Clearing the way for its own fitness-tracking wearables, Apple has stopped selling Fitbit activity trackers in the Apple Online Store, and has begun removing them from its brick-and-mortar retail outlets also.
Fitbit’s devices have been sold in Apple Stores for the past few years; quickly racking up close to 70% of the fitness-tracking device marketshare, courtesy of a head start over competitors such as Nike’s FuelBand and Jawbone Up.
Interestingly, the Apple Store continues to sell rival products including Jawbone’s UP24, the Withings Pulse, and the Nike+ Fuelband SE trackers. No announcement has been made to explain the anti-Fitbit move, but it could relate to Fitbit’s refusal to not immediately include HealthKit integration.
Fitbits can still be bought from physical outlets including Best Buy, Kohls, Target, and Walmart — as well as from numerous locations online.
“Our mission remains to empower and inspire people to lead healthier, more active lives,” a representative for Fitbit told Cult of Mac shortly after Apple announced Apple Watch. “To that end we welcome new products and services like Apple Watch to the market that help further that mission. We think that the more people learn about the benefits of tracking health and fitness, the more Fitbit’s offerings will resonate with consumers.”
We wonder if their attitude will remain the same after losing a major retail market. We’ve reached out to Fitbit for a comment, and will update the story if we hear anything.
Via: iMore
