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This week has been surprisingly busy for the smart watch and apparel industry. The story of "Pixel Watch" was narrated, as we learned that Google will not release a smartwatch at its hardware event next month. In addition to the launch of the Apple Watch Series 5 today, a report revealed that Fitbit was considering whether to explore a sale.
Reuters reports that everything is still very provisional, and currently only discussed. A sale would be due to "difficulties in successfully rotating the fitness trackers to smart watches".
The investment bank Qatalyst Partners "seeks to convince" Fitbit, and is the "arguing part" that Alphabet might be interested in buying. Private equity firms are also in the running. At the moment, Reuters' According to sources, "Fitbit has not yet decided whether he will pursue a sale and he was not sure he would do it."
We do not really know if Alphabet / Google is interested in buying Fitbit, but it's not the craziest idea in the world. Nest, as part of the integration with Google, would have been interested in the Nokia Health / Withings acquisition.
A smart home brand that buys a health business may seem odd, but past rumors speak to Nest's interest in health. A CNBC report last year on how Nest's smart home products could help seniors live independently:
One idea is to use motion sensors to help people get to the bathroom in the middle of the night by automatically turning on the lights or by warning people who are moving a lot through excessive heat that they may dehydrate.
More generally, any Google product in this area would come from the new division of Google Health, created to organize various teams such as Search, AI, Google Fit, Nest, DeepMind, etc.
In the meantime, remember how Google's hardware team created a fairly advanced health group this year with the help of ATAP, which is officially a unique art project? It includes sensors to track movements, heart activity, respiratory rate, skin temperature and skin conductivity, all in a slender band wrapped in tissue.
I think this project could do more than please, but considering that Google does not have a smartwatch in the foreseeable future – as we announced yesterday – a group or a dedicated fitness tracker seems to be a way for Google not to completely miss wearables.
Of course, Google could simply buy Fitbit – a reliable player in the fitness field. There would be immediate incompatibilities, as Fitbit Versa Smart Watches make no sense with Wear OS, which has a large ecosystem of partners and an OEM model.
And yes, Fitbit's aesthetic is nothing like Made by Google – which has killed an exclusive watch and sport, but in the end it's all about data. The acquisition of Fitbit would provide a body of health-related data that Google could analyze and run using machine learning algorithms, providing valuable health information and proactive suggestions. There have been rumors of a Google Coach, while Google Fit is offering more and more notifications.
Fitbit also brings great expertise in the field of health and talent acquired over the past 12 years. The miniaturization material is hard, and a Google solo effort on a portable product would be done without a critical insight into the process of building a small wrist-resistant and durable object through intense physical activity.
In many ways, a Fitbit purchase is better than relying on Google Fit installed on Wear OS devices or on a fictitious first-party health group that should first sell properly, gain market appeal and be really good.
What Google would buy with Fitbit are millions of devices already in the world and a vibrant community. This could make him an overnight player in the field of consumer health. Google has the opportunity to showcase its fitness and activity offerings directly to people who have already invested in health and, if possible, to impress them with intelligence.
Everything is temporary, but the importance of health and portable equipment is not fundamental for the present and the future. Google would do better to start soon, otherwise it will be left behind.
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