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Google, Amazon, and eBay have quietly killed their Apple Watch apps

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Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Steve Kovach/Tech Insider
Several major tech companies have killed off their Apple Watch apps, according to Apple Insider.

Google, Amazon, and eBay reportedly removed support for their standalone Apple Watch apps in software updates rolled out at the end of April.

Amazon and Ebay pulled their main shopping apps, while Google killed off its Google Maps app.

None of the companies announced they were pulling the WatchOS apps in their iOS software update release notes and the removals have gone largely unnoticed, suggesting they weren't widely used.

Apple remains committed to the Apple Watch but it has struggled to convince people that they need to buy one. Official sales figures for the device aren't available, but analysts estimate that they're increasingly disappointing. Last October, analysts at IDC estimated that Apple shipped 1.1 million Apple Watches in the third quarter of 2016, which was down 71.6% from the year-ago period.

Apple isn't the only company struggling to sell wearable devices. Google's Android Wear smartwatches, which are made by an array of manufacturers, are also struggling to take off. Google had to delay the next version of Wear until 2017, and several partners have abandoned their plans to make new Android smartwatches this year. Motorola even said it halted its smartwatch plans indefinitely.

And, Pebble, the startup largely responsible for juicing interest in smartwatches back in 2012, sold itself to Fitbit for basically nothing last December. Its future products were cancelled, and support for current products will end soon.

Interestingly, Google reportedly told Apple Insider it plans to add Apple Watch support for its Google Maps app again in the future.

A number of other companies have also killed off their Apple Watch app, including US retailer Target, according to Apple Insider.

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Read the original article on Business Insider UK. Copyright 2017. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
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