Google and watchmaker Fossil Group today announced a $40 million deal that sees the search giant taking ownership of a good portion on Fossil’s smartwatch technology.
The deal, which is being described as “transactional” and will see some of Fossil’s R&D division join Google, will lead to the launch of a “new product innovation that’s not yet hit the market,” said Fossil VP and chief strategy officer Greg McKelvey.
McKelvey told Wearable the new product is based on technology that Fossil has been developing from its $260 million 2015 Misfit acquisition. “It’s new to the market technology and we think it’s a product that has features and benefits that aren’t in the category today,” he said.
Google confirmed the new product line will be a part of the Wear OS family, although it hasn’t been announced when products based on the technology will hit shelves.
Google has long been rumored to be working on a self-branded smartwatch competitor to the Apple Watch. The “Pixel Watch” is said to be made up of three models, codenamed Ling, Triton, and Sardine, although that is all the information currently available.
Google is also reported to be working on new fitness and health tracking features for Wear OS, which means the Fossil technology could also make an appearance there.
