The Apple Watch is set to debut next month, and anticipation is at an all-time high. The smartwatch comes with many useful features, including fitness tracking, health monitoring, Apple Pay and a wide range of third-party apps to liven up the experience. The one thing the new smartwatch lacks is quite surprising: a browser.
Apple Watch skips the browser
Medium.com writer Paul Canetti recently published a report pointing out which iPhone apps were missing on the watch. He pointed out that there is no web browser feature, something that surprised many Apple fans. Watch users can search the internet with Siri but may find their search options limited.
Even Apple’s main rival Samsung has smartwatches with built-in browsers. The upcoming wearable does not feature a keyboard either, which should not pose a big problem for some users. For those who need to enter text onto the screen, they will have speak it loudly into the watch. Apple designed the watch for simple tasks like making quick email replies or checking the calendar. It wasn’t designed to replace the iPhone, which is often used for other tasks such as compiling emails or reading articles.
Third-party apps have to work around lack of browser
There is no need to view the CNN website on the Apple Watch. Instead, the CNN app will inform users of the latest stories. Users can also browse through the selection of content on the app. CNN is not the only third-party app maker that will have to build apps around the device’s lack of a browser.
Apple’s decision not to add a browser to the iPhone is reflective of the product’s purpose. The new watch was never designed to replace the iPhone; it was designed to work with it. The tech giant does not want to replace the iPhone with another product unless it knows the newer product will be as successful or more successful than the previous product.
