Withings, a brand well-known for its connected health devices and the inventor of the first connected smart scale, has announced its official availability in India. Its arrival in the country brings innovative health solutions to tackle India’s escalating rates of cardiovascular diseases, a critical health concern amidst India’s vast population of 1.4 billion people.

Heart health hybrid smartwatches

Withings has announced hybrid connected watches for the Indian market. The watches are designed to continuously track heart rates and conduct medical-grade electrocardiograms. These watches also monitor blood oxygen levels, enabling early detection of conditions like atrial fibrillation. With advanced cardiovascular tracking capabilities, these smartwatches empower users to proactively monitor their heart health.

Smart scales

Withings offers connected scales that provide insights into parameters like pulse wave velocity, offering valuable information about cardiovascular health and arterial stiffness, often associated with hypertension. These advanced smart scales go beyond basic body composition measurements, providing users with comprehensive health data to better understand and manage their cardiovascular health.

Connected blood pressure monitors

Withings’ connected blood pressure monitors allow for convenient, at-home monitoring of blood pressure trends. These devices have identified over 850,000 cases of high blood pressure since 2014 and can integrate a stethoscope for the detection of valvopathy, a condition prevalent in individuals with high blood pressure.

By enabling regular monitoring and early detection of hypertension-related conditions, Withings’ blood pressure monitors empower users to take proactive steps towards better heart health.

For those who don’t know, Withings was active in India a couple of years ago, and it is re-entering the Indian market with a fresh set of products, such as Body, Body Smart, Body Scan, ScanWatch2 and ScanWatch Light. The details of these products will soon be revealed through its exclusive distributor, Luxury Personified.

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Withings, a digital health company based in France, has unveiled the BeamO at CES 2024 – a multi-purpose device claiming to offer four key health checkups in under a minute. The BeamO combines the functionalities of a thermometer, electrocardiogram (ECG), oximeter, and stethoscope into a single handheld device. 

Withings BeamO Overview

The BeamO is a small, candy bar-shaped device that is easy to use. It has a joystick controller that lets you cycle through its features. The device also has a standalone display, but you’ll need to use the companion app to guide you when using the stethoscope.

The BeamO has electrodes on the side that measure your blood oxygen levels and heart rate, and it can also perform a 1-lead ECG, which is similar to what the Apple Watch does. 

It also has a temperature scanner that reads your temperature from your temporal artery, and a piezoelectric disc that picks up chest or back acoustic sounds that you can share with your doctor during a telehealth appointment.

Withings says that the BeamO can give you a full body checkup in under a minute, and it can alert you to things like fever, infection, and even possible cardiovascular problems like atrial fibrillation. The company also says that BeamO could have a real impact in the telemedicine space. The ability to take these basic tests at home could make it easier for people to see their doctor remotely.

However, it’s important to note that BeamO’s ECG functionality requires FDA clearance, meaning availability with this feature won’t be immediate. 

The BeamO’s companion app, Health Mate, is also getting a major update. The new app will allow up to eight users to track their medication intake and log their symptoms. This data can then be exported to whoever you wish to share it with, including your doctor.

Price and Availability

The BeamO is set to launch in June 2024, and it will cost $250. That’s a bit more expensive than some other home health devices on the market, but it also offers a lot more features.

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Withing’s often prioritizes classic timeless design while still offering tons of health data on its smartwatches. The company launched the ScanWatch 2 in September this year. The French brand is now back with a new offering called the ScanWatch Nova. It is a luxury smartwatch that combines the specifications and features of the ScanWatch 2 and ScanWatch Horizon. Read on to know what the device offers out of the box. 

Withings ScanWatch Nova specifications and features

The Withings ScanWatch Nova is touted to be a luxury hybrid smartwatch. It boasts a stainless steel unibody with mirror-polished edges and a rotating ceramic bezel. The watch has a 42mm dial size and it is protected by a Sapphire glass as well as is 10 ATM water-resistant. It also features LumiNova watch hands and a sunray dial for low-light usage.  

The Withings ScanWatch Nova has a 0.63-inch grayscale OLED display. The bezel can be rotated to swap between notifications, health metrics, and more. 

