Three employees familiar with the project told Business Insider that Google wants to target younger customers who are using wearables more than ever. Project Eleven also wants to help older kids “form healthy relationships with their phones and social media.” The product can also let parents check their kids’ location in real-time and contact them. Of course, you shouldn’t expect to get your hands on the product anytime soon because the project’s unveiling is scheduled for sometime in 2024. However, the employees told Insider that the plans might change. The Google-owned wearable maker is now selling Ace 3, a kid-focused wearable for children ages 6 to 12. But the product that stems from Project Eleven will provide parents with more monitoring features.
Fitbit Project Eleven aims to target younger users with a cellular-enabled wearable
Apple is currently the wearables market leader, and almost no company can yet catch up with that. But Google is determined to launch the next generation Pixel Watch and turn it into a rival to Apple Watch. But the real incentive for Google and Fitbit to launch Project Eleven is a young demographic of customers that are seeking wearables. According to a recent report by The New York Times, American parents are buying Apple Watches for their children as young as five years old. Also, 87% of teen respondents to the bank Piper Sandler survey said they owned an iPhone, while 31% said they owned an Apple Watch. “They talk a lot about wanting to engage the teen market,” a Fitbit employee told Insider. To date, Fitbit has built two prototypes, one of which features a screen and another one doesn’t. Also, the company wants to sell these new bands monthly through a subscription service. Of course, Fitbit already had a project to build a dedicated wearable for children. But the project was abandoned after merging with Google.
