fitbit
TezLab CEO Ben Schippers to discuss the Tesla effect and the next wave of EV startups at TC Sessions: Mobility 2021
As Tesla sales have risen, interest in the company has exploded, prompting investment and interest in the automotive industry, as well as the startup world. TezLab, a free app that’s…
After closing Fitbit acquisition, Google is going big with Wear OS
For years, Wear OS has been, at best, something of a dark horse among Google operating systems. It’s certainly not for lack of partnership or investment, but for whatever reason,…
Just 72 hours left to save $100 on passes to TC Sessions: Mobility 2021
So much can happen in 72 hours, and it’s easy to get distracted — especially when you’re building a startup in the fast lane that is mobility tech. But listen…
It’s been a strange few years for Fitbit. After defining the fitness tracking space, the company was a bit late to the smartwatch trend, but was still able to ride…
Facebook’s Kustomer buy could face EU probe after merger referral
The European Union may investigate Facebook’s $1 billion acquisition of customer service platform Kustomer after concerns were referred to it under EU merger rules. A spokeswoman for the Commission confirmed…
Tile brings its lost item-tracking service to wearables with Google Fitbit deal for Inspire 2 owners
Lost item finder Tile, the maker of the popular Bluetooth-powered tracker that can help you find your misplaced keys, bag, wallet or more, is bringing its tracking service to a…
NASA will use Fitbits to help prevent spread of COVID-19 to astronauts and employees
NASA will provide 1,000 of its employees, including 150 astronauts, with Fitbit devices in a pilot program designed to see if they can help supplement efforts to keep these mission-critical…
Google to offer heart and respiratory rate measurements using just your smartphone’s camera
Google is introducing features that will allow users to take vital health measurements using just the camera they already have on their smartphone, expanding to a whole new group of…
Following regulatory scrutiny on both sides of the pond, Google this morning announced that it has completed its acquisition of wearables pioneer Fitbit. Google’s use of the vast amount of…
NYC MTA’s contactless fare system completes rollout, will phase out MetroCard in 2023
On the last day of 2020, New York City’s Metro Transit Authority announced that it has finished its roll out of contactless payment systems. With the addition of a final…
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Amazon’s Halo fitness tracker raises privacy concerns for Amy Klobuchar
After reading a review of Amazon’s new fitness tracker, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar penned an open letter. “Recent reports have raised concerns about the Halo’s access to this extensive personal and private health information,” the lawmaker wrote to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. “Among publicly available consumer health devices, the…
Europe clears Google-Fitbit with a ten-year ban on using health data for ads
Europe has greenlit Google’s $2.1BN acquisition of fitness wearable maker Fitbit, applying a number of conditions intended to shrink competition concerns over letting it gobble a major cache of health…
Europe urged to block Google-Fitbit ahead of major digital policy overhaul
The European Commission must block the Google-Fitbit merger as a matter of democratic imperative, prominent academic and author Shoshana Zuboff has warned. The Harvard professor who wrote the defining book…
No Google-Fitbit merger without human rights remedies, says Amnesty to EU
Human rights NGO, Amnesty International, has written to the EU’s competition regulator calling for Google’s acquisition of wearable maker Fitbit to be blocked — unless meaningful safeguards can be baked…
EU’s Google-Fitbit antitrust decision deadline pushed into 2021
The deadline for Europe to make a call on the Google-Fitbit merger has been pushed out again — with EU regulators now having until January 8, 2021, to take a…
Future raises $24M Series B for its $150/mo workout coaching app amid at-home fitness boom
With thousands of gyms across the country forced to close during the pandemic, there’s been an unprecedented opportunity for fitness companies pitching an at-home solution. This moment has propelled public…
True Ventures has $840 million more to invest in nascent and breakout startups
True Ventures, the now 15-year-old firm with offices in Palo Alto, California, and San Francisco, is taking the wraps off two new funds this morning: It has closed its seventh…
Google offers Europe more checks Fitbit data won’t be used for ads
Google has offered a second round of concessions to try to persuade European regulators to clear its acquisition of wearables maker Fitbit. The deal has been stalled by concerns over…
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Fitbit Sense review
The Versa helped Fitbit reverse its fortunes after a long, gradual slide. The company was slow to embrace the smartwatch, and stumbled somewhat out of the gate with the Ionic. But the Versa found a perfect sweet spot that build atop generations of wearable health knowhow, key acquisitions like Pebble and a pricing sweet spot…
European antitrust regulators now have until almost the end of the year to take a decision on whether to green light Google’s planned acquisition of Fitbit. The tech giant announced…
This Week in Apps: iOS 14’s surprise arrival, Apple’s app bundle, TikTok & WeChat banned from app stores Sunday
Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the TechCrunch series that recaps the latest OS news, the applications they support and the money that flows through it all. The app industry is…
Low-cost fitness bands see a resurgence in interest amid the pandemic
While wearable fitness devices saw an uptick in shipments in North America for Q2, the overall dollar amount of the market remained steady, according to new numbers out of Canalys.…
Elon Musk demonstrates Neuralink’s tech live using pigs with surgically implanted brain-monitoring devices
Elon Musk-founded Neuralink has made headlines over the past many years around its efforts to develop a new kind of interface between the human brain and computing devices. On Friday,…
Fitbit would be the first to admit it was late to the smartwatch game. When it did finally launch a proper smartwatch with the Ionic, it was something of a…
Fitbit’s big news for today was the launch of the Sense, a new, more premium smartwatch line designed to compete directly against the likes of Apple and Samsung. But Fitbit…
Google-Fitbit deal to be scrutinized in Europe over data competition concerns
In a set-back for Google’s plan to acquire health wearable company Fitbit, the European Commission has announced it’s opening an investigation to dig into a range of competition concerns being…
Google’s ‘no choice’ screen on Android isn’t working, says Ecosia — querying the EU’s approach to antitrust enforcement
Google alternative Ecosia is on a mission to turn search clicks into trees. The Berlin-based not-for-profit reached a major milestone earlier this month, having used ad revenue generated by users…
Google’s Fitbit deal could avoid EU antitrust probe by agreeing not to use health data for ads
Google announced its plans to acquire Fitbit for $2.1 billion back in November. As of this writing, the deal has yet to go through, courtesy of all the usual regulatory…
Ade Ajao, Maryanna Saenko, Charles Hudson, Ulili Onovakpuri and Melissa Bradley are coming to Disrupt
At TechCrunch Disrupt, our Startup Battlefield event is the centerpiece of the event, the true heart of this signature program. There’s good reason we take it so seriously. Over the…
Get featured in front of the largest TechCrunch Disrupt audience in history. The opportunity clock is ticking, and you have just 72 hours left for a chance to compete head-to-head…
