May 10, 2017 - Technology

Apple's latest acquisition may be built into watches

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AP

After sleeping on the news of Apple's acquisition of Beddit, I still think it is too soon to say what will become of the technology. The company isn't known for keeping products alive once it buys them. Beats' headphones business is an obvious exception but that was a much, much, much larger company with a huge established business and brand. Beddit, by contrast, is a tiny company from Finland. But, what about the tech? As for where the technology goes, one likely candidate is the Apple Watch. Unlike some other smartwatches, Apple doesn't already have sleep tracking built into Apple Watch. That's likely in part because the device still needs to be charged every day. But as battery life improves, the watch would be a logical place to see some sleep-tracking technology show up. And Beddit already works with Apple's HealthKit.That said, Beddit's technology is a sensor that goes on the mattress rather than a wrist-worn product like some rivals. So perhaps Apple will keep it around after all. I'm kind of tossing and turning on this one.

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