SAN FRANCISCO: Fitbit has recalled 1.7 million of its Ionic smartwatches used for tracking steps and other activity due to the risk of batteries overheating and burning wearers.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a recall notice that it received slightly more than 100 reports of Ionic wearers being burned by the smartwatches.
Fitbit has received at least 115 reports in the United States and 59 reports internationally of the battery watch overheating. Additionally, there have been 78 reports of burn injuries in the US A handful of those burns were reported to be second-degree or third-degree. “Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled Ionic smartwatches,” the commission urged.
About a million Ionic smartwatches have been sold in the United States and another 693,000 or so outside the country. Fitbit is offering refunds of $299 each for the recalled smartwatches, which the company had manufactured in Taiwan but stopped producing in 2020.
Google completed its buy of Fitbit early last year in a deal valued at $2.1 billion and is expected to soon release a Pixel smartwatch designed to sync with Android-powered smartphones.
This is the second major recall for the company, which had to recall its popular Fitbit Force in 2014, after it was discovered that prolonged use of the device could lead to skin irritation. Over one million units were recalled in the US, just six months after its launch.
Fitbit was a pioneer in the market for “wearable” devices used to keep track of activities from sleep to running. In the years since, the fitness tracker space has become much more crowded, with Apple assuming a leadership position with the Apple Watch.
