Fitbit Working to Add Google Assistant Support, Versa 2 May Get It First: Report

Fitbit is reportedly working on bringing Google Assistant support to its wearable lineup. This new development comes during the ongoing confusion surrounding the Google’s Fitbit deal. If true, Fitbit will be the first third-party wearable company to integrate Google Assistant into its devices. While Google Assistant has been integrated into various devices – from Chromebooks to smart speakers – it still hasn’t been integrated into a third-party smartwatch. Code inside the latest version of the Fitbit app seems to suggest that Google Assistant support for the Fitbit Versa 2 is in the works.

9to5Google has decompiled the latest version of the Fitbit Android app on Google Play store, and the code suggests that the company is preparing to integrate Google Assistant support. The code inside the app has strings to activate Assistant in a similar manner as that of Alexa. Fitbit’s Versa 2 already supports Amazon’s Alexa integration, and is equipped with a microphone as well for registering voice commands. The code also reveals a trio of XML files that clearly reference at how Google Assistant will be introduced, including its boarding on to the device and its teaser.

The report further adds that app strings detail on how ‘you can only have one active assistant at a time and you can always switch to another provider.’ This means that Google Assistant will be added without removing Alexa. The report says that Fitbit is likely to introduce Google Assistant first on the Versa 2 smartwatch. The wearable doesn’t have a speaker that means that while voice commands will be accepted, answers can only be read through the smartwatch interface. There is also no hotword support that means a physical button will need to be pressed to activate Google Assistant.

Google announced to buy Fitbit for $2.1 billion in November last year. However, the deal has been pending regulatory approval ever since, and an official announcement hasn’t been made yet.