Is Android Wear for You and Your iPhone?

I wanted to love theApple Watch.

But the Apple Watchfelt like a major disappointment.

I never liked the look of it.

Square watches never jived with my personal aesthetics.

Beyond that, the Apple Watch just felt like a dumbed-down phone with a tiny screen.

Im not sure what sort of product Apple thought they were making.

Even on an iPhone, Android Wear offers a lot of great functionality.

I even found it kept a more reliable connection with my phone than my Apple Watch.

That said, the two platforms are very different.

Android Wear focuses on cards and actions, while the Apple Watch focuses on apps.

I think the app paradigm makes great sense on a phone but works poorly on a watch.

Instead, Ill give you the basic overview and how to get around some of the quirks.

First things first, you should probably buy an Android Wear smartwatch that actually works with an iPhone.

I went with the LG Watch Urbane because I got it on sale.

If money hadnt entered the equation, I mightve chosen the Moto 360 v2 for its smaller profile.

Heres the gist:

Charge your new watch, or at least stick it in the charger during setup.

Download the Android Wear appfor your iPhone and open it.

Tap the three vertical dots in the upper righthand corner and then tap Pair with a new wearable.

Check your watch for a pairing code, then tap Pair in the Android Wear app.

Wait a minute or two for the confirmation message.

After you do that, youll get to set a few things up.

The phone and watch will walk you through this process and you should pay close attention.

It may help in the long run anyway.

For example, all apps can display notifications but almost every non-Google app cannot provideactionablenotifications.

If you use another email app, you cant.

Theres a workaround, but well talk about that later.

Card previews are helpful but intrusive, so you might want to turn them off.

Definitely enable Google Nowor youll miss out on the majority of benefits with Android Wear on iOS.

Google Now provides a ton of information based on what Google knows about you.

It also helps provide answers in better context when you say Hey Google and ask your watch a question.

With all of that out of the way, youre pretty much set up and ready to go.

If you have a request, say Hey Google and give it to your wrist.

(Note: some watches require you to tap the screen to wake them up before theyll listen.)

Swiping from right to left will reveal more options.

The only other one worth highlighting, in my opinion, is Theater Mode.

App Menu

Swipe the watch face from right to left to bring up an app menu.

If you keep swiping up, youll move on to the next one.

Swiping from left to right will dismiss that notification.

Swiping from right to left, however, will bring up any available actions.

Because of Apples limitations, actionable notifications on your watch arent really possible with most apps.

However, with Google apps youll have more options.

But what if you dont want to use Gmail and Google Calendar?

What if you like, say,AirmailandFantastical?

Open options on your iPhone and disable notifications for Gmail and Google Calendar in the Notifications section.

Open controls in your Android Wear app and go to the Blocked app notifications section.

Tap the + Add apps to block list down at the bottom and choose your email and calendar apps.

Thatll do the same thing.

But Im not most people.

I like certain styles and information on my rig screens, so I decided to go full-on custom.

If you like to mess around and explore, you have options.

Naturally, you canunlock your bootloader and root your deviceto enable more possibilities.

The usual risks of potentially bricking your watch, losing data, or generally messing things up apply.

Keep that in mind before diving in.

Adam Dachisis a Los Angeles-based writer and consultant.

Youll find him writing and making stuff over atAwkward Human, including his podcast theAwkward Human Survival Guide.