At the start of this month, Fitbit announced a Material You redesign of its app, and I regret to inform you there is currently no dark theme.
The app is currently in “limited beta,” with Google “inviting select Fitbit users to try out the app” to provide feedback. From the screenshots we have today, it’s a nice modernization that brings the Android and iOS client inline with the latest Material You redesign language. This includes a tall bottom bar, rounded cards, and various other M3 components. Various stat pages have been redesigned, while a “Coach” feature is front and center.
As of today, we’ve learned from those testing that there is no dark theme to be found; be it automatic with the system or a manual setting. You just get a light theme that doesn’t look to be an entirely white, but rather gray. The bottom bar and FAB is tinted a light turquoise, rather than adopting Dynamic Color.
Furthermore, a dive into the Fitbit app by our APK Insight team reveals no ongoing work on a dark theme or assets.
This is disappointing, with Fitbit needing one. (For me, waking up every morning in a darkened room and then opening the bright Fitbit app is annoying.) There are very few first-party apps today that don’t have a dark theme, or aren’t dark by default. Google Opinion Rewards and the just updated Arts & Culture immediately come to mind, but neither are as important as Fitbit.
I think the Fitbit app will eventually get a dark theme. After all, Fitbit on the Pixel Watch/Wear OS looks perfectly fine with a black background. There isn’t really an institutional reason for this beyond development prioritization and resources. Fitbit in recent years likely didn’t offer one for the previous/current app design because this upcoming revamp was in the cards, and the effort would not be worth it.
The team must have just not thought a dark theme to be important for this initial release, which sets out to provide a “simpler design and more motivating content.” I and others disagree, but fine (for now). This new app gives Fitbit a clean slate to build upon and they’ll hopefully be able to add a dark theme sooner than later.
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