Jawbone could be shuttering its fitness tracker business in a bid to save money.
The US wearable giant is no longer manufacturing activity trackers, and has no plans to restart the business, as reported by Tech Insider. The publication claims that Jawbone has closed down production of the UP fitness trackers, and has sold off all remaining inventory to a third-party reseller, citing anonymous sources that are “familiar with the matter”.
The report explains:
“The company has struggled to sell the devices and was forced to offload them at a discount to a reseller in order to get the revenue it needed to keep the business going. It’s unclear if Jawbone will start making the UP trackers again.”
Jawbone has been in the wearable market for nearly five years, marking it as one of the oldest contenders in the still nascent industry. The company has three main trackers; the UP2, UP3, and UP4. However, Jawbone has struggled to fend off competition, the most prominent of which is market leader Fitbit. As a result, Jawbone doesn’t hold a significant share of the wearables market, and hasn’t released a tracker for over a year. It’s rumoured that Jawbone now hopes to move into “clinical-grade fitness trackers” instead.
The TI report also suggests that Jawbone has discontinued its Bluetooth speaker business, and is trying to sell off leftover stock.
Jawbone hasn’t released an official statement on the matter yet.
Related: Best Fitness Trackers 2016
Hands-on with the Fitbit Blaze:
Do you own a wearable? How often do you use it? Let us know in the comments.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.