Though Android Wear devices (and smartwatches, in general) have received a lukewarm response from consumers in this mobile-centric market. But Google is still focused on further improvement of its wearable OS and competing with its arch-enemy Apple. Thus, it has acquired Cronologics, a startup focused on building a smart, diverse and intuitive experiences for smartwatches.
The financial terms of the transaction have been kept under wraps but the team at Cronologics will now be joining Google’s Android Wear division (of course!) The said company, which was founded by ex-Googlers Lan Rcohe, Leor Stern, and John Lagerling, will be moving back home with this acquisition.
Talking about the next phase for the company post-acquisition, a statement on Cronologics’ website reads:
We see strong alignment with Android Wear’s mission and look forward to working with our new colleagues at Google to continue pushing the frontier of wearable technology and smartwatches with Android Wear 2.0 and beyond.
Based out of San Mateo, the smartwatch startup was founded in 2014 to focus on the acceleration of smartwatch technology across platforms. The primary aim of the founders to build a compelling software architecture coupled with a robust hardware experience. Thus, the company debuted its own operating system and a wearable device ‘CoWatch’ powered by the same.
The CoWatch was launched via Indiegogo in June this year. It managed to bag about 300 percent more funds than required. The watch which packed in impressive internal specs (dual-core 1.2 GHz SoC, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB ROM, AMOLED display, heart rate sensor, water resistance, and more) coupled with a beautiful circular design looked impressive. Also, the CoWatch brought with it Amazon Alexa’s smarts and connectivity for both Android and iOS-powered devices.
But, post acquisition, the fate of their software and hardware offerings both are in jeopardy. Cronologics will not be allowed to sell their CoWatch but their virtual assistant integration tech could be leveraged to merge ‘Google Assistant’ into the Android Wear experience. The company will be looking to add Android Wear devices to its arsenal of smart devices in the coming months.
