A few months ago, buzz was circulating about both Apple and Google and their supposed plans to design competing smartwatch devices. On Friday, speculation about those devices reached another crescendo, as news hit that Google had purchased the smartwatch manufacturer, WIMM Labs. The Verge reports that WIMM Labs, which released its first smartwatch back in 2011, will now work with Google’s Android specialists to make a product that can reach a wide range of people.

When WIMM Labs released its inaugural product, the WIMM One, in 2011, the company was ahead of the curve. Smartphones were reaching an apex in technology, but wearable computers were still a thing of the future. Today, with the Google Glass making waves in the prototype stage and Apple allegedly making moves toward releasing its own iWatch, WIMM’s cutting-edge smartwatches are a better fit with the consumer mindset.

More than just the growing audience for wearable computer devices, though, WIMM will now benefit from working hand-in-hand with a company that has the vast resource potential that Google does. WIMM Labs watches have always been powered by Android, but now that the WIMM team and the Android team are collaborating more closely, they should be able to create a more watch-specialized app market.

It is not known precisely when Google acquired WIMM Labs, though industry analysts point to the merger as a covert takeover of sorts that took place about a year ago. Last summer, WIMM Labs made a statement that it had “entered into an exclusive, confidential relationship,” discontinuing its then-current product stable at the same time. Little has been heard out of the lab since then, but now that Google’s name has come up in connection with WIMM, it isn’t hard to connect the dots. Google’s secretive maneuvers can be explained by the company’s competitive relationship with Apple and other technology outfits, while the radio silence on the WIMM Labs front will open doors of speculation for what the two companies have spent the past year building.

No market plan for a Google-brand smartwatch has yet emerged, but it is likely that an announcement will be on the way shortly. Samsung is reportedly set to announce its own smartwatch sometime next week, while companies like Apple and Microsoft will likely follow soon after. If Google has been working on its own watch for a year – or more – we can only assume that their Android-powered watch will dive into the market in time to compete with everyone else.