Google announced this week that Android Wear is now compatible with the iPhone 5 or later running at least iOS 8.2. An official Android Wear for iOS companion app is rolling out on the App Store worldwide.
You will find many of the features Android Wear users are familiar with on the iOS version of the app, as Google has the ability to talk to all of their own apps on the iPhone. Because of Apple‘s restrictions Android Wear won‘t be able to communicate with other apps on your iPhone. Everything from third-party watch faces, fitness tracking, notifications, Google Now and voice searches are available though.
Google has attempted to work around Apple’s limitations, but Android Wear for iPhone still has some locked-down functionality compared to what is possible with a paired Android smartphone. Rich notifications, for example, are only supported for a handful of stock Google apps, while the selection of watch faces is limited due to the lack of third-party app support.
The app is currently compatible with only the ASUS ZenWatch, Huawei Watch and LG Watch Urbane, but it will be compatible with all future Android Wear watches. You may also be able to get older watches to sync with a hard reboot, as some users have attested.
It certainly does bring iPhone users many more options, with many not too keen on the Apple Watch’s design and/or price. Whether many iOS users will use Android Wear – we’ll just have to watch this space.
Source: TheVerge
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