Developers can start creating native apps for Apple Watch
Apple is going to add native apps to watchOS, the operating system of the Apple Watch. The company announced this during its own developer conference WWDC. Until now, all apps run on the iPhone and the phone sends the content to the watch via bluetooth.
Apps that have now appeared for the Watch run entirely on the phone, after which the iPhone sends the interface to the Watch via bluetooth. Because users have to wait for the connection between the phone and the Watch after, for example, tapping the app to open it, there is often a delay. Adding native apps would presumably counteract that.
Apps for the Apple Watch are now an extension of regular iPhone apps. The native apps are part of watchOS 2, which Apple presented at its own developer meeting. The announcement comes less than two months after the release of the Apple Watch at the end of April.
In watchOS 2, users can change a watchface into their own photo or photo album, among other things. In addition, there is a watchface that adjusts the image of a time-lapse according to the time of day and the location of the user. In addition, there is a new feature called Complications, which allows developers to add info from other apps.
In addition, HomeKit works on the Watch, allowing users to control their lights and thermostat from the watch, provided it’s connected via Apple’s home automation standard.
In addition, there will be a night mode, which displays the clock in a green font horizontally during loading. In addition, the Watch can serve as an alarm clock. In addition, the Digital Touch function, to send drawings to other Watch users, is provided with multiple colors. It is also possible to make a Facetime Audio call.
Developers get more options, including access to the microphone, accelerometer, vibration motor, speaker, the digital crown and HealthKit with data about, among other things, the heart rate and pedometer. A test version for developers will be released on Monday evening, the release for all other users will follow in the fall.
Photos from Apple’s keynote. Photos: Anandtech and The Verge