(credit: Vector)
Fitness wearables company Fitbit didn’t announce any new products at CES 2017, and we didn’t expect it to. However, just days after the show ended, news of a new acquisition has come out. Fitbit has purchased the European smartwatch startup Vector, which already has two devices in the luxury connected watches market. Both watches boast 30-day battery lives. A message on Vector’s website confirms the acquisition but does not disclose how much Fitbit paid for the startup. Vector CEO Andrei Pitis also confirmed the news to TechCrunch and said Fitbit is acquiring the company for its “software platform and design team.”
“We believe this is an important milestone as a moment when we will start building other new and amazing products, features, and experiences, incorporating our unique technology and knowhow with Fitbit’s experience and global community,” the Vector team wrote on its website.
Vector came onto the scene in 2015 with its Luna and Meridian smartwatches that are compatible with Android, iOS, and Windows devices. Both watches have similar features: activity tracking, onboard apps, their own OS with discrete notifications and “streams” (or visuals of cherry-picked information from social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook), and an impressive 30-day battery life.
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Source: Ars Technica – Fitbit continues to beef up smartwatch efforts with acquisition of Vector