Apple Just Bought a Brain-Reading Startup (And We Have Questions)
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Apple has acquired Sonera, a company that “is developing a chip-based magnetic sensor.” While Apple generally plays it close to the vest when it comes to disclosing its acquisitions, this one was exposed on the European Union’s website, as under the EU’s Digital Markets Act certain acquisitions must be made public:
Apple Inc. (“Apple”), through a subsidiary, will acquire certain assets from Sonera, Inc. (“Sonera”) and offer employment to and hire certain Sonera employees. Sonera is developing a chip-based magnetic sensor. Apple (together with its group companies) designs, manufactures and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and sells a variety of related services.
A 2023 Sonera press release uncovered by MacRumors, provides some more insight:
Sonera has developed a new sensing modality that non-invasively measures magnetic fields generated by the body, in contrast with the electrical sensing techniques commonly used today. This proprietary technology holds the key to making brain activity as easy to measure as heart rate, temperature, and other physiological signals, and enabling data-backed insights related to movement, health, thoughts, and emotions.
The press release also mentions Sonera’s proprietary S1 chip for muscle sensing which the company says “is poised to enable an entirely new class of consumer wearables and experiences based on muscle activity.” It will measure magnetic fields produced by the electrical currents from neural activity, measuring high-fidelity signals with no need for direct skin contact like traditional electrical sensors.
Sonera says the S1 chip will enable use cases such as advanced prosthetics control, discovery of disease biomarkers, continuous monitoring of neuromuscular conditions, and sport performance tracking.
While we have no way of knowing how much progress Sonera has made since that 2023 press release, it is apparently promising enough for Apple to sit up and take notice.
Sonera is certainly not the first acquisition this year for Apple, as the EU website reveals several acquisitions Apple has already made in 2026:
- PlasmaSolve s.r.o., which “develops solutions, including a plasma simulation software, to design and optimize plasma-based manufacturing processes.”
- MotionVFX sp. z o.o., which “develops and offers plugins and visual effects software for use within third-party video editing programs.”
- SigScalr, Inc., which “develops a data log management and observability tool.”
- Rabbit 3 Times, Inc. d/b/a Play, which “offers iOS and macOS tools for designing, prototyping, and generating SwiftUI code in real-time.”
- Q (Cue) Ltd, which “is developing a sensor-based technology for speech, biometric and audio interfaces.”
- Animato, Inc., which “develops and distributes software that creates virtual avatars for video chats and tutoring.”
- Patchflyer GmbH, which “develops Color.io, a web-based application for color management and grading of digital imaging.”
- PromptAI, which “develops visual intelligence for the home.”
At first blush, Sonera’s technology sounds like it could be used to improve the health and accessibility features on the Apple Watch, although we won’t know for certain until Apple releases a product that uses the technology.
However, using what this writer calls the SWAG method (Scientific Wild-Ass Guess) we’ll let our imaginations run free. Perhaps it could be used in the gaming controllers Apple may be developing. Considering that at least one gaming controller currently available from ANBERNIC (the RG G01) can check your heart rate while you’re gaming, Sonera’s tech could be used for something similar in an Apple controller. Okay, so using the tech in the Apple Watch is more logical, but wouldn’t that be cool?
