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It shows that Google, a top rival, is willing to bring its properties to the Apple Watch.
When Apple announced the Apple Watch earlier this year, the company already built a thriving ecosystem of third-party applications for the wearable. In fact, roughly 3,500 apps were submitted shortly after the big launch—an impressive list that included CNN, The New York Times, Twitter, Instagram and more.
But if there’s one company that is noticeably missing, it would be Google. Google has a plethora of apps, ranging from Google Maps to Gmail, which can be downloaded on an iPhone or iPad. However, Google is a fierce rival of Apple. The company has its own smartwatch platform, dubbed Android Wear. Given the case, it’s easy to see why Google isn’t interested in bringing its apps to the Apple Watch.
Our assumptions were wrong, as Google is now making its nifty News and Weather app available on the Apple Watch. The latest version of the app—version 1.7.426—supports Apple’s wearable. The new version, as expected, comes with a slew of performance enhancements, stability improvements and bug fixes.
Google’s News and Weather app serves as a comprehensive resource of news and weather information. Its coverage spans across 65,000 publications, much like Google News on the web. Users can also customize their weather and news according to their location, which is great for tracking the latest local news. By bringing the app to the Apple Watch, Google is showing us that it is willing to bring its properties to the Apple Watch.