Only for a singular technology, though.
Google is to pick up intellectual property and a portion of the research and development team at Fossil Group in a deal valued at $40 million, as part of an apparent attempt to revitalise the flagging Wear OS smartwatch market.
Formerly known as Android Wear, Wear OS was designed to revolutionise the wearables market. Based on Google’s Android platform, and primarily designed for use tethered to an Android-based smartphone, Wear OS includes functionality from customisable watchfaces and fitness tracking to live mapping and voice-assistant capabilities. Its uptake, however, has been slow: After an initial rash of Android Wear products, slow sales saw several manufacturers leave the market and those still in are typically still pushing older models without having launched anything new to replace them. Android Wear
Google, though, doesn’t look to be giving up just yet: The company has signed a deal with Fossil Group, which has produced several Wear OS devices in the past, to acquire selected smartwatch-related intellectual property and a slice of its research and development team.
