Is Fitbit's Premium paywall finally crumbling?
Google acquired Fitbit in 2019 and to this day, many of Fitbit's best workout training tools remain paywalled, accessible only to Fitbit Premium users who pay $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year for access. That's about to change.
Folks who pony up for the new Google Pixel Watch 3 announced at the Made by Google event will get free access to one of Fitbit's most useful Premium metrics, the daily Readiness Score.
This number is based on recent sleep quality, average resting heart rate and heart rate variability. With ratings ranging from 1 to 100, a higher score means you're at your best; a lower one means you may want to focus on rest and recovery.
Like Garmin's Body Battery and Samsung's new Energy Score — neither of which require a subscription — Fitbit's Readiness Score is backed by machine learning algorithms and is intended to help you better understand your overall well-being.
Cracks in Fitbit's paywall
Outside of Oura, Google is one of the only major wellness wearable makers that requires you to shell out cash, post-device purchase, for its best wellness insights.
That said, the majority of new Pixel Watches and Fitbit devices come with a six-month free membership to Fitbit Premium, where you can access not just your Readiness Score but also metrics like Target Load and Cardio Load — both of which are also now free for Pixel Watch 3 owners — plus, an enormous library of training video content, including the newly announced partnership with Peloton.
Target Load is a great way to keep tabs on your training habits. Presented as part of the Morning Report on Pixel Watch 3, it monitors how hard you're exercising, informing you when to take it easy versus give it your all. Meanwhile, Cardio Load provides insights into your heart's overall health and capacity for hardcore exercise.
Will other Fitbit Premium features become free?
Pixel Watch 3 owners will be the first to access Fitbit's Daily Readiness Score, Target Load and Cardio Load insights free of recurring charges. However, down the road, all signs point to these features coming to older Pixel Wathces, too.
Of course, there are still plenty of Fitbit Premium features on offer to make it worth the $80 a year, like recipes, mindfulness tools and deeper insights into overall holistic health via Wellness Reports.
But assuming the Fitbit Premium "wall" is indeed crumbling before our eyes, I'd love to see Google's advanced sleep insights, notably Fitbit's Wellness Reports, made free for all next.
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