The upcoming Montblanc Summit 3 will not only run Wear OS 3, but will be the first iOS-enabled smartwatch on the new unified platform.
News – originally by wearable –confirmed edge Qualcomm spokeswoman Lauren Miller. The Summit 3 isn’t the first smartwatch powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 4100 Plus platform, but it is the first smartwatch powered by Wear OS 3. The fact that it also supports iOS is quite different from other confirmed Wear OS 3 watches. For example, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 series and the upcoming Google Pixel Watch are exclusive to Android users.
Older Wear OS 2 and Samsung Tizen-powered smartwatches, while never popular with iPhone users, also work with iOS. Wear OS 2 watches running on the 4100 Plus chipset can be upgraded to Wear OS 3 later this year — though it’s unclear if they’ll still be iOS-compatible after the upgrade. The fact that the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Pixel Watch eschew iOS suggests that Wear OS 3 will be a closed ecosystem. However, Montblanc’s decision to support iPhone users suggests that other Wear OS watch makers like Fossil and Mobvoi can emulate future watches and even retain some form of iOS compatibility when upgrading older watches.
According to Miller, the Summit 3 will have a dedicated companion app on both iOS and Android, which will act as a “bridge between the phone and the watch.” It also suggests that if Fossil and Mobvoi want to retain iOS users, they may also have to develop their own apps.
But just because Summit 3 will be compatible with the iPhone, that doesn’t mean iOS users will get the same Wear OS 3 experience as Android users.
“Our priority for Wear OS 3 is to focus on premium experiences in the Android ecosystem,” said Google spokeswoman Ivy Chen Hunt. edge“The Montblanc Summit 3 will run Wear OS 3 and be compatible with the iPhone. However, support for apps and experiences will vary by phone platform.” Hunt went on to explain that Google supports iOS through apps and services such as YouTube Music and Notification Mirroring , and the company plans to expand support in the future.
Given that, it’s a safe bet that Wear OS 3 won’t perform as well on the iPhone — at least not at first. We won’t know exactly how different the iOS experience will be until the release of Montblanc Summit 3 on July 15th. That said, the watch sells for an eye-popping 1,250 euros (about $1,300). So while the Summit 3 is technically the first iOS-compatible Wear OS 3 watch, you’re better off waiting for a more affordable option from Fossil or Mobvoi, which may arrive later this fall.