Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc. reportedly has acquired Redux ST, a small U.K.-based startup that has developed haptics technology that turns smart device screens into sound speakers.

It is unclear from a report in Bloomberg when exactly Alphabet bought Redux or what the terms of the deal were, and the startup seemingly went quiet sometime in the first half of 2017. Redux’s website is currently blank, and its official Twitter account has not posted an update in nearly nine months.

The last public communication from Redux was in April 2017, when it unveiled its Panel Audio technology, which uses haptic vibrations and “bending wave” sounds to turn smartphone and tablet screens into high-quality speakers. The startup said that Panel Audio offers several benefits over traditional speakers, including reduced space and power requirements. It also claimed that its high-fidelity haptics can replicate the feel of mechanical buttons.

“Our technology enables smartphone manufacturers to reclaim valuable space within phones, which could be filled by a bigger battery,” Redux Chief Executive Nedko Ivanov said at the time. “Moreover, our surface audio technology is more power efficient than traditional micro speakers, which means people can play music and watch videos on their phones for longer between charges.”

Component space is indeed at a premium now in smartphones, which is why both Google and Apple Inc. made the controversial decision to ditch the 3.5-millimeter headphone jack in the newer Pixel and iPhone models. Panel Audio could allow Google to cram a lot more hardware into its phones, which could give it more room to boost the on-device artificial intelligence services it has been pushing over the last year.

Redux said that Panel Audio removes the need for physical buttons, speaker grills and other gaps, enabling the creation of fully sealed phones that would be completely waterproof. On its LinkedIn page, Redux claims to have been granted at least 178 patents, with more than 50 patents still pending. According to Crunchbase, Redux has also previously raised more than $5 million in funding before it was acquired by Google.

Photo: @reduxst via Twitter