Alright, so I\u2019m laying it on a little thick. But it\u2019s important to note quite how desirable the Pixel Watch has become in the last year. I\u2019m even considering giving up my own hard-earned cash in return for the Google Pixel Watch 4<\/a> when it releases later this year. Except, there\u2019s one little issue I have with the Pixel Watches, and have had since the beginning. And until that one problem is changed, I can\u2019t see myself buying the Pixel Watch 4, or any future Pixel Watch.<\/p>\n Google, just drop the Fitbit subscription cost already<\/p>\n \t\tJoe Maring \/ Digital Trends<\/p>\n That\u2019s a strong statement, so I\u2019m going to quickly caveat: Fitbit\u2019s platform is solid. Great, even. I have no problems with how well Fitbit functions, and while I haven\u2019t had the chance to play with a Fitbit product myself in the almost decade I\u2019ve been writing about smarrtphones and smartwatches, I know that there\u2019s rarely a bad word said about Fitbit\u2019s ability to track health or exercise. Heck, when Google bought Fitbit in 2021, I hoped it would be the dawn of a new age for Fitbit, and the end of my most hated part of the Fitbit package. I am, of course, talking about the subscription cost.<\/p>\n It rankles that the Pixel Watch, a premium smartwatch, is hampered with an additional subscription cost. I get why it used to exist \u2014 Fitbit wasn\u2019t a small company by any means, but it needed additional, ongoing funds to keep it going. I haven\u2019t looked it up, so I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s true or not, but it feels like it could be true. Pair that with the fact that Fitbits are dirt cheap, and you can justify it. Sure, it\u2019s an ongoing subscription cost, but you offset that with a comparatively low entry cost and it\u2019s more palatable. <\/p>\n Google is not a small company struggling for funding, and the Pixel Watch 3 is not dirt cheap like Fitbit products are, so \u2026 why am I paying like both of those things are true? It reads as pure greed from Google, and it\u2019s hard to see it as anything but. <\/p>\n I want to recommend Pixel Watches and Fitbits, but I can\u2019t<\/p>\n \t\tJoe Maring \/ Digital Trends<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been writing about smartwatches for close to a decade now, and in all of that time, the subscription means I\u2019ve never been able to recommend a Fitbit to friends and family \u2014 and that applies to the Pixel Watch too. <\/p>\n If it was nothing more than a few extra exercise classes, perhaps an AI-generated report or two, like Apple Fitness Plus<\/a>, then I wouldn\u2019t be so annoyed. But no, if you want a Sleep Score or Daily Readiness Score, then you\u2019ll need to pay Google \u2014 one of the world\u2019s biggest companies \u2014 $10 a month to do so. And it rankles even more because the competition just isn\u2019t doing it. If I strap on a Samsung Galaxy Watch 7<\/a> it doesn\u2019t nickle and dime me for my sleep tracking, and the Apple Watch Series 10<\/a> doesn\u2019t shake a donations tin before I\u2019m allowed to see what my energy levels are. Because it\u2019s part of the service and Apple and Samsung get that. Google still doesn\u2019t, and it\u2019s a big barrier.<\/p>\n![\"Fitbit](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fitbit-charge-6-review-18.jpg\")
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