Google’s parent company, Alphabet has tendered a bid to buy smartwatch and wearable maker Fitbit and its existing fitness tracking business according to Reuters.
Should the companies reach a deal, Google would, at last, be inducted into the wearables market.
Though WearOS has powered Android watches for some time, Google has yet to join Apple and Samsung in developing in-house hardware designed for maximum compatibility with its flagship smartphone.
While there’s no guarantee Google and Fitbit come to an agreement, there are a number of reasons to believe Reuter’s sources are reliable.
Fitbit’s smartwatch sales nosedived last quarter, suggesting its current capabilities aren’t enough to compete with Apple’s stronghold on the wearable market. Fitbit also already partners with Google on monitoring health data through Google Cloud.
Fitbit wouldn’t be Google’s first smartwatch acquisition. It bought Fossil’s smartwatch technology for $40 million in January with promises of a groundbreaking collaboration.
Reuter’s sources neither said how much Google offered for Fitbit nor expressed total confidence in the companies reaching a deal. But we imagine this report gives Pixel users a reason to expect their version of the Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch to appear soon.
Investors sure seem to like this potential move, as Fitbit’s stock was up 33 per cent. But it remains to be seen how well Google would integrate the company.
