It happened with the PC: Apple built one first, but Microsoft operating systems became the dominant way people computed. It happened with the smartphone: Apple’s iPhone defined the category, but around the world far more phones run Google’s Android. On Wednesday, Google launched a new Android platform for watches that it hopes will change history by skipping the part where Apple gets there first. As Apple apparently worries over every exquisite detail of its entry into the smartwatch market, Android Wear represents Google’s hope of commodifying the concept before its rival can make the idea of a wrist computer seem special. Android became more commonplace than iOS on phones because Google allowed other handset makers to use it, the same way Windows became ubiquitous while the Mac OS did not. The difference with watches is Android Wear doesn’t have to live up to a standard set by Apple.

Read the full story at Wired.