Why You Can Trust Wareable
Founded in 2014, Wareable brings together journalists and experts who have reviewed over 1,000 products, including smartwatches, fitness trackers, smart rings, smart home gadgets, and health tech devices.
Our team combines hands-on testing, in-depth research, and expert insights to evaluate product performance, assess manufacturer claims, and help readers make informed decisions.
Google confirms end to third-party app support for Fitbit Sense and Versa
From November 28, the Fitbit App Gallery will exclusively host own-brand software
Google is pulling the plug on third-party apps and clock faces for legacy Fitbit Versa and Sense devices, marking another step in the gradual wind-down of the brand's standalone smartwatches.
Starting November 28, Google notes that the Fitbit App Gallery for the Sense, Sense 2, Versa, Versa 2, Versa 3, Versa 4, Versa Lite, and the recalled Ionic will exclusively feature applications and watch faces created by Fitbit and Google.
Any third-party content already installed on a device will keep working, but users who delete apps or perform a factory reset will permanently lose access. Developers face the same deadline, as the Gallery Admin tools will retire and all new uploads or updates will be blocked.
This global shutdown follows the warning sign from mid-2024, when Google stripped third-party apps and watch faces from Fitbit devices across Europe, citing compliance with new regulatory requirements.
What began as a regional compliance hurdle has now evolved into a universal policy across all legacy Sense and Versa models.
A strategic pivot for Google’s wearable ecosystem
The software rollback again highlights Google's broader, long-term strategic shift with its wearables hardware.
Rather than attempting to maintain a sprawling smartwatch portfolio under the Fitbit banner, Google has clearly bifurcated its devices.
Fitbit has been successfully refocused on accessible, lightweight health-tracking workhorses like the Fitbit Air and Fitbit Edge lines.
Meanwhile, premium, full-featured smartwatches—the kind capable of supporting rich third-party ecosystems and deep app stores—are left entirely to the Google Pixel Watch line.
While long-time Fitbit smartwatch owners may mourn the loss of independent customization, Google's division of labor is arguably the right call—especially since Versa and Sense users are likely to be in very small numbers, relatively speaking.
By leaning into what Fitbit has always done best—unobtrusive fitness tracking and health monitoring—and leaving proper smartwatches to Pixel, both brands find themselves on much clearer, more defensible paths.
