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This week, Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Series 5. This is perhaps the most modest annual upgrade for the Apple Watch, adding little more than a permanent display. But that's what matters: Apple does not need to make huge progress with its smartwatch offer – it's advanced enough that it does not matter. And they could take advantage of this attack to destroy Wear OS if they wanted it …
It's a sad reality, but if Apple made the Watch compatible with Android, it would definitely be the best smart watch for Android phones. It's already the fastest, most useful and most technically impressive notebook you can buy. The problem for Android users is that – apart from the methods of hacky using the LTE model – it is only compatible with the iPhone.
Android users are limited to Samsung watches running under Tizen (arguably the best alternative to Apple Watch) and countless Wear OS options from Fossil Group, Mobvoi, etc.
Wear OS is fighting independently
As a recent report indicates, the Apple Watch is already a distant first in terms of market share. Apple Watch represents 47% of the market, Samsung is in second place with about 16%, Fitbit about 10% and all the others – each smartwatch from every other manufacturer, Wear OS or not – share the remaining 28%. Wearing the bone is only a slice of this slice.
Manufacturers of wear systems are not only struggling to grow, they are giving up. Counterpoint claims that Fossil's global market share of 3.2% in 2018 has fallen to a meager 2.5% by 2019. This is once again one of the largest and best Wear OS device manufacturers . same they are in the low single digits. Fossil manufactures the largest number of Wear OS watches, but also the best. Fossil Sport is one of many examples.
All this happens while the Apple Watch continues to dominate. At the beginning of the year, Counterpoint allowed Apple to acquire more than 1 intelligent purchase out of 3 in the world, whereas, according to Strategy Analytics, this figure is close to half. There is no way around the problem: Apple Watch kills the game.
So even without Apple adds support for Android phones to the Apple Watch, the trajectory is … quite clear. If there are no major changes soon, Google's smartwatch operating system is unlikely. While Fossil's market share is declining year by year (FWIW, according to Canalys, their growth has increased slightly in North America in the second quarter of 2019), but Apple Watch has grown much faster, but we can only imagine the rest of the ecosystem of Wear OS. . Total unit sales may be up for some of these small fish, but that will not be enough to keep Wear OS alive.
A circle of interdependence
The most important differentiator: Apple controls the Apple watch from top to bottom: everything from silicon to external design, to other hardware innovations, to software is built by Apple. On the other hand, Google recreated the original Android model with Wear OS. There is nothing wrong with that, but it depends on network effects, and these do not seem to happen.
Fashion brands and hardware manufacturers depend on Google to continue to develop Wear OS, Google depends on Qualcomm to invest in silicon and Qualcomm depends on fashion brands and equipment manufacturers for the sale of watches. It is a large circle of interdependence and none of these three parties has been particularly successful in his work. Wear OS watches have not sold well since the beginning, which has slowed investment and innovation.
Wearing OS would be an easy target
What does it mean for Wear OS if Apple suddenly adds support for Android to the Apple Watch? Ryan Whitwam to Android font Was he right earlier this week:
Imagine for a moment that Apple has extended the support of Apple Watch to Android. This will not be the case, but think about what would happen. Most likely, it would be the end for Wear OS overnight. Apple Watch users really appreciate it, and those who use Wear OS do it simply because it works with their phone. If a competing product can crush you completely by expanding device support, it means that your product is not very good.
I think only part of this quote needs to be re-examined. Is it certain that Apple will never do it? Eventually, the Apple Watch will reach a saturation point among iPhone buyers, and if Apple wants Watch to continue growing, it will have to expand its target market. Would Apple Watch sell more iPhones as an exclusive accessory, or would it be better as a kind of Trojan – an advertisement – for the iPhone and Apple ecosystem?
The best solution for Apple might be to add to the Apple Watch a rudimentary support for Android. Given the nature of Apple's closely related services, it would in any case be paralyzed under Android. Maybe it could be just notifications. Maybe notifications and calls. Just make the device appariableeven if he is crippled. I bet it would be again convince some Android users to give it a shot, that would be a hit with Wear OS manufacturers, and Apple would still benefit. Do you want iMessage and AirPods features to Single Switch and Health? Sorry, but that requires an iPhone. This would be similar to the current situation of AirPods.
Whatever the quality of its features, I think that Apple alone could remove Wear OS by operating a switch. This is especially true now that Wear OS, the only feature that is not the Apple Watch, has been proven – many models with permanent display – is the big addition this year. As Ryan says, all of this shows just how much love the operating system developed by Google needs to love if he wants to go back.
What do you think? Could Apple erase the card's Wear OS by adding support for Android to the watch?
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