Google’s aggressive stance with Android Wear, putting industrial design — rather than tech specs or bundled software — at the forefront, reveals the makings of a strategy designed to take on Apple at their own game. In 2012, former iPad engineer Patrick Gibson floated a controversial theory: Google is getting better at what Apple does faster than Apple is getting better at what Google does, and that’s a problem for Apple.
By launching Android Wear, Google has staked its claim to the title master of wearable tech. Everything that has gone before should be viewed as a precursor. However, it hasn’t launched something tangible like a watch or Google Glass. In fact, Google hasn’t released a real, physical product at all. Instead, it is an entire operating system dedicated to making wearables awesome. From what we’ve seen so far, Android Wear has the potential to live up to its promise. Taking control of a burgeoning new market this way, even when the end product looks so cool, is a brave and ballsy strategy, and a proven winner. It’s one Google has seen in action before. When Apple announced the iPhone back in 2007, Android wasn’t even around, and it took a lot of work for Google to catch up.