It probably could have just done this without dropping $50m, but what do we know?
Logitech has bought sports wearable and headphone manufacturer Jaybird for $50 million, as it looks to get a slice of the sports tech pie.
Logitech already has a strong audio segment of its business with Ultimate Ears, which produces high end speakers. And while Logitech’s press release points to its desire to grow its audio output, we’re assuming that it’s Jaybird’s sensor technology that Logitech is interested in. If it simply wanted to create a pair of sports headphones, why drop $50 million on Jaybird?
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Jaybird’s best known for the Reign activity tracker, which uniquely monitors heart rate variability to gauge fatigue as well as the usual workout tracking stats.
Heart rate tracking and audio have become common bedfellows over the last year, and increasingly experts have been telling us that the ear is a great place for fitness tracking.
And a comment from Logitech’s CEO makes it clear that wearables are a focus for the company, which has tried to move away from its mouse and keyboard reputation over the last year:
“As one team, we can address the fast-growing wireless audio wearables market with all the advantages of Jaybird’s strong brand and sports expertise, and our combined audio engineering and design capabilities,” said Bracken Darrell.
“With both the Ultimate Ears and Jaybird brands in our portfolio, we are expanding the long-term growth potential of our music business,” he continued.
The company is set to keep Jaybird as a separate entity, so don’t expect to see any Logitech branded sports hearables any time soon. But with Logitech’s scale and distribution, don’t be surprised if you’re hearing a lot more about Jaybird over the next year.