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Apple reportedly abandoned a plan to make its Apple Watch compatible with Android smartphones. According to a report, the company made a step back in order to protect iPhones, fearing that it could affect the value of the Watch to Apple’s smartphones.
According to Bloomberg, the move was dubbed “Project Fennel” internally and included the plan to also make the Health app available to Android users. The company reportedly was working on a code to make this possible but decided to make a last-minute decision to leave the project.
The report shared that while the move could have Apple’s health offerings to a wider audience globally, there was fear about its possible impact on iPhones. As it suggested, the plan would have reduced the need for an iPhone since Apple Watches could only be set up through it. Hence, Apple believes it could affect iPhone sales, which are currently not in a good position in today’s economic climate. A source who talked to Bloomberg added more context about Apple’s decision, saying, “If you gave up the watch to Android, you would dilute the value of the watch to the iPhone.”
This is not surprising at all, given Apple’s walled ecosystem for its products. And from Apple’s point of view, its fears are undeniably reasonable if you consider the current image the brand has for its products and services: exclusive. Giving the Apple Watch will indeed logically make the iPhones less preferable for users wanting to have it but refuse to embrace iPhones. As such, the move is entirely favorable for its business.
Aside from Apple Watch, Apple is also trying to keep its other offerings exclusive to its ecosystem. For instance, despite Google and Samsung’s insistence for the Cupertino giant to embrace the Rich Communication Services communication protocol, it remains unmoved. There’s also the fight against different regulators about making its system open to third-party platforms and the App Store to other payment options (although the company, alongside Google, might allow these things in the EU as per recent reports). Needless to say, sharing is not the best quality of Apple, but, of course, this behavior allows its business to continuously strive in the competition.
