A new series of reports surfaced earlier today revealing that Alphabet, Google's parent company is reportedly negotiating to acquire Fitbit. At present, there's no confirmation if the deal will definitely take place, reveal sources familiar to both camps. It is also not yet known if Alphabet has already made an offer to acquire the US-based wearable maker.
The latest report follows an earlier report from CNBC, which claims that Fitbit was in the process of toying with the idea of a sale. For years, Google has played a key role in the wearable segment with Wear OS operating system. However, it has struggled to compete for head-on with other companies like Apple even though it received support from an extensive list of companies such as TicWatch, LG, and Fossil.
It is worth noting that even Samsung, an Android smartphone maker, has avoided using the WearOS in its smart wearables and instead used its proprietary Tizen operating system. Earlier this year, the search engine giant paid around $40 million to Fossil for the acquisition of some kind of smartwatch technology. While it was unclear what the technology was, an executive from Fossil suggested that it is a new product innovation that is not yet available in the market.
Over the years, we have heard rumors and speculations that Google has been considering on releasing a Pixel smartwatch that is Google-branded. In 2016, these alleged plans reportedly almost resulted in a Google smartwatch getting rolled out. However, several sites claimed that the search engine giant axed the plans over some concerns.
This includes the possibility that it could pull the Google hardware brand name down. Since then, the search engine giant's alleged first-party hardware ambitions have dramatically increased. It even acquired in 2017 a part of HTC's smartphone engineering team to work on the Pixel phones. A Fitbit acquisition could enable Google to create a similar first-party push in the smart wearable segment.
Meanwhile, Apple's experience in the Apple Watch suggests that health features are quickly becoming a killer-app for the smart wearable market. Interestingly, this is the area where Fitbit excels the most and is highly likely very focused on. Considering the patchy track record of Fitbit in the smartwatch, Google's acquisition could mean enhanced technology and improved features.
Google has not yet made any comment related to its rumored interest in acquiring Fitbit. We suggest taking this new information with a pinch of salt until Google releases an official statement.
