On the cusp of the Fitbit Force’s Australian launch, the fitness tracker has instead had a formal recall.
(Credit: Dave Cheng/CNET Australia)
Early in the lifecycle of the Force, there were reports of some users experiencing rashes, blistering and skin irritation on their wrist from wearing the device.
Fitbit responded quickly, halting sales and offering a voluntary recall late last month — this timing also meant the Force never actually got an official retail release in Australia.
Now more information has come out via the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, who also made an official recall notice yesterday. According to the CPSC, 9,900 people reported skin irritation from the Force and 250 people reported blistering.
It’s worth noting that with over 1 million units sold in the US, this is quite a low number. We also had the Fitbit Force in for review and experienced no such issues over the testing period.
At the moment, it’s unclear if the Force will be redesigned or if the company will continue sales of its predecessor, the Flex, while pushing forward with a new design and model.
For Australians, it means that the Jawbone Up remains the pedometer/sleep monitor/activity tracker of choice — at least until the UP24 arrives in (apparently quite near) future.