In a shocking flip of occasions, Apple revealed that it beforehand explored making the Apple Watch appropriate with Android telephones. This comes as a part of the firm’s response to a latest DOJ lawsuit accusing it of making a monopoly with the iPhone, significantly by making its merchandise troublesome to use with different manufacturers.

While Apple is understood for its “walled garden” method, the place its gadgets work finest inside its ecosystem, it looks like it did give Android compatibility a shot, at the very least with the Apple Watch.

We’ve beforehand had experiences claiming that Apple was engaged on an Android-compatible Apple Watch, however that is the first time the firm appears to have confirmed it. According to 9to5Mac, Apple confirmed that it spent three years attempting to make the Apple Watch Android-compatible earlier than in the end scrapping the venture due to “technical limitations.”

Since the Apple Watch solely works with iPhones, customers who need to swap away from iPhones have to surrender their Apple Watch and purchase a brand new smartwatch appropriate with Android. When I switched to a foldable telephone final yr, I had to promote my Apple Watch for a fraction of its authentic worth.

The US DOJ lawsuit towards Apple goes past simply the Apple Watch’s restricted compatibility. The lawsuit accuses Apple of using a number of practices that create hurdles for its customers who need to use merchandise/providers from different manufacturers. These embody blocking “super apps” that would simplify switching from iPhones, hindering cloud-based gaming apps, purposefully making messaging much less useful between iPhones and Android gadgets, and stopping third-party builders from creating competing digital wallets that work with Apple Pay.

Apple has since denied these claims, stating the lawsuit is “wrong on the facts and the law.”

There’s a transparent benefit for customers if all gadgets, no matter model, might work collectively flawlessly. However, Apple’s energy lies in its tightly woven ecosystem. The seamless integration between iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches is considered one of its greatest promoting factors. It’s value noting that even Samsung’s Galaxy Watches supply some options that solely work with Samsung telephones. So, forcing Apple to open up its ecosystem is perhaps useful for broader compatibility, nevertheless it might additionally have an effect on the firm’s core competency.