Android Wear on iOS is Terrible

Andrew Cunningham writing for Ars Technica on using Android Wear for iOS:

In short, even if you’re the kind of person who uses her iPhone mostly to run Google services and apps, Android Wear on iOS is a pale imitation of either Android Wear with an Android phone or an Apple Watch with an iPhone. Interactions with third-party apps are limited to dumb notifications, and the same goes for iMessages, texts, and any non-Google e-mail accounts. In many places, the Apple Watch’s tighter integration with your phone helps it to “win” by default. We prefer Apple Maps to no maps, and the Apple lock-in that comes with iMessage over the inability to send text messages at all. For now, using Android Wear with iOS is possible, but it still pairs best with another Android phone.

Ever since this was announced, I’ve been scouring the web for reviews and videos on how well this works. So far, it looks absolutely atrocious and there’s no way in hell I would recommend this to anyone. In fact, I feel bad for anyone who looks at this and thinks “Oh, this could work!”

Imagine this scenario: Someone who isn’t as well versed in the technical landscape as say you or I (you’re likely a tech nerd) is gifted a Moto 360. They are delighted to get their very first smartwatch and they’re told it will work with their iPhone. They set it up, and shortly thereafter they start getting notifications on their wrist, except that each time that they do, there’s basically nothing they can do with them. Text message? Go back to your phone. Phone call? Go back to your phone. Third-party apps? Nope. How about Health and Apple’s Health App? Nope. None of these things work the way you would think they should. Instead, it makes owning a smartwatch a terrible experience. So much so that not only does it give all smartwatches a bad name, but it arguably makes Android Wear look worse.

Seriously, what were they thinking?