Fitbit devices may burn your hand, according to a lawsuit

It seems that we’re on the verge of the next big tech scandal. Back in 2019, Google announced its plans to acquire Fitbit for $2.1 billion, and about a year later, the deal was completed. Fast forward to March 2022 when Google recalled 1.7 million Fitbit Ionic smartwatches, following 78 reports of users sustaining burns.

Things didn’t end up there, apparently - there’s a new lawsuit filed by two Fitbit users that claims that all Fitbit devices have a critical flaw that can cause them to overheat and potentially harm the people wearing them.

The lawsuit in question is seeking class-action status and attacks Google by wittily stating “Reasonable consumers purchase the Products to burn calories — not their skin.” Shots have definitely been fired, as the lawsuit also accuses Google of trying to deflect the blame for the burns on users’ hygiene.

Inside the filed case documents there are pictures of burned hands (they’re a bit too disturbing to include here, so if you want to check them out, follow the link to the published lawsuit documents above) and social media posts describing users’ experience with refunds and Fitbit support in general.

Another key point in the case is that Google actually recalled the 1.7 million Ionic smartwatches but failed to address the issue with other models, such as the Sense, Versa, Versa Light, Versa 2, Versa 3, Blaze, Inspire, and Inspire 2.

In some of the cases it seems that the battery overheated and exploded while the device was on the user’s hand. Needless to say, apart from being completely unacceptable for your smartwatch to go bang while you’re wearing it, such accidents can be very dangerous if you're, let's say, on a plane.

Whether or not this lawsuit will blow up (sorry for the pun) just like the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 did a couple of years ago, it’s not clear at the moment.

Of course, we don’t want to paint Google all black, and as with all lawsuits, the “innocent until proven guilty” presumption of innocence fully applies here. We’re gonna monitor the situation closely but meanwhile, let’s see if you guys have had any hot experiences with your Fitbit devices.