Google Maps, Amazon and eBay have all quietly dropped support for Apple Watch in their recent app updates.
So far, no reasons have been given for the decision, although Google noted that despite removing, “Apple Watch support from our latest iOS release [we] expect to support it again in the future.”
The removal comes two years to the month after Apple first introduced its wearable device.
Without knowledge about exactly why the decision to remove the apps was made, it’s difficult to draw conclusions about what it means. No announcement was made concerning why the decision was made, and (in Google’s case, at least) no definite date has been given for the reinstatement of Apple Watch support.
The biggest thing to take away from this is possibly just how long it took to be spotted. The app updates took place some time in April, but it’s taken until early May for this to come to light. If either of those three companies had abandoned iOS with their apps, the news would blow up online immediately.
That means the simplest answer may be the right one: that very few people were using the apps on Apple Watch.
Will you miss Apple Watch support for Google Maps, Amazon or eBay? Leave your comments below.
Source: Apple Insider
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
4 responses to “Google Maps, Amazon and eBay quietly drop Apple Watch support”
I believe this is driven by Apple Watch users. The only travel useful application is Google Maps. I’d expect this one to be supported in future up date.
Well considering how crappy eBay’s app is on iOS i don’t think anyone’s going to miss it on the Watch.
I wear my Apple Watch daily. The only apps I ever use are mail. text. calendar. weather. fitness. wallet.
Apple’s native Maps app provided haptic feedback that the Google Maps app did not. I do use the Apple Maps app on my watch quite a bit, and find it most useful when driving. The added sensory feedback was yet another navigational tip when visual feedback isn’t as accessible (like, looking at the road). While I prefer Google’s maps for accuracy, user experience was lost in the Apple wearables space.