On the health-centric front, the Withings ScanWatch Nova is equipped with a heart rate and SpO2 sensor, sleep tracker, and menstrual cycle monitor. It also packs ECG and is capable of detecting atrial fibrillation. There is a temperature sensor with a TempTech 24/7 module for analyzing the body’s baseline temperature throughout the day. It will also indicate the onset of illness or health condition. The wearable device also packs support for tracking over 40 workout activities. 

Coming to the battery life, the Withings ScanWatch Nova is claimed to last up to 30 days. The hybrid watch is compatible with both Android and iOS. 

The Withings ScanWatch Nova carries a price tag of $599 and is available for purchase in blue, green, and black colors from the brand’s official website. It will be available for purchase at retailers starting February 1.  

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At the ongoing IFA 2023 in Berlin, a host of brands unveiled their products. French brand Withings also announced two new smartwatches after nearly three years. The latest offerings are the Withings ScanWatch 2 and ScanWatch Light. The former is touted to be the company’s most advanced hybrid smartwatch to date. While most smartwatches today have a full-touch display, Withings is sticking to a timeless design. Read on to know more about the devices below. 

Withings ScanWatch 2, ScanWatch Light specifications and features

Right off the bat, the Withings ScanWatch 2 duo have a timeless design with mechanical hands and a small grayscale OLED display measuring 0.63 inches for showing health metrics and notifications. Both models feature a stainless steel unibody, a rotating crown, and the watch face is shielded by sapphire glass. They are also water-resistant up to 5 meters. The ScanWatch 2 is offered in 38 and 42mm dial sizes whereas the ScanWatch Light comes in a 37mm dimension. Both ScanWatch models are claimed to offer a 30-day battery life. 

Coming to the health-centric features, the Withings ScanWatch 2 is equipped with the usual heart rate and SpO2 sensor, sleep tracker, and menstrual cycle monitor. It also packs ECG and is capable of detecting atrial fibrillation via the upgraded 4-channel PPG sensors. The hybrid smartwatch also features a new temperature sensor with a TempTech 24/7 module for analyzing the body’s baseline temperature throughout the day. It will also indicate the onset of illness or health condition. The wearable device also packs support for tracking workout activities. 

As for the Withings ScanWatch Light, it packs toned-down features compared to the ScanWatch 2. It has activity tracking, high and low heart rate notifications, cardiac coherence sessions, a sleep tracker, and a menstrual cycle monitor with symptom logging. However, the Light variant misses out on temperature tracking and ECG. 

The Withings ScanWatch 2 is offered in Silver Black, Silver White, Silver Black, and Rose Gold Sand colors. It carries a price tag of $350 whereas the ScanWatch Light is priced at $250. Both devices are up for pre-orders from the company’s website with shipments expected to commence from October. 

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CES 2023 kicked off earlier this month, with brands across the globe exhibiting the latest and greatest in tech for the year. We saw a lot of announcements at the Las Vegas event across different categories like beauty products, health monitoring, cleaning, automobiles, smart TVs and even VR. Now that the event has come to an end, let’s look at some of the most interesting announcements from the event this year.

So these were some of our favorite products unveiled at CES 2023.

LG’s Massive 97-inch Wireless OLED TV

One of the biggest highlights of CES 2023 was LG’s massive 97-inch wireless TV.

Sure, you might have seen wireless TVs in the past, but LG managed to take things up a notch with high bandwidth streaming to a massive 97-inch OLED panel. The final setup, which leaves the large TV with almost no wires (you still have one power cable), is ideal for a minimalistic home. The streaming box, which can be placed up to 30 feet away from the TV, can stream content in 4K 120Hz resolution without any lag or interference from objects in between.

Withings U-Scan

Health centric brands are looking for smarter ways to analyze health data and make recommendations. And the Withings U-Scan takes a unique approach to gathering this data and telling your body’s health metrics.

The U-Scan is an oval-shaped sensor that attaches to your toilet bowl to analyze your urine sample. Urine has always been a very important source of information for doctors. So, with the new U-Scan sensor, you can monitor nutrition and metabolic information by analyzing ketone, vitamin C levels, and even your urine’s PH levels, telling you how your body is performing on a daily basis.

