Apple bought a company that monitors sleep

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple has acquired a sleep-monitoring app, Beddit, that could play a vital role in the future success of Apple Watch.

Beddit, whose app is available on Apple Watch and iPhone, announced the acquisition on its web site.

Apple declined comment, and terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Beddit's product tracks heart rates, sleep time and snoring to calculate a sleep score to optimize rest, using a strip of sensors that slip under the sheets, paired with an app. Such an app is considered crucial for Apple Watch, which increasingly has been positioned as a health and wellness device.

Apple's purchase of Beddit could be followed by others. Flush with $256.8 billion in cash, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company is likely to embark on a merger-and-acquisition path but not pursue mega-mergers, global financial-services company UBS said in a report this week.

"We think Apple is likely to only make an acquisition that results in a better product and customer experience, not to protect financial results," the report said.

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