8 Things You Need to Know About Fitbit

If I asked you to name a fitness wearable brand, I’m betting Fitbit would be top of mind.

It’s almost everyone’s favored fitness tracker. They offer wearers a wide variety of fitness trackers and definitely have a model for your lifestyle. The bands are available in fun, bold colors.

Not that you didn’t know about that. With all the available Fitbit wearables, it can be a tad overwhelming which one to choose. We know, that’s why we’ve already put up a Fitbit Buyer’s Guide for you.

Just like many fitness enthusiasts (and celebrities), we are just a bit obsessed with the brand. If you share the same fascination, then you’d totally enjoy our compilation of these Fitbit trivia.

8 Interesting Facts About Fitbit

Here are 8 interesting facts that you need to know about Fitbit!

1. Fitbit has 23.2 million active users

23.2 million? That’s like all the New York and Puerto Rican residents combined! This number was updated last February 2017. If you have a Fitbit, you’re one of the statistics.

As of March 2017, their market share is 19.2%. However, this 1Q 2017, their share dropped to 12.3% and was only the third most worn wearable brand in the world? Apple gets the second spot. Bet you wouldn’t have guessed who owns the top spot.

2. Fitbit was inspired by Nintendo Wii

Did you know that Fitbit founders were inspired by the Nintendo Wii?

The game’s ability to personify and make personal fitness fun through motion sensors kind of amazed them. Nintendo has encouraged people to get off the couch, but the founders want to take them out of their houses and be more active. Hence, Fitbit was born.

The Nintnedo Wii launched in November 2006, and CEO James Park and CTO Eric Friedman founded Fitbit in 2007.

3. Apple Used to Sell Fitbit devices

The brick-and-mortar stores of Apple, together with its online stores stopped selling Fitbit devices in late 2014. That’s when Apple began introducing their very own Apple Watch. Aside from the introduction of the new device, the main reason attributed to this is Fitbit’s refusal to sync its devices to Apple’s HealthKit platform.

4. Fitbit’s Corporate Clients are the Fortune 500

Fitbit’s roster of clients is elite. To mention a few, they serve GoDaddy.com, BMC Software, and Barclays. Usually the companies offer Fitbit trackers to their employees through a cost-sharing plan or with a big discount. It’s an effort to encourage their employees to take care of their health and reduce down-time and healthcare expenses.

Usually, the companies offer Fitbit trackers to their employees through a cost-sharing plan or with a big discount. It’s an effort to encourage their employees to take care of their health and reduce down-time and healthcare expenses.

5. Fitbit is Battle-hardened Through Lawsuits

The conflict with Apple isn’t a first. Back in 2011, Jawbone sued Fitbit for “allegedly infringing its patents and stealing trade secrets by hiring its employees.” This has resulted in several lawsuits filed against Fitbit.

Jawbone won when the judge ruled that those former Jawbone employees really breached their contracts. Fitbit defended that this has no direct impact on Fitbit because the ruling was focused on Jawbone and particular employees.

However, just this March, Jawbone’s law firm withdrew 3 pending cases. “Professional considerations” pushed them to do this.

It’s definitely one of the top court dramas in the tech industry.

6. Fitbit lets you challenge your friends

One fun thing about Fitbit is that it lets you challenge your friends on your physical fitness stats. This way, it encourages you to be more active.

It has one of the largest social networks that focus on fitness. It lets you share stats, cheer your friends on, and compete with your friends and families.

7. Fitbit has Built Up Impressive Awards

Fitbit has garnered a lot of recognition from the tech media and bagged a lot of tech awards including CES 2017 Innovation Award Honoree, Spark Design Awards, Gear of the Year Award, Innovation Award, and more.

8. Fitbit is Unbelievably Popular

Lastly, Fitbit has been wildly popular among the big personalities too. No less than former President Obama has been seen wearing the Fitbit Surge. Our very own smart tech guru, Nicole also featured Kevin Spacey wearing the Surge.

Fitbit also likes checking out who wears their brand by keeping an eye on those paparazzi shots. So far, celebrities like Nina Doberev, Ashley Benson, and Tobey Maguire have been spotted sporting the brand.

You know Fitbit’s a good quality wearable because the stars themselves wear it.

Related: Fitbit Buyer’s Guide — What You Need and Why?

Are you surprised with some of the facts that your favorite sporting band keeps? I was too! Do you know of other Fitbit facts worth sharing? Let us know in the comments below.

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