Nest, the Google-owned company known for its popular smart home products, like the Nest Cam Outdoor and Nest Thermostat E, is reportedly considering a much deeper dive into the connected home tech sector.
Nokia, which acquired Withings in 2016, is said to be looking for a buyer, according to sources familiar with the matter. In the runnings along with Nest are three other companies in total, two of which are France-based.
Wareable’s reporting on the topic points out that Google’s interest in Nokia’s health division is up against a worried French government, reluctant that such a deal might not be a positive move in the wake of the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica. Sources say that they would much rather see Nokia’s assets change hands to one of the bidding French companies.
- Best smart thermostat: heating your home using tech
A nestful of Nest products
Google’s interest in Nokia’s health business isn’t surprising, as we reported on an intriguing, yet weird patent the company filed that might watch you sleep using infrared sensors.
Sleep tracking continues to be a difficult metric to track, so beyond the smart scales and wearables Google would acquire from Nokia, a main interest could lie in its sleep tracking know-how, which it put on display with the Nokia Sleep pad.
In addition to tracking your sleeping patterns for your own personal learning purposes, it can connect to other smart home devices to, say, brighten the lights nearby when you normally wake up. Of course, acquiring a company like this would only be a boon to the company’s battle against Apple’s HomeKit and Amazon Alexa’s growing list of skills.
