According to new reports, Google is working on making its Android Wear software compatible with Apple's iOS platform.
Citing a source close to the development team on Thursday, The Verge reported that Google is developing a way for the smartwatch platform to work with iOS. Google is close to finishing the final technical details to support the Apple platform. In its current state of development, Android Wear is only fully supported on Android devices with limited support with a companion app on the iPhone. The iPhone Android Wear app works with notifications on iOS and supports Google Now's ambient information cards, voice search, and other voice actions. It is expected to support more advances features with Google's iOS apps, such as Gmail. "We always want as many users as possible to enjoy our experience, so in terms of enabling more people to use Android Wear we're very interested in making that happen," said Android Wear product manager Jeff Chang in an interview last October which spurred rumors that iOS support was coming.
It is unclear if Apple would allow such support on its devices as the company is hoping to steal smartwatch sales from its rivals with its own wearable - the Apple Watch - which launches later this month. Google and Apple have had a "history of contentious app approval processes" but it has been some time since the tech giants bickered over apps. In 2010, Apple rejected an app for mentioning Android. In its App Store guidelines, Apple says, "Apps or metadata that mentions the name of any other mobile platform will be rejected" meaning Google could not use "Android" in the app's name. Google and Apple did not comment on the matter at this time. The iOS-compatible Android Wear app may be unveiled at Google's I/O developer conference in May.
Citing a source close to the development team on Thursday, The Verge reported that Google is developing a way for the smartwatch platform to work with iOS. Google is close to finishing the final technical details to support the Apple platform. In its current state of development, Android Wear is only fully supported on Android devices with limited support with a companion app on the iPhone. The iPhone Android Wear app works with notifications on iOS and supports Google Now's ambient information cards, voice search, and other voice actions. It is expected to support more advances features with Google's iOS apps, such as Gmail. "We always want as many users as possible to enjoy our experience, so in terms of enabling more people to use Android Wear we're very interested in making that happen," said Android Wear product manager Jeff Chang in an interview last October which spurred rumors that iOS support was coming.
It is unclear if Apple would allow such support on its devices as the company is hoping to steal smartwatch sales from its rivals with its own wearable - the Apple Watch - which launches later this month. Google and Apple have had a "history of contentious app approval processes" but it has been some time since the tech giants bickered over apps. In 2010, Apple rejected an app for mentioning Android. In its App Store guidelines, Apple says, "Apps or metadata that mentions the name of any other mobile platform will be rejected" meaning Google could not use "Android" in the app's name. Google and Apple did not comment on the matter at this time. The iOS-compatible Android Wear app may be unveiled at Google's I/O developer conference in May.
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