If you decided to pick up an Android Wear device instead of Apple Watch, you may have trouble using it with iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
Those who have upgraded to one of Apple’s latest smartphones have found they just don’t play nicely with Google’s wearable platform, despite the fact that their predecessors have no trouble connecting after being upgraded to the same iOS 10 software.
Google brought Android Wear support to iPhone last August, opening the gates to a growing catalog of wearables from a long list of manufacturers for those who aren’t interested in the Apple Watch. But iPhone 7 is crashing the party.
[contextly_auto_sidebar] When trying to connect an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus with an Android Wear device, users never see the popup that asks for their permission to marry the two over Bluetooth. Pairing simply just doesn’t happen.
Strangely, there is no problem pairing the same devices to an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6s running the same iOS 10 software.
Google has confirmed the issue, which affects watches from Motorola, ASUS, Fossil, Tag Heuer, LG, and other Android Wear vendors. Its forum has also become flooded with complaints from iPhone 7 users who cannot use their Wear devices anymore.
“I’ve got a TAG Heuer Connected that was working fine with my iPhone 6 even after I upgraded to iOS 10, but then since I unpaired to connect to my new iPhone 7 I haven’t been able to pass the pairing screen,” writes one.
“Just wanted to let you guys know I’m facing the same issue. Can’t get my Moto360 2nd gen to pair with my iPhone7 (iPhone 6 and 6s with iOS10 was no problem),” adds another.
It’s not yet clear what’s causing this issue, but due to the fact that it’s not affecting other devices running iOS 10, it seems it could be a hardware issue with the iPhone 7. That’s not something that can be fixed with a simple software update.
But don’t panic just yet. Google has promised it is investigating the issue, and has also reported it to Apple. We hope to hear more soon.
Via: Android Authority
Killian Bell is a freelance writer based in the U.K. He has an interest in all things tech and also covers Android over at CultofAndroid.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell.
4 responses to “iPhone 7 won’t play nicely with Android Wear watches”
Competing platform won’t work properly on iOS? Must be Apple’s fault!
I doubt this was intentional. What I don’t get is how hardware manufacturers like Apple manage to screw up the bluetooth spec so often. It seems like every time they update the bluetooth chipset, a bunch of things break. Maybe it’s because I’m not aware of the details, but I find it ridiculous that a published specification is this hard to implement by a deep-pocketed manufacturer that prides itself on attention to detail. It’s not like it can’t be verified beforehand whether or not the implementation meets the published spec that everyone else is also adhering to.
To be fair, it could be the other side of the pairing situation that has the problem (Google, or the watch manufacturers), but even with the roles reversed, my point still stands.
Android Wear smartwatches aren’t compatible with W1 chip.
The W1 chip is found in Apple’s AirPods and a couple of Beats models – not iPhone. Those models with W1 chip ARE compatible and will work with standard bluetooth devices.