Fitbit's Ionic smartwatch recall might not have gone far enough 

According to a new lawsuit, Fitbit’s recent recall of its Ionic smartwatch may not have gone far enough, as the defect could be found in Google’s other smartwatches.

After 118 reports of users receiving burn injuries due to their Fitbit Ionic smartwatches overheating, Fitbit’s parent company, Google, issued a recall, in March, that affected all the roughly 1.7 million Ionic smartwatches sold since the product’s launch in 2017.

Despite the scale of that recall, a new lawsuit alleges that the recall might not have gone far enough, as Google’s other wearable tech products suffer from an “identical defect in design” that leaves the products prone to “burning users during use” while also being a fire hazard. 

In the lawsuit, it’s claimed that a range of Fitbit smartwatches are not fit for purpose as intended, as there was a risk of overheating when using the device. The devices at risk are said to be, “at a minimum” the Versa, Versa 2, Versa Light, Charge 4, Ionic, Sense, Alta HR, Inspire, Inspire HR, and the Blaze smartwatches. Primarily the lawsuit focuses on two plaintiffs who experienced overheating on the Versa and Versa 2 Fitbit smartwatches. 

Alongside the claim that Google flailed to inform customers of a potential risk present in all Fitbit products, the lawsuit also alleges that Google has been deliberately dragging its feet when giving refunds to Ionic smartwatch owners as well as that the company has been being difficult through its support channels on this important matter. 

Currently, the alleged overheating issue is limited to only Fitbit products, so there is no indication of if Google’s upcoming flagship Pixel Watch smartwatch will suffer from similar overheating issues.