Android Wear, Google’s operating system built to be a rival to Apple’s watchOS, is getting a huge name change.
And the iPhone is a big reason why.
Google revealed in a blog post this morning that Android Wear is losing its “Android” moniker. From now on, it will simply be called “Wear OS.” Google says the move is being made to reflect how Wear OS is for everyone, not just Android users.
“As our technology and partnerships have evolved, so have our users. In 2017, one out of three new Android Wear watch owners also used an iPhone,” Google wrote in its update. “So as the watch industry gears up for another Baselworld next week, we’re announcing a new name that better reflects our technology, vision, and most important of all—the people who wear our watches.”
Wear OS will need more than a name change to catch up to Apple Watch though. In 2017, Apple Watch outsold the entire Swiss watch industry combined.
Android OS has been used by over 50 smartwatch makers to run the apps and other features on their wearables. Over the next few weeks all devices that previously supported Android Wear should start showing Wear OS on wrists.
