Nokia rebrands Withings, launches HealthKit competitor 'Patient Care Platform'
Nokia is making a bigger push into the healthcare market, announcing at Mobile World Congress that the health and fitness accessory maker Withings will rebrand its products under the Nokia name, as well as revealing a "Patient Care Platform" that appears to directly compete against Apple's HealthKit.
The rebrand of Withings, which Nokia acquired for $192 million in April last year, will see all of the company's existing and upcoming products renamed as Nokia devices. The change will be taking place early this summer, with the Nokia-branded devices expected to go on sale in major retailers in the United States and Europe at that time.
Withings is known for its connected devices covering a number of areas in relation to healthcare and fitness. Notable items include the Steel HR smartwatch that provides fitness tracking capabilities on a traditional timepiece, the Body Cardio Scale, a blood pressure monitor, and a smart thermometer, with the rebranded products keeping their existing appearance but adding the Nokia logo.
At the same time as the rebrand, the company's Health Mate app will be receiving a redesign. Used to compile together data from connected devices to offer an all-round view of a person's health, the app's refresh will apparently make it easier to add devices, and share progress with family members.
New in-depth coaching programs will be included within the app, which will take users on an "eight-week journey" to reach a health goal, with personalized experiences said to be provided to users to "better manage health and wellbeing."
The "Patient Care Platform" is described as a way to "transform the relationship between patients and healthcare professionals." The platform will allow doctors and care teams to remotely monitor devices worn by their patients, so timely and targeted care can be provided in order to minimize office visits and hospitalizations.
The HealthKit competitor is already in use in the United Kingdom, with the National Health Service using it to conduct a 69,000-person study into hypertension, and the ways to remotely monitor and lower hypertension rates.
The rebranding and the healthcare announcements arrive as Nokia launches new consumer devices at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, with licensee HMD Global. Three Android smartphones were unveiled at the show, with a global version of the Nokia 6 alongside the Nokia 3 and Nokia 5, as well as the revival of the Nokia 3310 feature phone.
Withings has also branched out into home automation, showing off the HomeKit-compatible Home Plus smart security camera at CES in January before a release this quarter, and it appears it will also go under the same rebranding treatment. While there has yet to be a confirmation for the camera's launch, a recent support query on Twitter advises of a delay for the Home Plus launch, but confirms Withings is still "working on it."
Once released, it is unclear if the Home Plus camera will be available to purchase from Apple stores, like other devices supporting HomeKit. Apple pulled all Withings products from its online and physical stores in December, in response to patent dispute between the iPhone producer and Nokia.
Nokia filed suits against Apple in the U.S. and Germany, accusing Apple of violating 32 patents Nokia acquired in recent years. Apple responded by suing nine patent holdings firms and Nokia, claiming the group were working together to "extract and extort exorbitant revenues" from Apple and other device producers.
Nokia fired back by launching another set of lawsuits, claiming infringement of 40 patents across 11 countries.
The rebrand of Withings, which Nokia acquired for $192 million in April last year, will see all of the company's existing and upcoming products renamed as Nokia devices. The change will be taking place early this summer, with the Nokia-branded devices expected to go on sale in major retailers in the United States and Europe at that time.
Withings is known for its connected devices covering a number of areas in relation to healthcare and fitness. Notable items include the Steel HR smartwatch that provides fitness tracking capabilities on a traditional timepiece, the Body Cardio Scale, a blood pressure monitor, and a smart thermometer, with the rebranded products keeping their existing appearance but adding the Nokia logo.
At the same time as the rebrand, the company's Health Mate app will be receiving a redesign. Used to compile together data from connected devices to offer an all-round view of a person's health, the app's refresh will apparently make it easier to add devices, and share progress with family members.
New in-depth coaching programs will be included within the app, which will take users on an "eight-week journey" to reach a health goal, with personalized experiences said to be provided to users to "better manage health and wellbeing."
The "Patient Care Platform" is described as a way to "transform the relationship between patients and healthcare professionals." The platform will allow doctors and care teams to remotely monitor devices worn by their patients, so timely and targeted care can be provided in order to minimize office visits and hospitalizations.
The HealthKit competitor is already in use in the United Kingdom, with the National Health Service using it to conduct a 69,000-person study into hypertension, and the ways to remotely monitor and lower hypertension rates.
The rebranding and the healthcare announcements arrive as Nokia launches new consumer devices at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, with licensee HMD Global. Three Android smartphones were unveiled at the show, with a global version of the Nokia 6 alongside the Nokia 3 and Nokia 5, as well as the revival of the Nokia 3310 feature phone.
Withings has also branched out into home automation, showing off the HomeKit-compatible Home Plus smart security camera at CES in January before a release this quarter, and it appears it will also go under the same rebranding treatment. While there has yet to be a confirmation for the camera's launch, a recent support query on Twitter advises of a delay for the Home Plus launch, but confirms Withings is still "working on it."
Once released, it is unclear if the Home Plus camera will be available to purchase from Apple stores, like other devices supporting HomeKit. Apple pulled all Withings products from its online and physical stores in December, in response to patent dispute between the iPhone producer and Nokia.
Nokia filed suits against Apple in the U.S. and Germany, accusing Apple of violating 32 patents Nokia acquired in recent years. Apple responded by suing nine patent holdings firms and Nokia, claiming the group were working together to "extract and extort exorbitant revenues" from Apple and other device producers.
Nokia fired back by launching another set of lawsuits, claiming infringement of 40 patents across 11 countries.
Comments
"What should we call this new patient care platform we are developing?"
"I know! How about Patient Care Platform!"
"Brilliant!"
Think Samsung and that joke they call Tizen. I mean seriously, it's like they were asking to be mocked.
When the iPhone came out, syncing and adding contacts (and Visual Voicemail) was worth the "price of admission" for the iPhone.
As a realtor constantly getting new clients and other realtor contacts and being able to keep it organized was a godsend. I loved it. Yeah Apple.
Best of luck to Withers/Nokia.
The actually sell quite a few gadgets nowadays and they may even get some traction with their friends in Europe
However, Nokia should continue to support Apple HealthKit in addition to their own platform. Otherwise their gadgets will be restricted to niche markets as other HealthKit compliant gadget makers leave them in the dust.
I too have their scale and it works great and their software interface is nice and just works. But this is what companies do when they can not compete they take someone else's product and put their name on it pretty soon no one has any idea who make what. Look at the who home appliance industry. I am not sure what Withings gets out this, other than a world of hurt trying to support Nokia and all their requirements.
Well, if they stop supporting HealthKit to push their own platform then I would fully expect Apple to remove their products from the stores. Folk buying stuff from Apple outlets will expect it to work seamlessly with Apple kit.
Lack of HealthKit support is why Fitbit will eventually lose out. I cannot believe they would rather lose sales than support HealthKit.
Unless they plan to rebrand via a massive awareness campaign this is a backwards move from a marketing perspective.
Seems counterproductive for both brands.