14 DAY TRIAL // With only a few months to go before the Apple Watch hits the shelves, developers looking to leverage the new platform should set their eyes on the new resources put forth by Apple.
Released as part of the iOS 8.2 beta last week, WatchKit includes the necessary tools for building comprehensive watch apps using Apple’s design guidelines to achieve seamless integration with iPhone and iPad, and even third-party hardware.
For now, most apps being coded with WatchKit will heavily rely on the iPhone. That’s because the Apple Watch hasn’t matured (heck, it’s not even out yet) to the point where developers know exactly how their apps will be used in real-life scenarios. But there’s always a first step for everything.
How to make your first app
As a developer, your best starting point to creating a good watch app is to grab every bit of documentation available from Apple. Here are a few places where you can get your hands on things like Xcode 6.2 beta, including iOS 8.2 SDK with WatchKit, Apple Watch Design Resources, Apple Watch Human Interface Guidelines, WatchKit Framework Reference, WatchKit Programming Guide, App Extension Programming Guide, and more.
https://developer.apple.com/watchkit/ https://www.apple.com/watch/features/ https://www.apple.com/watch/technology/
“With its powerful technologies and placement on the wrist, Apple Watch opens up exciting opportunities for apps. Using a new set of tools called WatchKit, developers will be able to easily create experiences designed specifically for Apple Watch,” says the California based tech juggernaut.
What to use to make a “native” app
If the iPhone and iPad are any indication, the best apps are the ones that follow Apple’s design direction. For the wrist, Apple emphasizes things like the Glances, where WatchKit apps allow the user to see things like the latest news reports, weather, travel info, and everything in between, simply by swiping upwards from the watch face.
Actionable Notifications are also a good starting point to consider when coding your first app, especially if you want it to allow the user to take action or respond right from the wrist, instead of pulling out their iPhone. For those apps that require additional input on the iPhone, there are tools that facilitate interactions between both devices.
Take 30, sit back, and watch Apple make one
Probably the easiest way to get acquainted with the methodology of coding a watch app is to just take up Apple on its advice to watch “Getting Started with WatchKit.” It’s a half-hour video that takes you through the motions with highly efficient voiceover and set of graphics that are sure to put things in a broader perspective even for the most inexperienced programmer.
For our readers’ convenience (considering that many of you ended up on this page specifically to learn a thing or two about how to get started with watch apps), we’ve embedded Apple’s glorious video below.
Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy! Don’t forget to sift through those links we included a few paragraphs above. Each one of them branches into a treasure trove of information regarding the unreleased watch, so by the time it hits the market, you might just have your first app ready for submission.
One word of advice before you hit play: in case the video acts up or doesn't work at all, try loading this link in Safari. For one reason or another, the clip won't play well in Firefox and Chrome.
