The Apple Watch only works with iPhones, but Apple has tried to make it compatible with Android phones. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.
Apple revealed the long-rumored news in response to the Justice Department’s lawsuit against the company, 9to5Mac reported Thursday.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit explicitly mentions the Apple Watch in its antitrust lawsuit against Apple.
“Apple’s smartwatch, the Apple Watch, is only compatible with the iPhone. So if Apple can steer a user to buy an Apple Watch, it becomes more expensive for that user to buy a different type of smartphone because doing so requires the user to give up their expensive Apple Watch and buy a new, Android-compatible smartwatch. (…) Apple also recognizes that making the Apple Watch Android-compatible will “eliminate[an] What makes the iPhone unique,” the lawsuit states.
The U.S. Department of Justice accused Apple of having a “green bubble” problem. That’s why they are right.
But 9to5Mac said that Apple has confirmed that it is considering adding Android support to the Apple Watch. The company worked on the idea for three years before deciding it couldn’t be realized due to technical limitations.
However, Bloomberg’s November 2023 report on the matter did not shed a very positive light on Apple’s intentions regarding an Android-compatible Apple Watch. Efforts to provide Android support for the Apple Watch were partially scrapped because it would “dilute the value of the watch to the iPhone,” the report said.
It’s worth noting that many popular smartwatches not made by Apple, including Google’s own Pixel Watch, are also not compatible with Apple’s iOS.