Reports surfaced today that Google is close to finishing a version of Android Wear that would be compatible with the iPhone.

This would allow Android Wear devices, like the Moto 360 (pictured) or LG Watch R, to work with the iPhone, but don't hold your breath. I put the chances of this happening somewhere between zero and zilch.

In order for any watch to work with the iPhone and be available in the App Store, Apple has to approve it. In this case, that seems profoundly unlikely. The Apple Watch is designed to be a companion to the iPhone; it literally does not work without one. Although the company does support some outside smartwatch vendors—the Pebble smartwatch, for example, works with iOS and Android phones—it seems unlikely to give Google the green light to hock its platform in the App Store.

Apple actually has a history of launching products that can only be used by those who own other Apple products. The first-generation iPods, for example, only worked with Mac computers. With the second generation, Apple released a Windows version, although it still required a firewire port to work, which were a little hard to find on Windows systems.

Will Apple take the same path here? I really doubt it. The Apple Watch is too important a product for Apple to allow competitors onto its platform. Making matters worse, the features and functions of the Apple Watch are so tied into the iPhone's capabilities, don't expect the Apple Watch to work with Android phones any time soon either.

There are two very different wearable ecosystems forming—one around Android and one around iOS. The room for overlap seems to be shrinking. In fact, if I were Pebble, I would be a little worried about getting App Store approval for its upcoming Time smartwatches.  

That's how I see it, anyway, but what do you think? Is there any chance Apple allows Android Wear devices to work with the iPhone? Let me know in the comments section below.