Runkeeper has announced that it's ceasing support for its Wear OS app because it was a basically bit of a buggy mess.
The running app company sent out an email to users letting them know that it was ending support soon saying that, 'it was a very buggy experience and difficult for us to maintain and fix," according to a Runkeeper representative.
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It also added that only a small percentage of its users were actually using the app on Wear smartwatches. Due to the fact that there is just a small team working on the app, it didn't believe it had the resources to keep it up and running and offer the kind of great tracking experience it wanted to.
This isn't the first high profile Wear OS app to get ditched in recent months either. Google killed off its Nest Wear OS and Apple Watch apps because nobody was using them.
But it's another blow for a smartwatch platform that is seemingly struggling to compete with the likes of Apple and Samsung who are having success in this space. A recent report suggested Google's share of the market in North America is tiny compared to its closest rivals with the Fossil Group and its army of Wear watches accounting for its most notable shipments.
It also opens up the debate once again on whether people are using apps on their smartwatches. Or is it simply a case that Google's platform just isn't a very good place to build good apps. Runkeeper does still have an Apple Watch app, though it will be interesting to see whether that sticks around too.
Support for the Wear OS app is set to end with version 9.13 of the app, which should land in the coming weeks.
Via: The Verge and Android Central
How we test
By Michael Sawh
Michael Sawh has been covering the wearable tech industry since the very first Fitbit landed back in 2011. Previously the resident wearable tech expert at Trusted Reviews, he also marshaled the features section of T3.com.
He also regularly contributed to T3 magazine when they needed someone to talk about fitness trackers, running watches, headphones, tablets, and phones.
Michael writes for GQ, Wired, Coach Mag, Metro, MSN, BBC Focus, Stuff, TechRadar and has made several appearances on the BBC Travel Show to talk all things tech.
Michael is a lover of all things sports and fitness-tech related, clocking up over 15 marathons and has put in serious hours in the pool all in the name of testing every fitness wearable going. Expect to see him with a minimum of two wearables at any given time.