Fitness device manufacturer Fitbit is withdrawing from the South African market in line with parent Google’s decision not to sell consumer hardware products in the country.
In a terse statement in response to questions from TechCentral about the development, a Google spokesman said the company has decided to stop selling Fitbit and Nest products (both owned by the company) in select countries “to align our hardware portfolio to map closer to Pixel’s regional availability”.
Pixel is the brand name for Google’s series of smartphones, which it has never ranged in the South African market. Unlike rivals such as Apple and Microsoft, Google has launched its hardware portfolio in only a handful of countries, mainly developed markets (India is the only emerging market in the list).
Fitbit’s presence in South Africa goes back years, long pre-dating Google’s acquisition of the company in November 2019 in a deal worth US$2.1-billion.
Google told TechCentral that it remains “committed” to its customers and has “not made any changes that impact the existing Nest and Fitbit devices they already own”.
“Existing Nest and Fitbit customers will continue to have access to the same customer support, warranties will still be honoured, and products will continue to receive software and security updates.” — © 2023 NewsCentral Media