Apple acquires sleep-tracking hardware company Beddit

Apple has acquired Beddit, a Finnish company that makes sleep-tracking devices that work with apps for iOS and the Apple Watch. As first reported by CNBC, Beddit has updated the privacy section of its website to note the acquisition and confirm that consumer data is now subject to Apple’s own privacy policy.

Beddit’s latest product is the $149 Beddit 3 Sleep Monitor, which is sold in the Apple Store. It’s a sensor-equipped strip that slides under a bedsheet and tracks nocturnal movements through a technique called ballistocardiography; the main advantage is that you don’t need to wear an activity tracker or remember to use it at all.

Of course, that’s at odds with Apple’s own efforts in the body-tracking space, which have so far focused largely on the Apple Watch — a device that requires daily charging, usually at night. As such, the Watch doesn’t offer any native sleep-tracking capabilities, though there are some third-party apps that work for people who can find time to charge their watches during the day. Bloomberg reported last year that Apple plans to add sleep-tracking to the Apple Watch.

The Beddit acquisition could point to some sort of official solution to the gap in functionality, or Apple may plan to make use of Beddit’s software and data for future products or features. Or, as with other acquisitions in the company’s past, Apple may simply be buying Beddit out as a way to hire some or all of its engineers. But sleep-tracking is a logical area for Apple to move into, and it’s already expressed some degree of interest in Beddit’s approach by selling the products in its stores. 

The article was published on : theverge