Summary: Fitbit has had a rough week–its stock tumbled and it was slapped with a class action lawsuit.
Did Fitbit knowingly mislead users? That’s what a new lawsuit claims.
The fitness company is facing a class action suit that alleges the PurePulse technology doesn’t accurately monitor heart rate, Time reports.
PurePulse uses LED lights to monitor blood flow in someone’s wrist. Using algorithms, it determines heart rate.
The technology is found in Fitbit’s Charge HR, Surge devices and its new product Blaze.
According to the suit, plaintiffs purchased Fitbit because of the company’s claim that it accurately tracks heart rates. But after a test, one user found that the manual measurement didn’t match Fitbit’s finding.
Additionally, the suit says a cardiologist found Fitbit’s technology was inaccurate and if someone’s heart rate was 110 bpm or higher, the device recorded no heart rate at all.
But Fitbit thinks this suit is meritless.
”We do not believe this case has merit,” Fitbit told Fortune. “Fitbit stands behind our heart rate technology and strongly disagrees with the statements made in the complaint and plans to vigorously defend the lawsuit.”
In addition to this class action suit, Fitbit had a painful week when it released the smartwatch, Blaze, which PC Magazine called a “letdown.” Shortly after its release, Fitbit’s shares tumbled by 18 percent.
Source: http://time.com/4170682/fitbit-lawsuit-fitness-trackers/?xid=time_socialflow_facebook