Google Acquires Android Smartwatch Maker WIMM Labs

Google has acquired the smartwatch manufacturer WIMM Labs, seemingly as part of an effort to bolster its own plans for wearable devices. The acquisition was first reported by GigaOM, and has been confirmed to The Verge by a Google spokesperson. WIMM Labs released its first smartwatch back in 2011, the WIMM One, which ran Android and included a platform for developers to code apps for it. We said at the time that the product had great potential, and now it looks like that potential could come to pass under the guidance of a bigger company.

WIMM Labs' employees are believed to be working under Google's Android team, reports GigaOM. That would be a natural fit given WIMM Labs' history with the platform and immediate eye toward building an app store that's open to developers. The acquisition is believed to have occurred last summer, when WIMM Labs was about three years old. At the time, WIMM Labs announced that it had "entered into an exclusive, confidential relationship" that prevented it from continuing its current products, and this would appear to be that exclusive agreement.

What Google's own plan for wearable devices actually is remains to be seen. It was previously reported that the company was at work on an Android-powered smartwatch, but further details have been scarce. When it will happen isn't clear either, but other companies are seemingly starting to rush into the market: Samsung is planning to unveil a smartwatch based on Android in just days time, and Microsoft, Apple, LG, and more than a few others are expected to be on its coattails. For now, WIMM Labs' old products may be an early look at the type of ideas that could end up in an eventual Google watch.