Fitbit products haven’t exactly been a focus for Google since the acquisition closed at the beginning of 2021. It’s been clear from the start that the software giant’s interest in the wearable pioneer came down to its own proprietary smartwatch ambitions. We saw that play out with last year’s Pixel Watch launch and will likely ..read more

Google announced that its redesigned Fitbit app — which features a new three-tab structure for easier access to curated health and fitness content, easily glanceable stats and more — is rolling out to users starting today. As previously revealed last month, Google says the app’s refreshed design makes it easier to use thanks to the ..read more

Google-owned Fitbit is facing a trio of privacy complaints in the European Union which allege the company is illegally exporting user data in breach of the bloc’s data protection rules. The complaints target Fitbit’s claim that users have consented to international transfers of their information — to the U.S. and elsewhere — arguing the company ..read more

Google and Fitbit have announced that existing Fitbit users will have the option to start logging in using a Google account this summer. Users aren’t required to move to a Google account immediately, but will need to do so by 2025. If you’re a new Fitbit user, you’ll be required to register with a Google account this summer. Today’s announcement isn’t surprising, given that the tech giant revealed last fall that it was going to require all Fitbit users to start logging in using a Google account in the future. Users will start seeing prompts upon opening the Fitbit app and will soon be able to ..read more

The Pixel Watch remains the big looming question mark over the horizon for Google’s wearable ambitions, but for now, the Fitbit lines are carrying on like nothing much has changed. At a launch event this morning, the Alphabet-owned firm unveiled a trio of wearables, including two new smartwatches. The topline products are the Versa 4 and Sense 2. The smartwatches are — for most intents and purposes — largely the same. The pricier Sense line, which debuted in late-2020, builds on the popular Sense device, bringing added sensors and a mindfulness focus to the device. Looking beyond the standard ..read more

Positive Food Co., providing freshly packaged salads, heat-and-eat prepared meals and vegan overnight oats, raised $7 million in funding as it goes after the $34 billion fresh prepared foods market. In 2018, co-founders Schuyler Deerman and James Chan started selling healthy meals at WeWork offices around Los Angeles out of giant Yeti coolers, standing around the kitchens during lunch time. “At the time, we were in 15 locations, many where you couldn’t walk to get lunch, so you had to either order food in or drive off campus,” Deerman told TechCrunch. “On days when we did the ‘Positive Popups ..read more

Perception is everything — especially when it comes to the value of software startups and total addressable markets (TAM). During 2020 and 2021, as COVID bit into the economy, tech products turned out to be more recession-resistant than expected. What’s more, tech companies grew faster than previously anticipated. Those conditions combined to make TAM feel huge last year, which, in turn, led investors to pay far more for startup shares, calculated against their existing revenues. However, the growth rates of companies that caught a demand tailwind from COVID have dropped sharply, meaning that ..read more

YuLife originally made a name for itself in its home market of the U.K. for its new approach to the provisioning of life insurance: Yes, sell a policy that provides financial security to your people in the event of your death, but do so with a focus on improving the policyholder’s current life with wellness opportunities and encourage use of that with gamification — a model that not only is aimed at benefitting the policyholders more, but increases engagement on the platform and provides a complementary revenue for YuLife, which offers deals on the wellness services. Its idea took off — it is ..read more

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. The app industry continues to grow, with a record number of downloads and consumer spending across both the iOS and Google Play stores combined in 2021, according to the latest year-end reports. Global spending across iOS, Google Play and third-party Android app stores in China grew 19% in 2021 to reach $170 billion. Downloads of apps also grew by 5%, reaching 230 billion in 2021, and mobile ad spend grew 23% year over year to reach $295 bil ..read more

Google announced today that Fitbit is introducing a new premium feature called “Sleep Profile,” which will offer users a new longitudinal analysis of sleep patterns while making sleep data easier to interpret. The new Sleep Profile feature will analyze sleep across 10 key metrics, including new data points like bedtime consistency, the time before sound sleep and disrupted sleep. These new data points, along with previously tracked metics like sleep duration and restfulness, will give users a monthlong view of their sleep patterns and quality. You will be provided with ideal ranges for each da ..read more