Image: Google
Android Wear, Google's 18-month-old smartwatch platform, now supports iOS, but that support is limited to only one currently available smartwatch (the LG Watch Urbane). Future Android Wear smartwatches, including models from Chinese manufacturer Huawei (above) and Motorola, will also support iOS. This matters because, with the exception of devices like the Pebble, the Apple Watch was until now the only major smartwatch compatible with the iPhone. Those days are now over.Android Wear's iPhone support is still somewhat limited compared to Android support: there's no third party app support and notifications don't allow for direct interaction. Like the Apple Watch, Android Wear only support iPhone 5 and newer models.But in the end, this may be a big step toward putting Android Wear devices into the hands of more people. The Canalys research firm noted in February that only 750,000 Android Wear devices were shipped in all of 2014—a far cry from the 1.3 billion smartphones shipped in the same year.
Advertisement