If you were to summarize my personal tech stack it would be Google software and Apple hardware. There are a few exceptions but those two companies likely cover the bulk of my technology usage. They’re great at what they do within their domains yet the intersection is lacking, especially on the Apple Watch. I suspect Apple is to blame for some of this but it doesn’t seem as if Google doesn’t even try to build for the Apple Watch.

For some unknown reason there’s no native Google Calendar app on the watch. The only way to see your events is to have them synced through the default Calendar app. I prefer the Google experience here - why not extend it to the watch? In fact, I had removed Apple’s native app entirely from my phone only to bring it back to have some calendar app on the watch.

Maps is another problem. This is likely due to Apple’s restrictions but the native maps app has a much nicer integration with the watch. You can turn the screen off and it will only turn on when it’s time to take an action. Similarly, it’ll vibrate ahead of a turn. Despite having the better algorithms and data the integrated experience pales compared to Apple.

I don’t have an Android watch but I suspect the integration with the Google ecosystem is smoother and yet Google has adopted the strategy of increasing their reach on all devices. There’s a big opportunity here for Google and I’ll keep waiting.