Google has made its presence felt on the Apple Watch for the first time, with an update to the Google News & Weather app for iOS.
The application boost brings support for the Apple Watch, meaning early adopters will be able to pick up the latest headlines and forecasts from Google directly on their wrist.
The launch, while not all that exciting, remains newsworthy as it’s the first evidence that Google will support the Apple Watch, rather than seek to protect its own Android Wear platform.
Read more: Apple Watch: Best apps to download first
As for the News & Weather app, it’ll bring users stories from a collated 65,000 publications. However, it doesn’t appear to be all that useful. Apple Watch owners will be able to see headlines and a photo for each story, but won’t be able to read the story on their tiny watch screen.
In case they do want to read the entire article, it can be added to the Safari reading list via a long press on the iPhone’s display.
As there are already plentiful news apps from the usual suspects – NYT, CNN, NPR, etc. – available for the Apple Watch, the Google iteration is unlikely to broadly appeal.
However, it does indicate Google has no plans to reject the Apple Watch with more important apps potentially on the way soon. Watch this space.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.