ProBeat: Fitbit’s lineup needs to get fit

When Fitbit unveiled Inspire, Inspire HR, Ace 2, and Versa Lite Edition this week, the company also killed off Alta, Alta HR, Flex 2, and Zip. I’ve long advocated for Fitbit to consolidate its lineup, and yet even though it has, there are still way too many Fitbits.

“Choice is crippling to the consumer,” my friend who studied marketing would always say. Neither he nor I have read The Paradox of Choice — Why More Is Less, but the rule of thumb stuck with me.

Despite having killed four products, here is Fitbit’s product lineup for 2019:

• $70: Fitbit Inspire
• $100: Fitbit Inspire HR
• $150: Fitbit Charge 3
• $170: Fitbit Charge 3 Special Edition
• $70: Fitbit Ace 2
• $160: Fitbit Versa Lite Edition
• $200: Fitbit Versa
• $230: Fitbit Versa Special Edition
• $270: Fitbit Ionic

Assuming you’re not buying for your child, you have to choose between a tracker and a smartwatch. Tracker? Four options. Smartwatch? Four options. Want to spend $200 or less? Five options.

A few points of clarification: The Ace 2 only arrives this summer, and there’s a $300 Fitbit Ionic Adidas Edition, but that’s really just a marketing gimmick. So I’m sticking with my conclusion that there are nine Fitbits.

There should be five.

Dream lineup

The Inspire should include heart-rate tracking — we don’t need two Inspires. The Special Editions, which include NFC and Fitbit Pay, should go away. Next year, Fitbit should include that functionality and call it a day. I don’t believe kids should need wearables to move, but maybe I’m just getting old. And then the Versa 2 should replace the Versa and Ionic by keeping its form factor but adding GPS.

So there would be a cheap tracker, a cheap smartwatch, a more expensive tracker with extras like NFC and GPS, and a more expensive smartwatch with all the bells and whistles. And if Fitbit insists, it can have a wearable for kids.

My dream line-up would therefore be:

• Fitbit Inspire
• Fitbit Charge
• Fitbit Ace
• Fitbit Versa Lite
• Fitbit Versa

You’re welcome, Fitbit. Your homework is to figure out the version numbers and pricing.

ProBeat is a column in which Emil rants about whatever crosses him that week.