Apple has recently acquired Beddit, which is a Finnish company that is responsible for the creation of sleep-tracking devices that work directly with apps for iOS and the Apple Watch. Initially reported by CNBC, Beddit has updated the privacy aspect of its website to include the revelation that the acquisition has occurred and that, as a result of such, consumer data is currently subject to Apple’s own privacy policy.

Beddit’s most recently released product is the $149 Beddit 3 Sleep Monitor, which just so happens to be sold in the Apple Store. The device is a sensor-equipped strip which is meant to be slid under a bedsheet of the user and it then tracks nocturnal movements via a technique called ballistocardiography. The main plus side of this device is that you do not need to wear an activity tracker nor do you even need to remember to use it at all—essentially all the consumer needs to do is slide the device under a bedsheet and the hassle-free device does its thing from there on.

That being said, this is at odds with Apple’s own aspirations in the realm of body-tracking space—efforts with, as of now, have been very extensively have been focused on the Apple Watch, which is a tad counterintuitive as the device requires daily charging that typically takes place at night.

Due to this, the Apple Watch does not particularly offer any native sleep-tracking capabilities. However, there are some third-party apps which work for people who can find time to charge their watches during the day; thus enabling people to use the watch for its sleep-tracking abilities. Bloomberg reported last year that Apple intends to add sleep-tracking features to the Apple Watch.

The Beddit acquisition could indicate a sort of formal solution to the gap in functionality, or Apple may plan to make use of Beddit’s software and data for the use of future products or features. Alternatively, as was the case with other acquisitions that happened in the company’s past, Apple may merely have purchased Beddit as a solution so that it could hire out a portion, or all, of its engineers. Regardless of its initial intention, sleep-tracking is a reasonable field of expansion for Apple to consider, especially as it has already indicated that it has a certain level of interest in Beddit’s marketing methods by selling the products in its stores.

Featured Image via Wikimedia.