Google to buy Fitbit

Google has agreed to buy Fitbit for $2.1 Billion in a move giving the US tech giant entry into the wearable technology space. The move comes with Google seeking to expand beyond its core the business of online search into hardware, and with Fitbit struggling against rivals including Apple.

While Fitbit was among the first to popularize fitness bands, it has lost ground in recent years to rivals. A survey by research firm IDC for the second quarter of 2019 found Fitbit in fourth place in a market led by China's Xiaomi leading the global market, followed by Apple -- which makes the leading smartwatch -- and Chinese-based Huawei.

Fitbit has introduced its own smartwatch in 2017 but it has failed to keep pace with the Apple Watch. Google, which faces pressure from regulators around the world over its dominance of internet search has been boosting its hardware offerings, including a line of Pixel smartphones and tablets, along with connected speakers.

Fitbit’s fitness trackers monitor users’ daily steps, calories burned and distance traveled. They also measure floors climbed, sleep duration and quality, and heart rate. The company has been partnering with health insurers and has been making tuck-in acquisitions in the healthcare market, as part of efforts to diversify its revenue stream.

Google buys Eyefluence

Google has acquired a 3-year-old-eye-tracking company for virtual and augmented reality headsets, signaling the tech giant’s interest in the immersive technologies. Eyefluence develops eye-interaction technologies to control VR and AR headsets. Eyes can instantaneously transform intent into action, enabling communication as fast as you can see.

Google released its Cardboard smartphone VR visor in mid-2014 and its Daydream View VR headset in early October. The company is also reportedly working on a high-end VR headset. The deal allows Google to put Eyefluence's technology into VR and AR products like Daydream, allowing third-party developers and publishers to use it as part of the Google's UI toolkit, said Lewis Ward, research director for gaming and VR/AR at IDC.

Functional eye-tracking is a widely desired feature in virtual reality and augmented reality, which lets digital images interact with the physical world. Eye-tracking tech would curb some of the latency and accessibility issues that keep the nascent media to a niche fan base. Google has invested heavily in VR, launching tailored software and introducing its own mobile headset earlier this month. Google has also invested directly in Magic Leap, a start-up that is also purportedly working on eye interaction technology.

Eye-tracking is a very important technology to future virtual reality headsets. Other companies in the space like SMI and Tobii have devoted efforts to using the eye as a method of signaling attention in interfaces but Eyefluence has devoted itself fully to using eye gesture cues for navigating menus and making selections.