Rumor: Google May Acquire Nokia Health (Withings)

Nokia (Not HMD Global) purchased Withings a few years ago and renamed it as Nokia Health. Following the acquisition, it has released a couple of products and rebranded others. They include the Nokia Go activity tracker, Nokia Steel HR smartwatch, and Nokia Body Cardio to name a few. Latest reports say Nokia wants to do away with the division.

According to 9to5Google, a memo leaked in February revealed the health division is struggling. Hence, the reason for wanting to sell it off. Google is said to be one of the bidders for the division.

It is reported that Nest is actually the one interested in purchasing Nokia Health. However, Nest announced earlier this year that it would no longer be a separate Alphabet Inc. subsidiary and will be merged back with Google. So, technically it is Google doing the bidding.

There are some other unnamed companies interested in the acquisition. Two of them are French companies and the other is a non-European company. Unfortunately, Google may have issues with the acquisition.

The French government wants it sold to a French company as the country is trying to develop AI. There is also the concern for data protection for Europeans. Google is aware of these developments and is also pulling its own strings. It has established a new AI research center in France and is increasing its workforce in the country.

If Google acquires Nokia Health, we may see Wear OS get better at health monitoring and be able to hold its own against Apple’s Watch Series. It will also be cool to get a Pixel-branded smartwatch with focus on health.