Unofficial iPhone support for Android Wear without Jailbreak unveiled

Android Wear is one of the most recent developments in wearable technology and smartwatches. Wearables have a lot of potential, but right now they still have their drawbacks. Besides a comparatively short battery life, the largest drawback is no cross-platform support. Until now, Android Wear could only be used with an Android smartphone. If a user switches to an iPhone, the smartwatch is rendered useless. That is, until this latest hack from developer Mohammad Abu-Garbeyyah. Now Android Wear can function with any iOS device without having to jailbreak your iPhone.

The hack utilized Apple Notification Service Center feature on iOS. It grants Bluetooth accessories a simple and convenient way to access the notifications generated by iOS devices. The ANCS was designed by Apple to be scaled. It could power anything from a simple LED light to a more powerful companion device.

With this hack, you should be able to read any notifications, from texts to push notifications from apps, in real time. But, this is the only functional feature for an Android Wear and iOS connection other than "bracelet mode." iPhone users will be better off going with the Pebble smartwatch, as it is actually designed to run with the iOS platform. Pebble also boasts a seven day battery life, with is about six days longer than the Android smartwatches on the market.

Right now, this Android Wear "hack" is really just a functionality sync. It may pave the way for cross-platform functionality in the future, but it doesn't account for much utility now. Unless you already have the unlikely pairing of an Android smartwatch and a iPhone, you will be better off sticking to a single platform for all of your wearable technology.

Source: Beta News