The Apple Watch nearly came to Android, but Apple changed its mind – here’s why

Thinking the unthinkable

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It’s long been the case that if you want anApple Watch, you need to have an iPhone, asApple’s wearable simply won’t work with Android devices. Yet things were almost very different for one of the world’sbest smartwatches, according to anew report from Bloomberg.

According to the article, Apple came close to releasing anApple Watchthat was compatible with Android in a bid to expand its health features to many more people than Apple was previously able to reach. But in the end the idea, dubbed Project Fennel, was canned at the last minute.

That’s because business worries trumped health considerations, the report claims. The Apple Watch is a key driver of iPhone sales because you need to pair it with one of Apple’s devices. “If you gave up the watch to Android,” said a Bloomberg source, “you would dilute the value of the watch to the iPhone.”

Unlike whenApple brought iTunes to Windowsdespite the initially fervent opposition of then-CEO Steve Jobs, it looks unlikely that the Apple Watch will make it to non-Apple users for the foreseeable future – if it ever does.

A missed opportunity?

In many ways, it’s a shame that the Apple Watch has never become compatible with Android. The series has long been in the upper echelons of our guide to thebest smartwatchesand could have been a fine option for Android fans in its early days, while they waited for Wear OS to get its act together.

But that potential window of opportunity for Apple has arguably now closed as Wear OS watches now offers some strong alternatives to theApple Watch 9and its siblings. TheSamsung Galaxy Watch 6is the best Wear OS watch we’ve tried, while the newGoogle Pixel Watch 2is also a strong contender that’s arguably better-looking than Apple’s slightly stale design.

On the other hand, keeping the Apple Watch as an iPhone exclusive is also an understandable move that’s paid off in different ways since the wearable was released in 2015. According toStatista, Apple was responsible for 22% of global wearable shipments (the largest of any single brand) in the second quarter of 2023, and theApple Watch Ultra 2has set new benchmarks for wearables with its incredible screen.

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The Bloomberg report also suggests that Apple is planning to make big advances in the health capabilities of its wearable. This includes its plans to introduce technology that would allow for non-invasive blood glucose monitoring, which would not require a user to draw blood.

If successful – and there’s still a long way to go – that could be a major health selling point for the Apple Watch. The company has been working on this project for years, Bloomberg alleges, with early efforts shrouded in secrecy. Butdon’t expect to see it any time soon– Bloomberg’s sources say that it’s “unlikely to show up in a product for at least a few years.” Let’s hope the wait is worth it.

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Alex Blake has been fooling around with computers since the early 1990s, and since that time he’s learned a thing or two about tech. No more than two things, though. That’s all his brain can hold. As well as TechRadar, Alex writes for iMore, Digital Trends and Creative Bloq, among others. He was previously commissioning editor at MacFormat magazine. That means he mostly covers the world of Apple and its latest products, but also Windows, computer peripherals, mobile apps, and much more beyond. When not writing, you can find him hiking the English countryside and gaming on his PC.

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