It's been a rough few years for Jawbone trying to thrive in the shadow of Fitbit, and more than once in recent months we've heard that the company is planning to get out of the wearable device business altogether - something Jawbone has so far denied.
A fresh report from TechCrunch over the weekend says that time really is up for the consumer hardware side of Jawbone's operations, with the company planning to focus on business-to-business clinical services instead.
That wouldn't be a huge surprise in the light of Jawbone's recent legal tussles with Fitbit and a flood of complaints from users that customer support for existing bands and trackers has pretty much stopped.
Weary of wearables
We haven't seen any new devices since 2015 from Jawbone and there's nothing to suggest any more are on the way. However, the company's apps and data services have always been a cut above the rest, so it makes sense to concentrate on these areas in the future.
However, nothing is set in stone at the moment - TechCrunch's sources say the company is still looking to raise more funding to completely its pivot and move into new areas. Jawbone has yet to officially respond to the rumors.
Fitness wearables is certainly a tough market to find success in, as Fitbit, Pebble, Samsung and Apple are all finding. If Jawbone did make a quiet exit, it would be a shame - in its heyday it made some of the best health trackers in the business.
