After launching Android Wear back in March 2014 and seeing how Apple watch sales performed after their release, Google had decided to release an app that will allow their smartwatch that is already in the market to perform a twist. Android Wear will be iOS compatible.
This means that the smartwatch can be used with iPhones according to CNBC. As for now, LG smartwatch, the Watch Urbane, is the only smartwatch that is compatible with iOS. Even though the function is still limited, the move has already managed to attract lots of attention.
The move means that Apple will have more competitor in the market as Google is planning to sell their product from $100 to $400 which is far cheaper than Apple watch.
Although the product will not attract the die-hard fan of Apple, Google will still manage to steal some Apple's customer who is looking for a smartwatch with a cheaper price tag.
In terms of market demand, Apple Watch have been sold in record number of 4 million in just 3 months after it was released according to the report by USA Today. While for Android watch, only 600,000 units were sold so far.
Android Wear will enable the iOS user to check some of the basic notification on the watch only if the user had updated their iOS to iOS 8.2. This notification includes fitness information, emails and Facebook update.
Although limited in capability, Google constant development will ensure that user can have more to look forward to in the future and that one day more apps from the iPhone can be accessed through the Android Wear. Currently, the limited and differences in both operating system make it impossible for Android Watch to be compatible with other iOS application.
According to a resource, besides having the iOS compatibility Google watch will also feature a better technology on it. According to Brett Lider, Android Wear design lead toldFastcodedesign that they are trying to eliminate the need to tapping the watch screen to get the information but instead find a better use of the watch's dial.
Besides Google, other manufacturers that are already announced the same move are Asus ZenWatch 2 and Huawei watch. With the sector expected to create a demand of 89 million units by 2019 as reported by Financial Post.
This means that the smart devices industry will create a higher profit to the manufacturer compared to other wearable devices which is predicted to create a market demand of only 66 million units by 2019.
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