Google has updated its News & Weather app to be compatible with the Apple Watch, adding to the thousands of apps already available to the wearable device immediately upon its launch.
While the updated News & Weather app is not exactly groundbreaking, Google's move in updating the iOS version of the app to allow it to function with the Apple Watch shows that the company, despite pushing for Android Wear-based smartwatches, is not ignoring the popularity of the Apple Watch.
Google's decision, in fact, means that the company could also consider updating other Google services and apps to work with the Apple Watch. If that is the plan, then the News & Weather app is a good initial step by Google to test the waters when it comes to releasing apps for the Apple Watch.
The News & Weather app, which was only released for iOS devices last fall, is similar to other Apple Watch apps already released by news companies such as CNN and The New York Times. The app offers news summaries that are sources from about 65,000 publications, similar to Google News online. The headlines are grouped into different categories, and users are allowed to customize the News & Weather app with their own categories and for their local news and weather.
With the News & Weather app on the Apple Watch, users can swipe left and right through the top news headlines, with a photo accompanying each story accessible by turning the digital crown. However, the app does not include the complete story, and it does not support the Handoff feature to allow users to read the article on the Apple Watch's paired iPhone. What users can do is to use a Force Touch, which is a long press and hold gesture, to save the article into the Reading List of Safari.
The News & Weather app is very basic, especially compared to the other news-focused apps that are already available for the Apple Watch. The app does not even provide weather alerts to the user, which is something that most would expect it would be able to do given its name.
Still, Google is showing that it is not ignoring the Apple Watch just because it is competition to the Android Wear-based devices. Apparently the company does not want to miss out on acquiring user data from users of the Apple wearable, especially as Google is using the data for its high-earning advertising business.