BMW COLOR-CHANGING CAR

BMW has been working on a color changing car concept for the past few years. But this year, it seems to have finally managed to improve its concept by adding the ability to shift between 32 different solid colors.

Unlike last year’s model which could only switch between Black, White, and Gray, this year’s i Vision Dee can switch between a total of 32 solid colors. Users can even mix up different colors, thanks to the 240 E Ink e-paper segments on the car, all of which can be controlled independently. Apart from its unique color changing appearance, the concept comes with AI-powered virtual assistants and a new-age full-windshield heads-up display.

The BMW i Vision Dee does not have a tentative release date or even production timeline. But, BMW is clearly making progress in bringing this technology closer to market release.

Acer eKinekt BD 3

Standing desks are cool, but what’s cooler in 2023? Well, Acer thinks working out while working on your laptop is the next big thing in desk designs.

If you thought you didn’t have enough time to workout because of your long working hours, Acer has got you covered with its Acer eKinekt BD 3 desk. This unique desk allows you to cycle while working on your laptop, allowing you to burn some crucial calories without interrupting your schedule.

What’s cooler is that your hard work doesn’t go to waste because the desk converts the kinetic energy generated while pedaling to charge your gadgets using two Type-A and one Type-C ports on board.

Lumus AR Lenses

Companies have long been striving to develop AR glasses that are non-intrusive and bulky, and Lumus seems to be pretty close to this end goal. The company unveiled the Z-Lens 2D waveguide tech at CES 2023 which offers a 2K x 2K resolution AR glasses in vibrant colors and a bright heads-up display in the size of your regular glasses. What’s more, you can even add prescription lens on these glasses.

One of the biggest highlight of these waveguide glasses is that it’s practically indistinguishable from a regular pair of glasses from the outside. This will definitely help in a wider adoption of AR tech in the market.

So these were some of the best products we saw at CES 2023 this year.

Do you think any other product that stood out at CES this year? Let us know in the comments sections below.

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During CES 2022, a number of tech based companies revealed their latest innovations and breakthroughs in technologies, apart from just consumer electronic products like smartphones. Now, Withings has unveiled a new smart scale that can scan the various parts of the user’s body.

In the event, the company revealed the new Withings Body Scan that features six lead EKG readings, segmented body composition measurements, and even the ability to assess foot nerve activity as well. To put things simply, the new smart scale is capable of measuring how fat is distributed in their bodies and how it may affect the health of your heart. Looking at the new Body Scan, it appears like any regular scale, although, a notable inclusion is a retractable handle that extends from the top that allows it to measure different parts of your body and also distinguish between them.

This handle houses four weight sensors along with 14 ITO electrodes in the scale and another four located in the handle itself. Furthermore, the scale also sports a larger 3.2 inch LCD color screen, with the device rated to have a battery life that can last for one year. Interestingly, users can also pair this smart scale with the Withings’ smartwatches that integrate this device as well as Apple HealthKit and Google Fit APIs. The handle is also what offers one of the highlighting features of the new Body Scan.

It can measure various body compositions through bioelectrical impedance analysis (passing low level electrical current through the body) to measure body fat, water, and lean mass. Apart from body compositions, the device will still provide heart rate, EKG recordins, and vascular age data at each weigh in. These readings can be recorded and later shared with doctors.

Talking to The Verge, Withings chief medical officer Shikha Anand stated that “We’ve been looking for a way to do this safely and effectively. We can’t solve the way in which the world sees weight, but that said, we will make every effort not to exacerbate it. We will ground in health and not in weight wherever we can. It will always be about how your weight relates to your health.” The company aims on launching the new Body Scan smart scale for 279 US Dollars in the second half of this year, but the launch depends on the product passing FDA and CE clearance.

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Huawei has just announced a new addition to its ‘rapidly growing range of health and well-being apps’ earlier today (20th April 2021). The company is adding Health Mate app on AppGallery through its partnership with Withings.

