Apple's online store has stopped selling Fitbit fitness gear, 9to5Mac reported today, confirming an earlier rumor from mid-October that Apple would be dropping Fitbit's product line.
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You can still find fitness wearables on Apple's online stores. The UP24 from Jawbone is still up for sale via Apple, for example, but Fitbit's products are nowhere to be found.
There are no official reasons given for the change, but several viable theories have popped up. One possible reason is that this is a response to Fitbit not wanting to integrate their product line with Apple's new HealthKit API in iOS 8. Jawbone, in contrast, had added HealthKit support to its UP line, and it's still found in Apple's online store. Another possible reason is that Fitbit recently announced the Fitbit Surge, a fitness tracker whose design drifts heavily into smartwatch territory. The Surge will likely compete against Apple's upcoming Apple Watch, which could have something to do with Apple pulling Fitbit support.
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More than likely, Apple's true rationale for dropping Fitbit has something to do with all of these reasons.
Fitbit recently unveiled three new fitness products, one of which is already on the market. In addition to the upcoming Surge, Fitbit announced the Charge, a fitness band with a narrow display that is in stores now.
When it launches in 2015, the Apple Watch will also focus heavily on fitness functionality, which might explain why Apple used iOS 8 to introduce the new Health app. That way, the app can be out in the open and develop a strong support network before the Apple Watch completes the ecosystem next year.