Apple and its Apple Watch may have a problem on its hands as companies that made apps dedicated exclusively for the Apple Watch are giving up on the platform.
According to a report, the companies have been quietly removing support for the watch in updates that they provide to the App Store. The report noted that over the past few weeks, Google Maps’ latest update to its iOS app removed support for the Apple Watch. Other companies that are no longer supporting the Apple Watch in their apps include Target and eBay. The report highlighted the fact that support was removed from the apps without anyone noticing. Had that happened to the iPad, users would have immediately realized it, and the tech press would have been all over it.
In a statement in the report, Google said, “We removed Apple Watch support from our latest iOS release but expect to support it again in the future.”
Despite the seeming lack of support by companies for the Apple Watch, Apple is moving ahead with new features and advances for its wearable device. In April, 9to5Mac reported Apple has filed a new patent, which shows the company is working on technology that will allow its watch to determine when you’re driving based on motion detection, and then either prevent alerts completely or determine which alerts are important enough to receive while driving. It’s not clear whether this will be implemented into the watchOS 4 and iOS 11 later this fall.
The patent for the new technology was filed last fall and approved this week and indicates that the feature could be customized by the user and the car manufacturer. “In some embodiments, the wearable device may instead reroute notifications from the device display or speakers to interface elements within the vehicle, such as an in-dash or heads-up display or vehicle speakers, rather than preventing notifications from reaching the user,” the patent wrote.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More