Google has acquired a UK startup named Redux that uses vibrations to turn surfaces such as phone displays into speakers, according to Bloomberg. As per its now abandoned website, Redux’s tech is used to replace small speakers in mobile phones, which creates additional space for batteries or other components.
Google declined to comment on purchase price or other details of the acquisition, although Crunchbase says the deal occurred in August.
Bloomberg reports that Redux raised $5 million USD in March 2017 and has focused on markets such as computing, mobile and automotive. Redux’s LinkedIn page notes that the company holds 178 granted patents.
Below is a video from Mashable senior editor Stan Schroeder demonstrating Redux’s speaker tech:
Redux tech turns the screen into a speaker, and a haptic surface. Trying it out here. The sound is actually coming from the screen. pic.twitter.com/VPAi6TzKk9
— Stan (@franticnews) February 28, 2017
Back in April 2017, Redux confirmed to Engadget that it plans to begin implementing its speaker technology in smartphones in 2018. Given that, it’s easy to see how Google could leverage this tech in its line of Pixel smartphones.
As it stands, though, it’s unclear what exactly Google intends to do with Redux.
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