Week in wearable: Fitbit goes shopping as Apple smartwatches start to deliver

Apple, Fitbit, Samsung, Microsoft, Sony and Nokia. All of the big names have been in the headlines this week for very different reasons, some that make us cheerful, and some that don't. We also have reasons to be excited about Mobile World Congress 2018, the Barcelona tech expo, which is just a couple of weeks away.

So what exactly has been going down this week? Here's our rundown of the big wearable tech stories, plus our pick of the best reads on the site to head to after.

Fitbit goes shopping for a health startup

We've known for some time about Fitbit's big push into serious health tracking and this week it cemented those ambitions by making snapping up healthcare startup Twine Health.

We don't know how much this acquisition is costing, but we do know that the MIT Media Lab spinout is a service built for helping people who suffer from chronic conditions including hypertension and diabetes. Those are two health conditions that Fitbit has already publicly declared as areas of interest.

This is just the latest step in Fitbit's pursuit to use its wearable to improve health monitoring. We've been following Fitbit's big move into serious health tracking including the tech it hopes to make this happen.

Apple's wearables are starting to fly

According to Tim Cook, Apple's wearable business is nearly the size of a Fortune 300 company. If you're wondering how big that is, it's big. While Apple never talks numbers, that puts it around the $9-10 billion mark, which is impressive.

Apple's wearable division does comprise of its smartwatch, Beats headphones and AirPods business, so it's difficult to know how much the Apple Watch is contributing to that success. But analysts recently suggested that Watch sales are on the up.

Another company that has reasons to be happy about smartwatches this week is Fossil, who also saw an improvement in sales of its hybrid and full-fat smartwatches. So why are Apple and Fossil enjoying some good smartwatch fortune? We try to explain all in this week's edition of Charged Up.

Is the end nigh for Nokia's wearables?

Now this really would be a big loss. Just two years after snapping up French startup and Wareable fave Withings, Nokia has announced that it's conducting a review of its Digital Health business.

When companies use the word review, that normally means bad times are coming. The Finnish company will be looking at both its consumer and enterprise products and this does unfortunately cover its hybrid smartwatches, smart scales, sleep monitor and other connected health tech.

We are big fans of Nokia's wearables, particularly the new Steel HR hybrid smartwatch, which has only recently been given the Nokia rebranding treatment. Here's hoping Nokia isn't about to call it a day on wearables.