If there’s one unspoken rule about buying new tech, it’s that being first almost always costs you extra. We’ve seen this play out time and time again, and I’m watching it happen right now with the new Google Fitbit Air.

While the Fitbit Air recently launched globally with an attractive Recommended Retail Price (RRP) of $100 (roughly KES 13,000), getting your hands on one locally paints a vastly different picture. It isn’t officially sold in Kenya, but our resourceful local retailers never fail to bring these devices to us, often at a hefty premium.

Browsing through current store listings, I’ve seen the fitness tracker selling for more than double its actual value.

Google-Fitbit-Air-price-in-Kenya-at-Avechi

Over at Avechi, for instance, it hits an eye-watering KES 26,499.

The most “affordable” option I managed to find was at InStok for KES 18,500, with the rest of the shops hovering somewhere in between.

Don’t buy the Fitbit Air now

This wild markup is the classic early adopter tax, but I strongly suggest keeping your wallet firmly shut for now. If recent trends have taught us anything, these inflated price tags never last.

Take the iPhone 17 series, for example. When the iPhone 17 lineup debuted in Kenya, the initial asking prices were astronomical. Yet, prices crashed heavily just three months later once the initial hype cooled off and supply channels normalized.

We are also witnessing the exact same lifecycle with Apple’s latest laptop. When it arrived in March this year, MacBook Neo launch prices forced many buyers to look for cheaper alternatives. Fast forward to today, and we are finally seeing those MacBook Neo prices steadily drop to more reasonable levels.

The Fitbit Air will undoubtedly follow this exact script. It’s a fantastic wearable, but it simply isn’t worth a 100% markup. Give the market about three months to stabilize, let the gray market competition kick in, and you’ll see that KES 26,000 tag shrink down closer to what we actually expect for this device.