14 DAY TRIAL // We continue our series of comparisons between the new Apple Watch and the lineup of Android Wear devices, which includes the ASUS ZenWatch, Samsung Gear Live, Sony SmartWatch 3, LG G Watch R and Moto 360.
It is time to see how these two competing platforms handle notifications and what they can offer in terms of software.
Apple's Watch interface looks a lot different than that of Android Wear
Apple has built a complete new OS especially for its Watch product, which arrives in the form of a dial on the side of the watch called Digital Crown.
When a user presses the Digital Crown, the home screen is brought forth showing a list of apps. Pressing and holding the Digital Crown will bring about Siri, because the Watch too heavily relies on voice features.
Google has built the Android Wear platform around notifications so they are a pretty important part of the OS. Whenever something happens on your phone, you’ll get a notification which shows up right on the screen and you can swipe through them to view more info or dismiss them.
On the other hand, Apple is taking a slightly different route. Sure, it will deliver notifications to your wrist, but developers can opt to add something extra to the alert, like letting accept a Facebook request or something of this sort.
Moving along, smartwatches have been designed to help users get the information they need when they need it.
That’s why Android Wear relies heavily on Google Now. This is actually a really useful feat to have around, and as you scroll through different notifications, Android Wear will spurt Google Now cards that aim to help your cause.
As for the Apple Watch, at the bottom of the screen lies a section called Glances, which is yet another series of cards bundled with relevant information like upcoming appointments and so on, but apps can get in there too, so if one of your Facebook friends has a birthday soon, you might see a card with that info in there, as well.
Initial apps that will be available for the Apple watch include Nike, popular social apps like Twitter, a Honeywell app (to help you regulate your thermostat), a Startwood Hotels app that lets you unlock your hotel door via your smartwatch.
Apple will make available the WatchKit, a platform for developers wanting to create apps for the new device, so lots more in terms of software will come our way soon.
As for Android Wear, since its launch in March the platform has grown immensely and new apps for it are released every day. For example, users can get to take advantage of Wikipedia, Facebook or WhatsApp, to name of few of the most popular names.
Does Apple brings something extra health-wise?
Now for the health-related part. The Apple Watch bundles a heart-rate sensor and an accelerometer and moves on to take advantage of a paired iPhone’s GPS and Wi-Fi in order to track your heart rate.
The watch comes with two dedicated apps, Activity and Workout and together they are supposed to bring about the best in you.
Android Wear smartwatches are quite capable of achieving the same, so there’s not a big difference in this department to speak of.
Something you’ll be able to do with the Watch, but not with Android Wear, is send your heartbeat to a third party via pressing two fingers on the screen. This sounds a little bit creepy, but we assume you’ll be sending it to your doctor.
Anyway, that’s it for now concerning the software you can find onboard of the two watches, we’ll be back with more comparisons soon. In the meantime, check out the differences between Apple's Watch and Android Wear in the Design and Display departments.
