Android Wear Now Compatible With iPhone, iOS App Launches Today - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Android Wear Now Compatible With iPhone, iOS App Launches Today

by

Google announced today that Android Wear is now compatible with the iPhone 5 or later running at least iOS 8.2. An official Android Wear for iOS [Direct Link] companion app is rolling out on the App Store today worldwide.

AndroidWearforiOS
Android Wear for iPhone has several features familiar to Android users, including third-party watch faces, fitness tracking, notifications, Google Now and voice searches. Android Wear for iPhone will also have Google apps such as Weather and Translate preinstalled, but third-party iOS apps are not supported due to Apple's restrictions.

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.

Android-wear-iOS-app
Android Wear for iOS is compatible with the new LG Watch Urbane, upcoming Huawei Watch and Asus ZenWatch 2 and all future Android Wear smartwatches out of the box. Android Wear for iOS does not officially support existing Android Wear smartwatches such as the Moto 360 or Samsung Gear, but most users find that older models do work after a factory reset.


The Verge has published an extensive hands-on of Android Wear for iPhone alongside the announcement.

Tags: Android Wear, Google
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

google chrome vertical tabs

Google Brings Vertical Tabs and Improved Reading Mode to Chrome

Tuesday April 7, 2026 1:27 pm PDT by
Google today updated its Chrome browser with support for vertical tabs, which are displayed in a sidebar instead of at the top of the browser. The tab layout can be changed by right clicking on any Chrome window and choosing the "Show Tabs Vertically" option. Sidebar tabs feature full page titles and make it simple to organize tab groups. Google has also added a new full-page interface...
Read Full Article • 44 comments
Chrome Feature 22

Gemini in Google Chrome Gets a Skills Library for Saving Custom AI Prompts

Tuesday April 14, 2026 10:00 am PDT by
Chrome has been updated today with a Skills library that's designed to let Chrome users turn AI tasks into repeatable skills that can be used on any website. Useful prompts you create for Gemini in Chrome can be saved as a Skill that can be accessed later with a single click. If you're shopping for skincare and ask Gemini about the ingredients in a product, for example, you can save the...
Read Full Article • 10 comments
gemini for mac app google

Google Launches Native Gemini AI App for Mac

Wednesday April 15, 2026 10:46 am PDT by
Google is bringing Gemini to the Mac with a new native macOS app that's available starting today. Gemini for Mac can be activated with a keyboard shortcut, and it has built-in tools for generating images, analyzing what's on your screen, reviewing files, and more. Gemini is the last of the three major AI services to have a dedicated Mac app, because OpenAI and Anthropic have had Mac apps for ...
Read Full Article • 104 comments

Top Rated Comments

B
bgraham
139 months ago
Android is googles trojan horse to get data from you to provide ads for stuff you like. Nothing more. No offence but anyone dumb enough


I wouldn't buy any android device at all. Android is Googles trojan horse to get all the info it can from you and shove ads in your face and make a bleep load of money from your info.
And iOS is Apple's trojan horse of locking you in their ecosystem so you have to pay hundreds of dollars more on hardware than you otherwise would do.

It works both ways.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
D
DaveWil
139 months ago
About time. I love my Apple Watch, but google should have been on iOS a long time ago.

It is nice for people to have options.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
P
pcmacgamer
139 months ago
Apple should never allow any android POS watch be available to talk to any iOS device.
How many "pos android watches" have you tried on the iPhone? How about reserve judgment until a review actually comes out/you try it yourself. Don't let blind allegiance to a brand get in the way of trying other options.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sw1tcher Avatar
sw1tcher
139 months ago
Apple should never allow any android POS watch be available to talk to any iOS device.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
H
horsebattery
139 months ago
At least I don't get any crap in my inbox from Apple and I know apple cares about my privacy. When I was with gmail, I must've got at least 50 spam messages a day with Gmail. with my icloud email address, I maybe get 10 a week.
Since you've thrown logic out the window dozens of posts ago anyway - by your post then that must mean Gmail has a much better spam filter! Full hyperbole ahead!
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S
stvon90
139 months ago
Right because a big black bar at the bottom of a circular screen is a proper smart watch. :rolleyes:


black bars? not exactly. We need to introduce you to something called freedom of choice. If you don't like something you can buy something else. So stop complaining cause choice is better for everyone. Not everyone wants to buy a square watch. I personally don't like the apple watch looks and especially the cost. If I can get something that costs less and looks better then everybody wins.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments