Back when Google started hinting at what is now known as “Android Wear”, Apple fans came out of the woodwork attacking every little thing. Back then we just had rectangular watches which caused an outcry from Apple Fans. “Watches are meant to be round”, they said. “Apple would never stoop to making a ‘square’ watch”, they said. “They” were wrong, and it’s wonderful news for Google and Android Wear. Wearables powered by Android Wear are already in their second generation. If you want square, you can get square. If you want round, there’s more than one choice. If you want a curved screen, Android Wear has that, too. Put another way, Android Wear is another example of how Android products encourage diversity, freedom, flexibility, and choice.

On the other side of the isle, now that we’ve had a chance to see Apple Watch first-hand, it does what one would expect, and even has some features that Android Wear doesn’t include – I’m sure Android Wear will fill in some of those gaps soon enough. In the meantime, Apple Watch still has one major disadvantage when compared to Android Wear: the price.

Price

If you want the “plastic, ladies” version of the Apple Watch, you’ll have to pay US$100 more than the Moto 360 with it’s leather band. The men’s version is another $50 on top of that. The men’s Apple Watch with a stainless steel band will run you $699 compared to the Moto 360 with it’s stainless band for $299.99.

Other versions will lighten your wallet even more.

That’s okay (for those who want to spend the money), but let’s face it, at the end of the day a watch is a timepiece, whether it’s made by Apple or powered by Android. As it stands right now, Apple’s products look good, but they’re still first-generation technology, they’re not round, and they cost significantly more than their competition. That’s nothing new and shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.

Compatibility

Android Wear works with any Android-powered phone or tablet running version 4.3 or higher, and Android is still in the lead when it comes to active users.

Any watch powered by Android Wear (regardless of who makes it) will work with any phone or tablet powered by Android (regardless of who makes it). That makes your options almost limitless.

Conclusions

Now that Apple has formally announced Apple Watch, and is spending grotesque amounts of money marketing its smart watches, those who make devices that run Android Wear will benefit from Apple’s advertising. When Apple fans buy their Apple Watches and start wearing them around, visibility of smart watches will increase. People who aren’t “in the know” will start seeing them “in the wild”, but won’t know the difference between Apple Watch and Android Wear.

What people will see is that some of these smart watches are round. Some are curved. Some cost significantly more than others… and some won’t work with their Androids. Be prepared so see a whole bunch of people asking about – and eventually buying – Android Wear devices, and the popularity and adoption rate of wearables soar – all thanks to the retail launch of the Apple Watch.

Even with all that having been said, you still can’t get a round watch from Apple, unless it’s this one.