No, Google isn’t messing around with your Fitbit’s charger
No USB-C connection (for now, at least)
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Earlier this week, rumors began circulating thatFitbit(and parent companyGoogle) was planning to change how itsfitness trackersare charged. A listing for the newFitbit Luxeappeared to show a new charger design with a USB-C connector, which would be a big difference from the current status quo.
Currently, allFitbitdevices are charged via USB-A cables that connect to the watch using a clip or magnetic cradle. Switching to USB-C would have several advantages – not least of which is the ability to plug in the cable either way up.
USB-C plugs are particularly tough too, and make life easier for anyone wanting to charge their watch from a device like aMacBookorGoogle Pixelbook, which has only USB-C ports. A USB-C cable wouldn’t necessarily result in faster charging than USB-A, though it would be possible as well.
However, Fitbit has now issued a comment to9to5Googleclarifying that the Fitbit Luxe charger image was just a ‘sample’, and the new device will stick with the same style of USB-A charger as previous models.
That shrinking feeling
That may not be the case for next-generation Fitbits, though – particularly since the recent announcement thatFitbit is working on a new smartwatchpowered by Google’s wearableoperating system, Wear OS, rather than the proprietary OS used by its current fitness trackers.
To make the most of this, and to make the new watch play more nicely with Chromebooks, it’s possible that this new device may offer a USB-C charger as standard.
There are currently very few smartwatches that use USB-C, with theApple Watchbeing the most obvious exception, but as USB-A is (very gradually) phased out in the pursuit of thinner, lighter and generally smaller devices, it’s surely only a matter of time until others follow suit,
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Cat is TechRadar’s Homes Editor specializing in kitchen appliances and smart home technology. She’s been a tech journalist for 15 years, and is here to help you choose the right devices for your home and do more with them. When not working she’s a keen home baker, and makes a pretty mean macaron.
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