Google this week made Android Wear watches compatible with iPhone for the first time, but they’re not quite an Apple Watch replacement just yet. Many features are lost when the two platforms come together, including the ability to record fitness data in HealthKit. Android Wear was always going to have its limitations with iOS, so those with Wear watches shouldn’t expect to get the same functionality when using them with iPhone. It’s impossible to install and use third-party Wear apps and watch faces, for instance. Perhaps one of the biggest features that doesn’t work right now is the ability to record fitness data in HealthKit — something the Apple Watch excels at — so users cannot track steps, heart rate, and other activity and fitness statistics without using Google’s own Google Fit platform.
An Apple spokeswoman told BuzzFeed Newsthat this decision was “entirely Google’s,” while a Google spokesperson confirmed Wear would bypass HealthKit when used with iPhone. “That said, Android Wear on iOS absolutely supports the mass majority of Wear features we see our Android users using and loving,” a Google spokesperson said. It seems a somewhat strange decision on Google’s part, given that activity and fitness tracking is one of the biggest reasons why many people buy a smartwatch, and most iOS users are going to want to take advantage of Apple’s deeply integrated HealthKit platform. Perhaps the search giant will change its mind later on, but for now, at least, you’ll need an Apple Watch or third-party fitness tracker to use HealthKit on your iPhone. You can still use Google Fit inside the Android Wear apps for iOS to track the data from your Wear watch.
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