Subj : The Apple Watch almost came to Android, but 'technical' difficult
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Fri Mar 22 2024 12:30:07

The Apple Watch almost came to Android, but 'technical' difficulties got in 
the way

Date:
Fri, 22 Mar 2024 12:17:32 +0000

Description:
As the DOJs lawsuit rages, Apple claims it tried to bring the Apple Watch to 
Android for three years.

FULL STORY
======================================================================

The showdown between Apple and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is 
gaining steam with every passing day. One of the latest revelations is that 
Apple thought about making the Apple Watch compatible with Android  but 
ultimately scrapped the idea. 

A new report from 9to5Mac claims that Apple confirmed to the outlet that it 
spent three years trying to make an Android Apple Watch work, but eventually 
determined an Apple Watch with Android support wasnt doable because of 
technical limitations. 

That might come as frustrating news for Android users. The Apple Watch is 
undoubtedly one of the best smartwatches you can get, full of class-leading 
features for health, fitness, calls and more. 

Apple's inability to get the device working with Googles operating system has 
meant a little less choice for Android users. But despite this revelation, 
the reasons behind those technical difficulties remain a little vague. What 
was Apples motivation? (Image credit: TechRadar) 

Apples statement to 9to5Mac was made in response to a claim from the DOJ that 
if Apple can steer a user towards buying an Apple Watch, it becomes more 
costly for that user to purchase a different kind of smartphone because doing 
so requires the user to abandon their costly Apple Watch and purchase a new, 
Android-compatible smartwatch. 

While the DOJs argument is that Apple deliberately withholds the Apple Watch 
from Android users in order to keep its walled garden intact, Apple says that 
it actually tried to cross the aisle and make the Watch available to Android 
users, but ultimately couldnt overcome the technical hurdles. Exactly what 
those hurdles are, though, isn't completely clear. 

Interestingly, the report from 9to5Mac backs up a claim made by Bloombergs 
Mark Gurman from November 2023. Back then, Gurman quoted sources inside Apple 
who said that the company was concerned about privacy requirements and  the 
difficulty of gathering viable health data from the wrist when it came to 
making an Android-compatible Apple Watch. 

As well as that, Gurman noted that the project was canceled when it was 
almost at the finish line, in part because if you gave up the watch to 
Android, you would dilute the value of the watch to the iPhone, to quote one 
of Gurmans sources. 

In the end, it seems like a mix of these factors prevailed. The ability of 
the Watch and iPhone to promote each other is undoubtedly attractive to 
Apple, but its unlikely to be the companys only consideration  after all, 
Steve Jobs was adamant iTunes would never come to Windows in order to protect 
the Mac, but that decision was eventually reversed and it didnt negatively 
affect Apple. 

But combined with the technical difficulties of making the Watch work on 
Android while preserving user privacy, it probably helped make up Apples 
mind. And that situation doesn't look likely to change anytime soon. You 
might also like The Apple Watch nearly came to Android, but Apple changed its 
mind  here's why The US sues Apple for monopoly antitrust violations, says 
the company has smothered an entire industry The best Apple Watch 2024: Top 
smartwatches to use with iOS



======================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/health-fitness/smartwatches/the-apple-watch-almost-c
ame-to-android-but-technical-difficulties-got-in-the-way


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