Skip to main content

Fitbit kills what's left of Coin, ending support and app services

Coin 2
Last spring, wearable company Fitbit acquired universal credit-card maker Coin to bolster its mobile payment efforts with future products, like smartwatches. In July, Coin announced it had ceased manufacturing and selling inventory. On February 28, the company will terminate its mobile app and support services, meaning assistance will no longer be offered through Coin’s website or social media accounts.

Coin published a list of frequently asked questions on its blog alongside the news earlier this week. The post stresses that the devices themselves will continue to work until their batteries die, which the company says is two years after the activation date. However, alongside the support shutdown at the end of the month, the iOS and Android apps used to sync, add, and delete cards will also be taken down and stop functioning. If you want to keep using Coin, the company recommends you make whatever changes are necessary over the next few weeks.

Not surprisingly, the announcement also invalidates the warranties of existing Coin devices out in the wild, and all customer information stored on the company’s services will be wiped after February 28. Data stored locally on the cards will remain. Users will still be able to contact the support team if they wish to delete their account in the future.

The news closes another chapter on one of the most memorable startup campaigns of the past several years. When Coin burst onto the scene in 2013, it broke its initial funding goal of $50,000 in just 40 minutes. After a rocky start of delayed shipments, the company began to find its legs, iterating upon the original product with Coin 2.0. The second release added an E-Ink display, NFC for tap-to-pay, and EMV chip for pin readers, making the device much easier to live with on a day-to-day basis.

Coin 2.0 only released about a year ago, and the startup was acquired by Fitbit in May, so customers unfortunately didn’t have much of an opportunity to experience the improved product. Still, Coin had the odds stacked against it. The device was compatible with many but not all merchants, meaning users still had to carry around conventional cards to mitigate the risk of being left penniless, and that somewhat defeated the purpose.

Also, it didn’t help that payment via smartphones was beginning to take off right around the same time. Why would people fork over cash for another device to consolidate their credit cards when they already had one in their pockets? Coin was becoming a harder and harder sell.

Now a part of Fitbit, the team responsible for creating Coin will be asked to channel everything they’ve learned in their brief history toward the wearable company’s newest products. Having also acquired smartwatch darling Pebble last November, Fitbit says it has something waiting in the wings to challenge the likes of the Apple Watch and Samsung Gear series later this year.

Editors' Recommendations

Adam Ismail
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Adam’s obsession with tech began at a young age, with a Sega Dreamcast – and he’s been hooked ever since. Previously…
I put the iPhone’s Dynamic Island on my Pixel 7 Pro — and I can’t go back
The expanded DynamicSpot Dynamic Island at the top of the Pixel 7 Pro.

The Apple iPhone 14 Pro got a big refresh last year, and key to that was a new selfie camera design with a pill-shaped cutout. Only, this is no normal hole -- it's the home of a new feature, the oddly-named "Dynamic Island." It's a notification bubble that lives behind the selfie camera that displays information like music tracks, timers, and anything else you need to know, but don't need a full screen for. If you're playing music on Spotify, it'll display the track name and controls. If someone calls you, it'll show the person's contact information. Waiting for an Uber? It'll show you how far away it is. It's even tied into the Face ID unlock process. It's a great use of the selfie camera — and one with a bright future.

At least, that's what we thought. The Dynamic Island has had a tough start, as app support was extremely limited, meaning it didn't live up to Apple's promises. This persisted for a number of months before the Dynamic Island finally got what it needed to live up to its hype.

Read more
Best Prime Day deals: What to expect on Prime Day 2023
Best Prime Day 2022 Deals graphic with multiple products.

Doesn't Prime Day feel like it comes around sooner every year? Kind of like Christmas but for anyone who's hunting around for deals, we're huge fans of Amazon's Prime Day event. It's often one of the best times of year to score a great deal on some very highly sought after products. If you've somehow missed all the fuss in recent years, or you simply need a refresher on the event, we're here to help. Below, we've explained exactly what is Prime Day (you're going to love it), when the event is likely to be, and what to expect too. If you're wondering if other retailers are getting in on the act and everything else you need to know, we've got you covered. Keep reading and remember to be excited -- it's going to be a good one.
What is Prime Day?
Prime Day is Amazon's biggest sales event of the year. It also tends to be the biggest sales period outside of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

The event started back in 2015 to celebrate Amazon's 20th birthday. Since then, it's gone from strength to strength with hundreds of millions of products sold during the event. Originally, it started out as a one-day sales event but it now encompasses two days so there are plenty of opportunities to save big.

Read more
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6: news, rumors, and what we want to see
The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro showing a colorful watch face.

Samsung’s 2023 product lineup has turned out pretty impressive so far, but the more promising devices are scheduled for the latter half of the year. Among them is the Galaxy Watch 6 series. Now, the Galaxy Watch 5 lineup isn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it also wasn’t really an appealing upgrade over the Galaxy Watch 4 portfolio.

With the Galaxy Watch 6 series, we’re already hearing some promising chatter in the leak land. From exciting display upgrades and a processor upgrade to the return of a classic design and software-side improvements, there's a lot to unpack. So, here's everything we know so far about the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6: design

Read more