Report: Apple Acquires Chipmaker Passif

Apple has reportedly purchased Passif Semiconductor, which makes low-power wireless communications chips.

Former Wall Street Journal tech reporter Jessica Lessin, who first reported the deal, cited sources briefed on the purchase, and added that Passif's technology could be used for health-monitoring and wearable fitness devices that need extra-long-lasting batteries.

Further details have not been revealed, though the report pointed to the deal taking place in "recent months." Apple did not immediately respond to PCMag's request for comment, but a company spokeswoman told Lessin that "Apple buys small technology companies from time to time."

Passif, founded by then-University of California, Berkeley PhD students Ben Cook and Axel Berny, creates technology which includes a radio that runs on a low-energy version of Bluetooth, dubbed Bluetooth Smart. The system lets users, for example, pair an Android phone or tablet with a low-power device like the Fitbit One or Jawbone UP.

The tech could be useful for Cupertino to power its rumored iWatch device, or perhaps for a slimmer version of the iPhone or iPad.

Apple recently purchased HopStop and Locationary — a move that falls in line with CEO Tim Cook's plan to invest in location services and improve Apple Maps.

"It's an area that we're really focused on," he said at the All Things D conference (D11) in late March. Since the company's struggling Maps product was revealed last fall, Cupertino admitted it "fell short" of its commitment to making world-class merchandise; Cook even publically apologized for the snafu.