Google may be preparing to fight the Apple Watch on its home turf, by working on getting Android Wear devices to work with iOS devices. A companion app for iOS is reportedly close to being completed by Google, which in theory would allow smartwatches running Android Wear to receive notifications and interact with other apps on Apple’s mobile operating system.
A sourceĀ claims the app is very close to completion, though it isn’t clear sailing for the project to be released. It would have to run the gauntlet of the iOS app submission process, and considering the timing of the Apple Watch’s imminent release, an iOS app that helps the competition may face an upwards battle for approval.
So far, the app allegedly allows for Google Now information cards, voice search, and some other voice actions to work, with the possibility of more advanced features via Google’s existing iOS apps, like Gmail. Other functions, such as music playback control and others closely tied into the operating system, may be tougher to get right.
Google has apparently been working on this for a while already, as developers have previously discovered references to iOS in the Android Wear code.