What’s the worst thing your smartwatch has ever done? Forgotten to track your steps? Given you a notification at 3 AM? Well, for some Fitbit Ionic users, their watch decided to turn into a wrist-mounted mini heater—and not in a good way.

The $12.3 Million Mistake

Fitbit has just been slapped with a $12.3 million fine in the U.S. for failing to report a serious safety issue with its Ionic smartwatches—you know, the ones that could overheat and literally burn people. 🚨🔥

Turns out, Fitbit knew about the problem as early as 2018, but only got around to telling the authorities in 2022—conveniently right before issuing a massive recall. 🤔

How Bad Was It?

• 115 cases of overheating reported.
• 78 people suffered actual burns—some bad enough to require medical attention.
• Fitbit attempted to fix the issue with a software update in 2020—spoiler alert: it didn’t work.

Google’s Role in the Saga

To make things even spicier, Google bought Fitbit in 2021 but apparently did nothing to address the problem right away. The recalls only started in 2022, long after the issue had been widely known. Google has remained suspiciously quiet about why they didn’t jump on the problem sooner. 🤐

Fitbit’s Response?

As part of their settlement, Fitbit didn’t actually admit any wrongdoing (classic move), but they’ve promised to improve their consumer safety practices and report issues more quickly in the future. Great… but maybe don’t wait four years next time, yeah?

The Loop Take: Can We Trust Wearable Tech?

This is yet another reminder that just because something is popular, doesn’t mean it’s safe. With wearable tech becoming more advanced (and expensive), companies need to be a lot more transparent when things go wrong.

💬 What do you think? Do you still trust Fitbit after this mess? Or is it time to switch to a different smartwatch brand?