Apple says it gave up making Apple Watch compatible with Android after trying for 3 years

Apple says it tried to make the Apple Watch compatible with Android devices, but ultimately scrapped the idea because of technical limitations.

Apple Watch | Apple Watch Android compatibility

Apple Watch only works on iPhones. (Image Source: Apple)

The United States Department of Justice recently filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, accusing one of the biggest tech companies in the world of maintaining a monopoly over its mobile ecosystem and devices like the Apple Watch.

As part of the lawsuit, the Department of Justice used the fact that the Apple Watch is only compatible with Apple devices to justify its claim that Apple is a monopoly.

However, a recent report by 9to5Mac suggests that the Cupertino-based tech giant considered creating an Apple Watch for Android and worked on making it compatible for three years before scrapping the idea. The report claims that Apple was determined to bring Android support for the Apple Watch, but said it wasn’t possible because of “technical limitations.”

Last year, a report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said that Apple engineers were working on making the Apple Watch and Health app compatible with Android devices and that the development was “nearly complete” before being eventually cancelled. It also claims that the tech giant might have cited ‘Business considerations’ as the reason why the Apple Watch isn’t compatible with Android devices.

The recently filed case against Apple lists several anti-competitive malpractices and alleges that the tech giant has violated antitrust laws that keep users locked in its iPhone ecosystem. As for smartwatches, the lawsuit says that rival smartwatches were denied key functionalities when connected to iPhones, which gave the Apple Watch an unfair advantage.