, its history goes back beyond the Fitbit deal.
It’s worth pointing out that Wear OS and the Google Fit app are not yet close to what the Fitbit app can offer in terms of activity tracking and biometric analysis, and Wear OS has only been used with smartwatches so far – not trackers like the Luxe. All this suggests that there’s a long way to go before the two projects are going to be merged.
One day though, we would expect Google to tap into all the software and hardware expertise that Fitbit offers.Google continues to investin fitness and health tracking, and theApple Watchis evidence of how successful a device can be when it gets the formula right. We might hear more atGoogle IO 2022in May.
Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.
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