Which Android Wear Watches Work with the iPhone?

Yesterday, Google finally released support for iPhone with Android Wear smartwatches. Here’s which Android Wear watches work with the iPhone currently.

iPhone support for Android Wear has been rumored for a while, with many hoping that Google would make it official at its yearly I/O conference earlier this year, but it was sadly MIA. However, the company made a surprise announcement yesterday revealing the news.

This means that smartwatches running Android Wear not only work with Android devices, but also on the iPhone, also meaning that the Apple Watch and the Pebble aren’t the only smartwatches that work with the iPhone anymore.

All you have to do is download the Android Wear iPhone app, which will allow you to pair your Android Wear smartwatch with your iPhone, as well customize settings and notifications that your watch receives. You can also use the app to change out watch faces.

Android Wear works with the iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus, and it will most likely work with the iPhone 6s when it releases next month.

As for which Android Wear watches work with the iPhone, that’s another question entirely, and Google is a bit confused as to which smartwatches work with iOS.

Here’s what Android Wear watches work with iPhone right now.

Android Wear Watches on iPhone

Officially, Google only lists one specific Android Wear smartwatches that work with the iPhone, and it’s the new LG Watch Urbane. However, the company says that any new Android Wear device that releases from now on will be compatible with iOS:

“All future Android Wear watches, including those from Huawei, Asus, and Motorola will also support iOS, so stay tuned for more.”

What Google left out is that older Android Wear smartwatches actually work with the iPhone, just as long as the watch is updated to the newest Android Wear 1.3 version.

Based from users’ experiences, the LG G Watch, G Watch R, Moto 360, and the Samsung Gear Live work just fine with the iPhone. We haven’t heard any other reports of other Android Wear devices working with the iPhone, but if your smartwatch is running version 1.3 of Android Wear, it will likely work with the iPhone.

Of course, as time goes on, more and more Android Wear watches release and there will be an even bigger selection of smartwatches to choose from for your iPhone, so this is only the beginning.

What Can Android Wear Do on iOS?

So perhaps one of the bigger questions is what exactly can an Android Wear smartwatch do on the iPhone and what’s supported?

Well, to be frank, there’s not much you can really do. You can receive any notification that comes through the iOS Notification Center, including iMessage notifications, but you can’t act upon those notifications from the watch.

Aside from that, that’s about all you can do. You can use Google Now on your Android Wear watch, so that’s certainly a plus, but compared to the Apple Watch, Android Wear watches on iOS simply can’t do much.

Since the Apple Watch works seamlessly with iOS, there’s a ton of stuff that you can do with the device that Android Wear devices can’t do. However, it’s easy to see why some iPhone users might go with an Android Wear smartwatch instead of an Apple Watch, especially if you like the round design of the Moto 360. Plus, you can grab a used Moto 360 for as little as $100, saving you over $200 from the price of an entry-level Apple Watch.

Hopefully, Google opens up more functionality for Android Wear, but it’s possible that many of the downsides are Apple’s fault, since the company likes to close off a lot of its features to third-party developers and manufacturers.