Apple's Latest Acquisition Points to Future Wearable Gadgets

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By Pete Pachal2013-08-02 14:32:23 UTC

Apple recently acquired a small company that specializes in designing communications chips that use very little power, Passif Semiconductor. The purchase gives Apple more resources to tap for its venture into wearable computing, which appears inevitable.

The acquisition, first reported by tech reporter Jessica Lessin, happened in "recent months." Passif, founded by two Ph.D. students from the University of Berkeley, worked on developing chips with radios that consume very little power and work with the Bluetooth Smart (a.k.a 4.0 and Low Energy) standard.

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Bluetooth Smart devices, such as heart-rate monitors, can connect to smartphones and tablets but sip power at a rate that their batteries can last months or even years on a single charge.

Such technology has obvious applications in the field of wearable computing, and indeed, many Bluetooth Smart devices exist today (such as the FitBit Flex). Apple is rumored to be working on a smart watch called the iWatch and has recently gone so far as to trademark the name in several countries.

Apple more or less confirmed the acquisition to several publications with the statement that "Apple buys small technology companies from time to time." The amount paid for Passif was not disclosed.

Passif Semiconductor's LinkedIn page, which describes the company as a "low power wireless fabless IC," reveals that it employs fewer than 10 people. It appears the company has never had a website; the domain name PassifSemi.com reads: "Website Coming Soon! Stay Tuned."

Image: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Topics: acquisition, apple, bluetooth, Business, Gadgets, iwatch, Mobile, Wearable Tech