For those unaware, Withings is a France based health tech company. Now, the Chinese tech giant has partnered with Withings to brings its popular Health Mate app to its AppGallery platform, Huawei’s proprietary app ecosystem. The Health Mate app allows users to “visualize their health data with actionable insights.” The application is also designed to display customized info to the user, along with personalized messaging and tips based on their recorded data and health.

Furthermore, it can even inform the user regarding any health irregularities so they can take proper preventative action. Meaning, one essentially has a digital personal health coach. The Health Mate app is fully integrated in the Withings product experioence and can track users’ physical activities and sleep as well alongside other vitals. This would allow users to improve their fitness routines and even track trends and their progress.

Tuomas Ylä-Kauttu, Business Development Manager at Huawei Consumer Business Group Finland stated that “Withings Health Mate app is an excellent addition to AppGallery as it provides a holistic way of managing health preventively. Health Mate app encourages users to make positive behaviour changes and increase healthy activities. It has been a great privilege to cooperate with a team of professionals from Withings and we’re looking forward to supporting further Withings´ growth journey in AppGallery.”

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Smartwatches have been advancing rapidly in terms of features offered — from fitness and lifestyle features to now medical features. Continuing the same, Withings has announced its new product named Withings ScanWatch at Consumer Electronics Show 2020.

The company claims that it is the first hybrid to offer medical-grade Electrocardiogram and sleep apnea detection. The device comes with a larger display than any of the company’s previous models.

It also comes with a redesigned crown and is powered by a battery that is claimed to offer 30-day usage on a single charge. As for the highlighting feature, similar to the Apple Watch, this new Withings ScanWatch looks for early signs of AFib. When the user is experiencing symptoms, or the watch is alerting an irregular heartbeat, an ECG can be taken within 30 seconds.

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There’s an SpO2 sensor that emits and absorbs a light wave passing through blood vessels which can help the watch detect sleep apnea. It measures oxygen saturation within the blood, centralizing all the info in the Health Mate app, together with sleep monitoring data for length, depth, and quality.

Users can also track activity and workout through Health Mate which is also capable of sharing data with more than 100 third-party apps such as Apple Health, Google Fit, Strava, or MyFitnessPal among others.

The Withings ScanWatch will be available in two sizes — 38mm and 42mm. It will go on sale starting Q2 2020 in Europe and the U.S. for €249/£229/$249 (38mm), and €299/£279/$299 (42mm), after it gets CE and FDA-clearance.

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Two years after purchasing Withings, Nokia has sold it back to Withings co-founder Éric Careel. Mr. Careel was one of the interested buyers when Nokia decided to put up the health tech division for sale.

Nokia purchased the French company for about $190 million in 2016. It later rebranded it Nokia Health along with existing products. However, the business was struggling and Nokia announced a strategic review of the arm in February of this year.

When Nokia announced it was going to sell the business, a number of big names were linked to the deal. Google’s Nest was one of the interested buyers alongside Samsung. There were also two other French bidders including Éric Careel who eventually sealed the deal with Nokia.

READ MORE: HMD Launches Nokia 2.1 With A Bigger Screen, Stereo Speakers & A Better Design

Details of the deal weren’t disclosed but that should surface later. We also expect the “new” owner to announce a new direction for the company.

(Via)

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Nokia plans to sell off its health division called Nokia Digital Health, originally known as Withings before it acquired it. Nest (Google) was said to be interested in purchasing the company but that won’t be the case anymore.

The latest report says that Nokia has decided to sell it to one of the original co-founders of Withings, Éric Carreel. The French engineer was also the founding president of the company.

Nokia hasn’t revealed how much Mr. Carreel will be purchasing the division but it is safe to assume it will be less than the almost $200 million price Nokia paid back in 2016.

We also have no info on the future of products released during the brief period of time Nokia held ownership. Will they be phased out or renamed back to Withings? Time will tell.

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The deal is expected to be completed by the middle of the year and Nokia has also revealed it is shifting its focus away from consumer products to becoming a licensing company.

(Source)

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Nokia (Not HMD Global) purchased Withings a few years ago and renamed it as Nokia Health. Following the acquisition, it has released a couple of products and rebranded others. They include the Nokia Go activity tracker, Nokia Steel HR smartwatch, and Nokia Body Cardio to name a few. Latest reports say Nokia wants to do away with the division.

