Maybe they settled out of court?
The Zwift Hub is slightly different and the firmware is all Zwift, maybe that is part of it?
IANAL but I believe the âwithout prejudiceâ part means they could refile in the future, assuming the judge granted the request.
From DC Rainmaker, Wahooâs statement from todayâŚ
âWahoo and JetBlack have amicably settled the patent lawsuit Wahoo filed against JetBlack. As a result, JetBlack will cease selling itsâ Volt Smart Trainer in the United States and Europe â where Wahoo has patents. The other terms of the settlement agreement are confidential. The lawsuit filed against Zwift is a separate case and is still in progress.
oh man, can you imagine if Zwift has to stop selling the Hub in the US and Europe, that would be bad news for Zwift.
Especially if it applied to replacement partsâŚ
Looking at the Wahoo layoffs happening, maybe all Zwift has to do is stall in court and wait until Wahoo isnât a company anymore.
Or Zwift or JetBlack buys them.
I seriously doubt that will happen. Keep in mind that Zwiftâs trainer hardware business is entirely secondary to their business helping people use trainers. My guess is that margins on the Hub are relatively bad compared to software subscriptions - itâs a lower end product with cutthroat pricing, and they have a partner (Jetblack) that gets a cut as well. Any bad news for Wahoo is also bad news for Zwift. Bad news for the indoor trainer industry as a whole is bad news for Zwift.
Thatâs pretty big.
UPDATE September 6.
Zwift and Wahoo Fitness today confirm the amicable settlement of all pending litigation. The agreement will see both parties embark on a renewed approach to collaboration, with a view to growing the indoor fitness category and delivering continual, ongoing improvements to customers - through increased innovation, ease of use and better value.
Wahoo has granted Zwift a limited licence to use its patents. Zwift will continue to sell its Zwift Hub smart trainer in existing ecommerce markets - US, UK and Europe.
In addition to selling Zwift Hub, Zwift will return to selling a selection of Wahoo smart trainers, bikes and accessories on Zwift.com from mid-September. The assorted range will offer customers a simple selection across a range of price points, all sold with one year of Zwift.
Wahoo Fitness will also offer customers the option to bundle one year of Zwift with the purchase of a smart trainer or bike via Wahoofitness.com.
Both parties look forward to sharing further details in the coming months.
Seems like a good compromise all round
Zwift hub price increase coming in 5⌠4⌠3âŚ
Highly doubt it. Zwift Hub canât compete with Kickr Core at the same price. Even at the current prices, a lot of people would still pay $100 extra for a Kickr Core ($599 currently) given the issues people have been experiencing with the Hub.
It probably depends on whether Zwift is paying a licensing fee to Wahoo as part of the deal and if so how big it is. In any case they will still try to compete on price and Iâm sure Zwift still wants to be cheaper if they can. I agree with @_Geralt_of_Rivia that the Hub is not really competitive with the Kickr Core on anything except price, so it needs to cost less.
it has self calibration apparently, which the core doesnât
personally i wouldnât use either trainer (cores are just as unreliable btw) but auto calibration is one of the nicer features you can have on power equipment