Jawbone is shutting down: How will that affect you?

Jawbone is going out of business.

The company, well known for its Bluetooth earpieces and wireless speakers and fitness tracking efforts, has entered into liquidation proceedings, according to The Information. We've contacted Jawbone for a comment and will update when we hear back. Meanwhile, Hosain Rahman, co-founder and CEO, has started a new company, called Jawbone Health Hub, which is clearly focused on health technology.

Here's everything you need to know about Jawbone shutting down and how that will affect you.

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What's happening to Jawbone?

Jawbone is currently emailing customers, telling them it has been "transitioning to a simpler care experience". The company, which was once valued at more than £2.3 billion, has not been active on Twitter or Facebook for several months. Keep in mind that in February TechCrunch claimed the once-popular brand intended to leave the consumer market to focus on healthcare providers.

Now, there are reports of liquidation circulating around, along with news that CEO Hosain Rahman has launched a new health-based tech start-up: Jawbone Health Hub. Several existing Jawbone employees have joined Rahman at the new business, which has already posted multiple job listings as Jawbone Health. It is looking for hardware and software developers at the moment.

What is Jawbone Health Hub?

Few details about the new business are known. From job listings, we know it is looking for developers who “ingests a lot of data, whether it is heart rate, accelerometer readings, or other sensor readings”. This matches with previous reports about Jawbone falling on hard times and attempting to transition into a clinical health product that plans to sell technology to businesses rather than consumers.

How will all this affect you?

The Information said Jawbone Health Hub will service existing Jawbone products once the original company folds. However, earlier this year, many consumers noticed that Jawbone completely halted customer support through its social media channels. Owners of Jawbone Bluetooth speakers and UP activity trackers began to complain online - but Jawbone has remained unusually quiet ever since.

Beyond reports about the company not offering customer service, as well as news about it facing financial problems, there has been talk about dwindling inventory and executives leaving the company. Plus, Jawbone is in the middle of several legal battles with Fitbit. It's clear that Jawbone is a dying hardware company, so at this point, it's hard to say how you could be affected way down the road.

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