Cats & Dogs Living Together: Android Wear smartwatches now compatible with iPhone

Android Wear smartwatches are now compatible with iPhone handsets through Google's newly released Android Wear for iOS app.

The Android Wear for iOS app allows iPhones running iOS 8.2 or higher to sync with Android Wear smartwatches. The Android Wear for iOS app is compatible with the iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus.

Unsurprisingly, Android Wear smartwatches are a little more limited when partnered with an iPhone. While the wearables can still mirror notifications, display Google Now cards, and track certain fitness metrics, notifications are missing rich functionality. With the exception of Google's own iOS apps (Gmail and Calendar for example), iPhone users can't interact with a notification on their Android Wear watch. This means users can't reply to a message or delete emails using the wearable. It is however possible that other third party developers could add Android Wear support to their iOS apps.

Google says the LG Watch Urbane is the only Android Wear smartphone officially compatible with iOS, but The Verge has managed to successfully pair a Moto 360 with an iPhone, and CyberShack was able to pair a LG G Watch R with an iPhone 6 Plus. It is however likely that older Android Wear watches require the latest version of Google's wearable operating system to work with iOS. CyberShack wasn't able to pair the G Watch R with the iPhone until it was updated to Android Wear 5.1.1. Updating an Android Wear smartwatch requires it to be paired with an Android smartphone.

All new Android Wear devices – including the upcoming Huawei Watch and ASUS ZenWatch 2 – will be compatible with Android Wear for iOS out of the box.