• Also on Friday, Google announced a deal to buy the famous watch manufacturer Fossil Group intellectual property as part of a strategy related to its smartwatch technology;
• Today it’s Xiaomi that dominates the global wearables market, with a 17.3% market share.

Alphabet-owned Google announced the acquisition of the fitness tracker pioneer Fitbit Inc for $2.1 billion. According to Reuters, “the search giant wants to looks to take on Apple and Samsung in the fast-growing market for wearable devices”.

“Over the years, Google has made progress with partners in this space with Wear OS and Google Fit, but we see an opportunity to invest even more in Wear OS as well as introduce Made by Google wearable devices into the market. Fitbit has been a true pioneer in the industry and has created engaging products, experiences and a vibrant community of users. By working closely with Fitbit’s team of experts, and bringing together the best AI, software and hardware, we can help spur innovation in wearables and build products to benefit even more people around the world,”wrote Rick Osterloh, Google’s Senior VP of Devices & Services on the company’s blog.

Also on Friday, Google announced a deal to buy the famous watch manufacturer Fossil Group intellectual property as part of a strategy related to its smartwatch technology.

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Also according to Reuters, Fitbit’s share of the fitness tracking market has been threatened by deeper-pocket companies such as Apple and Samsung as well as cheaper offerings from China’s Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi. 

Today it’s Xiaomi that dominates the global wearables market, with a 17.3% market share in the second quarter of 2019, followed by Apple. Fitbit owns 10% of the market, according to data from International Data Corp disclosed by Reuters.