Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
TL;DR
- A report claims that Apple was working on making an Apple Watch for Android.
- The project was almost complete, but then the company canceled it.
- Apple reportedly canceled the project because the Apple Watch is a driver of iPhone sales
While Apple has a tight grip on the US market, Android has a strong presence around the world. This almost resulted in Apple making the Apple Watch and Health app compatible with Android, but the company canceled those plans at the last minute, according to a new report.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has spilled details on Apple’s various plans for its health offerings. Among those details, it’s revealed that the tech giant may have been working on making the watch and its Health app compatible with Android.
Codenamed Project Fennel, the effort was reportedly meant to help the company reach the billions of users who are on Android. In particular, this was seen as a way for the Cupertino firm to strengthen its presence in areas where Apple has little market share.
It appears that the tech giant got pretty far with the development, too. Project Fennel was reportedly almost finished before Apple ultimately pulled the plug.
If you’re wondering why the project was canceled when it was nearly done, it may have had something to do with the iPhone. A source close to the matter told the outlet, “If you gave up the watch to Android, you would dilute the value of the watch to the iPhone.” Simply put, the company sees the Apple Watch as something that pushes iPhone sales.
With this new information, it appears Apple has closed the door on any potential Android compatibility, for now. But, on the positive side, there are already plenty of Wear OS 4 smartwatches that offer just as good health features as Apple Watch.