According to 9to5Google, a memo leaked in February revealed the health division is struggling. Hence, the reason for wanting to sell it off. Google is said to be one of the bidders for the division.

It is reported that Nest is actually the one interested in purchasing Nokia Health. However, Nest announced earlier this year that it would no longer be a separate Alphabet Inc. subsidiary and will be merged back with Google. So, technically it is Google doing the bidding.

There are some other unnamed companies interested in the acquisition. Two of them are French companies and the other is a non-European company. Unfortunately, Google may have issues with the acquisition.

The French government wants it sold to a French company as the country is trying to develop AI. There is also the concern for data protection for Europeans. Google is aware of these developments and is also pulling its own strings. It has established a new AI research center in France and is increasing its workforce in the country.

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If Google acquires Nokia Health, we may see Wear OS get better at health monitoring and be able to hold its own against Apple’s  Watch Series. It will also be cool to get a Pixel-branded smartwatch with focus on health.

(Source)

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Nokia entered a deal to purchase French-based health product manufacturer Withings in June 2016 for a fee in the tune of $191 million U.S dollars.  The company later launched its first set of health products last year which included smartwatches, weighing scale, blood pressure monitor and others. It even went as far as redesigning the Withings Health app.

Turns out the venture has not been a very profitable one for the tech giant. Nokia recently announced in a blog post that it’s launching a “strategic review of its digital health business.” The Finnish company hinted that it was considering its “strategic options” with regards to health care and that this “may or may not result in any transaction or other changes.” The statement isn’t very clear but you don’t see a company reviewing its strategy when the results are superb. The company hasn’t really had a smooth ride since the Withings deal was struck. It even faced backlash for redesigning the Withings Health app and the withdrawal of experimental features from its smart scales and the finances have not been good too. Significantly, it announced a write-down of goodwill relating to the Withings purchase worth €141 million ($164 million) last October, meaning it had substantially overestimated the value of the company’s assets.

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It is still early to make a conclusion but the signs that Withings health products may be joining the Ozo Virtual Reality camera project among the heavy luggage Nokia will be shedding. The news of the strategic review was said to have resulted in more than 400 job loss. For now, Nokia other enterprise is still selling strongly with the bulk of its annual revenue worth around €23 billion coming from its multinational telecoms business. Nokia’s wide array of technology patents is yet another source of revenue.

(via)

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The Withings Steel HR smartwatch was launched last year. Now that Withings is acquired by Nokia Health, the Steel HR has been relaunched as a Nokia device. Nokia Health has confirmed on its Twitter handle that it is now receiving pre-orders of the Nokia Steel HR. The company has also stated that the shipments of the pre-ordered units will begin in the next month.

The Nokia Steel HR is a hybrid device that looks like an analogue watch but possesses capabilities of a smartwatch. It is equipped with a heart rate tracker and it features a small digital screen inside its round dial that displays all the notifications and health data.

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The Steel HR can track various kinds of activities like walking, running, swimming, sleeping and more. Compared to the original Steel HR, its “new” edition by Nokia Health features a sapphire glass for shielding the heart rate sensor in order to deliver water resistance of up to 50 meters.

Nokia has also brought some software improvements to the Steel HR like enhanced algorithm for accurately measuring heart rate. The Nokia Steel HR promises a battery life of up to 25 days which is impressive compared to the other smartwatches like Apple Watch and timepieces running on Android Wear 2.0.

The smartwatch is made up of steel and it comes in color choices like Black or White. As far as strap options are concerned, users can choose from options such as leather, silicone and woven wristbands. The 36mm Steel HR is priced at $179.95 and the 40mm variant carries a pricing of $199.95. Customers who pre-order it now will be able to receive by early December.

(source)

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Nokia has officially three new phones at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017 namely, Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and an updated edition of Nokia 3310. At MWC 2017, Nokia also confirmed that the Withings wearables will be sold as Nokia products starting from summer this year.

