The Pebble smartwatch and OS may have been around longer than either the Android Wear platform and the Apple Watch, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to get a “free pass”, at least not from Apple. Reports say that some apps are being rejected from publication in the Apple App Store, because they make mention of Pebble Smartwatch support. This doesn’t bode well for the rumor that Google plans to make their platform open to iOS as well.
This shouldn’t really surprise us, since Apple indicates in its developer agreement that you cannot mention of other mobile platforms in both the description and the metadata. But the developer of nautical navigation app SeaNavUS still tried to include the fact that they have support for Pebble Smartwatches, which probably is natural since Pebblle can be connected to the iPhone, as well as Android devices. This particular app however only has iOS support and not Android, so they probably though they could get away with mentioning Pebble in the description.
But apparently, Apple is having none of that, since they are pushing their Apple Watch and any mention of their competition is probably not good for business. It doesn’t actually mean that you can’t support other platforms. They would just prefer that you don’t mention it when you’re publishing your app in their App Store.
This may not directly translate to the planned availability of Android Wear on other platforms like iOS. Supposedly, making the platform available for both Android and iOS devices will enable smartwatch makers and app developers to reach more than 90% of smartphone buyers. Let’s wait and see if Apple will reject Google’s submission of the Android Wear app to the App Store, if they haven’t already done so.
VIA: Android Police
