A rumour has emerged to suggest that Jawbone may be getting out of the fitness tracker business to focus on a new clinical-grade health tracking wearable. Tech Insider reported on Friday that it has stopped production of its line of UP fitness bands which include the UP2, UP3 and UP4. It also sold off its remaining inventory at a discount to a third-party reseller.
According to an unnamed source “familiar with the matter,” Jawbone needed the revenue in order to keep its doors open as it works on clinical-grade fitness trackers focused on heart monitoring. A separate report by The Verge suggests that this may be “a last chance for the consumer tech company.” Add to this rumours that it is also looking to sell its audio business and it certainly becomes plausible that the company is either in financial trouble or looking to completely reinvent itself (or both for that matter).
Jawbone has struggled to establish itself in the nascent wearables market. Hardware woes have plagued the company for years and sales certainly don’t appear to have kept up with those of market leaders Fitbit and Apple.
It’s not clear whether Jawbone has completely left the fitness tracker business behind or simply sold off current inventory of devices. It is also not known if and when Jawbone plans on unveiling its new clinical-grade fitness tracker but it could happen as early as later this summer.
For its part, Jawbone has only issued a terse statement that “We’re not commenting on the speculations made in the reports.”
Sources : Tech Insider // The Verge