In June 2016, Nokia had acquired Withings for $191 million. Withings is a French based firm that specializes in making smart health devices like smartwatches, fitness bands, connected scales, blood pressure monitors, thermometers, home cameras and more. These products as well as its software will be rebranded as Nokia devices.

Since Nokia is a well-known brand name, it makes sense for the company to kill Withings branding. The rebranding was officially confirmed by Cedric Hutchings, the Vice President of Digital Health for Nokia and the former CEO of Withings. According to Hutchings, ”Withings joined Nokia because we share a vision to inspire individuals to take control of their own health. With the full power of a brand recognized for trust, reliability and quality, we will reach more people and impact more lives to help the human family be healthier together.”

Nokia will be relaunching the Health Mate app from Withings with a new design. It will arrive as HIPAA-compliant Patient Care Platform that will serve as a common place to get information from all the health devices by giving users with a “360-degree view of health.” The app is expected to include ‘in-depth coaching programs” that will provide users with up to eight weeks of fitness plans.

Through the Patient Care Platform, doctors and health experts will be able use smart devices to monitor the health of their patients in order to provide them with timely treatment and prevent unneeded visits to the hospital.

The decision of rebranding Withings to Nokia has come at a time when there is less demand for wearables in the market. The sales of Fitbit health bands are declining and Pebble was acquired by Fitbit for $23 million as it met with financial troubles. HMD Global has relaunched the Nokia brand by releasing phones like Nokia 6, Nokia 5, Nokia 3 and the updated Nokia 3310. With Nokia branding for health products, the company aims to broaden its consumer products profile.

(source)

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In the last week, Nokia had sued Apple for patent infringement in the U.S. and Germany. Following it, Apple has discontinued the sales of products from Withings, a company owned by Nokia.

Withings, a France based company known for making various health devices such as Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor, Activite fitness tracker, digital thermometer, and more was acquired by Nokia on April 26 this year. Withings’ products that were available for purchase on Apple Store is now no longer available because of the ongoing legal dispute over patent infringement and antitrust issues with Nokia.

Apple vs Nokia – Patent Battle History

In 2009, Nokia had sued the Cupertino company for infringing its patents. In 2011, both the companies mutually decided to use the patents until December this year.

Nokia once again started accusing Apple on patent infringements after Apple filed an antitrust suit. It stated that it filed a lawsuit again because Apple failed to reach the expectations of the licensing agreement.

Related: Nokia to Launch A Mysterious Smartphone With Powerful Specs in China?

According to Apple’s suit, Nokia and its partnering agencies that filed patent infringements are trying to extort exorbitant money in the form of excessive royalty fees. It has said that the Finnish firm is acting like a patent troll and it by filing an antitrust lawsuit against it, it is only ‘defending inventors everywhere.’

Nokia’s suit that spans across 11 countries accuse Apple of infringing 40 of its patents dating back to the first iPhone from 2007. The lawsuit covers various patents related to cover displays, UI, software, video coding and chipsets.

(Source)

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Nokia seems to be gearing up for a re-entry in the consumer market. The Finish tech company plans to buy digital health firm Withings for $ 191 million. It can be seen as Nokia’s a step to get into digital healthcare segment.

Withings is headquartered in France and was founded in 2008 by Chairman Eric Carreel and CEO Cedric Hutchings. It has approximately 200 employees across its locations in Paris, France, Cambridge, US and Hong Kong.

Withings’ products include activity trackers, weighing scales, thermometers, blood pressure monitors, home and baby monitors and more. Withings’ own products are accompanied by an ecosystem of more than a hundred compatible apps.

“We have said consistently that digital health was an area of strategic interest to Nokia, and we are now taking concrete action to tap the opportunity in this large and important market,” said Rajeev Suri, president & CEO of Nokia.

“With this acquisition, Nokia is strengthening its position in the Internet of Things in a way that leverages the power of our trusted brand, fits with our company purpose of expanding the human possibilities of the connected world, and puts us at the heart of a very large addressable market where we can make a meaningful difference in peoples’ lives.”

This deal is expected to be formally completed by the third quarter, after which Withings’ 200 employees will join Nokia Technologies, and its CEO Cedric Hutchings will report to Nokia Technologies head Ramzi Haidamus.

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