Third-Party Tesla App Provides Look at Opportunities and Limitations of Apple Watch Development [Updated]

MacRumors · Jan 30, 2015

Apple made its WatchKit SDK available alongside the release of iOS 8.2 and Xcode 6.2 beta in November, enabling developers to begin creating apps and software for the wrist-worn device. Looking beyond mockups and conceptual apps, however, a new third-party Tesla app designed by ELEKS offers insight into both the opportunities and limitations that developers face with the first-generation Apple Watch.

According to ELEKS software engineer Oleksandr Malyarenko, the technical capabilities of WatchKit do not match the expectations set during the Apple Watch keynote. In developing a prototype Tesla app that allows users to control a Model S over the Internet using a web-service API, the team of software engineers found a lot of functionality to be unavailable to developers at this time.

"If you look at the opportunities available for smart watch application development, you'll also see a quite pessimistic picture," wrote Matsekh. "Apple does not indulge developers with an abundance of functionality and tools. However, we can hope that the available functions are limited because this is only the first beta version and it will get much better towards the release."

Malyarenko claims that developers do not have access to the Apple Watch's gyroscope, accelerometer, built-in speaker and microphone or Taptic Engine system of tactile notifications for development. Additionally, despite the Apple Watch display being touch sensitive, he claims that only Force Touch, which displays the shortcut menu, is available for developers, while GPS is restricted to a paired iPhone.

Even with its current limitations, this Tesla app provides an early look at the opportunities that Apple Watch apps make possible. The multipurpose software brings a lot of Tesla car control functionality to the wrist, such as an overview of the car's battery, temperature and mileage, a controls menu for opening or closing the car and activating the headlights, and various screens related to charging, climate, location and the car's condition.

Despite claiming that the Apple Watch has "weak potential for programmers" based on its current emulator-only development environment, Malyarenko recognizes that his assumptions are based off of the first WatchKit SDK available to developers. As with the iPhone and iPad, the first-generation Apple Watch will inevitability have some developmental hiccups that are ironed out over the years.

Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed at the company's quarterly earnings call on Tuesday that the Apple Watch is on schedule to ship in April, likely alongside a new version of WatchKit. MacRumors also learned that Apple has asked some developers to have Apple Watch apps ready for mid-February. In a short few months, a clearer picture should emerge of just how much potential Apple's first wearable device has for developers.

Update 9:00 PM PT: For those interested in learning more about Apple Watch development, iMore's Rene Ritchie points towards an interesting series called As I Learn WatchKit by iOS developer David Smith. Apple also provides several public-facing Design and Development Resources for the Apple Watch and WatchKit on its website.

Article Link: Third-Party Tesla App Provides Look at Opportunities and Limitations of Apple Watch Development [Updated]

redheeler · Jan 30, 2015

I don't get why Apple insists on locking down new products and features. Let developers take advantage of them now, it'll be opened up eventually anyway.

na1577 · Jan 30, 2015

Sounds like the iPhone Web Apps all over again.

asleep · Jan 30, 2015

I'm afraid "limitations" will be the word most associated with iWatch original.

ArtOfWarfare · Jan 30, 2015

na1577 said:
Sounds like the iPhone Web Apps all over again.

Which are the future. Safari in iOS 8 has WebGL enabled - as soon as developers start to realize that and take advantage of it, native apps will die swiftly (pun intended.)

barkomatic · Jan 30, 2015

I'm sure there will be an enormous market for Apple watches that can turn on the headlights of a Tesla Sportscar.

fredaroony · Jan 30, 2015

redheeler said:
I don't get why Apple insists on locking down new products and features. Let developers take advantage of them now, it'll be opened up eventually anyway.

Sounds more like they released a product before all the API's were actually ready.

handsome pete · Jan 30, 2015

ArtOfWarfare said:
Which are the future. Safari in iOS 8 has WebGL enabled - as soon as developers start to realize that and take advantage of it, native apps will die swiftly (pun intended.)

Not any time soon if you'd like to use your watch when it's not tethered to the phone.

troop231 · Jan 30, 2015

asleep said:
iWatch original.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cux9T9wvERs

That is all

patent10021 · Jan 30, 2015

ArtOfWarfare said:
Which are the future. Safari in iOS 8 has WebGL enabled - as soon as developers start to realize that and take advantage of it, native apps will die swiftly (pun intended.)

Web apps are PART of the future as is the pair of jeans I'll be buying in the future. But like so many incorrectly predict, web apps will not BE the future. Native OS such as iOS/Android are king and will remain so. Keep dreaming.

Soccertess · Jan 30, 2015

barkomatic said:
I'm sure there will be an enormous market for Apple watches that can turn on the headlights of a Tesla Sportscar.

Adjusting the internal temperature is pretty sweet though! Goes to show the awesomeness of Elon Musk!

ArtOfWarfare · Jan 30, 2015

patent10021 said:
Web apps are PART of the future as is the pair of jeans I'll be buying in the future. But like so many incorrectly predict, web apps will not BE the future. Native OS such as iOS/Android are king and will remain so. Keep dreaming.

I'm not dreaming about the future. I'm making it so.

critter13 · Jan 30, 2015

seems like a decent amount of functionality to me considering you are remotely sending commands to your car. developers will get creative and find ways to work within the iWatch's early limitations. it will open up don't worry.

and to the "web apps will be the future", not happening. they will play an important role but they will never eclipse system level code.

Aluminum213 · Jan 30, 2015

More and more reason to skip this generation

pdaholic · Jan 30, 2015

Wow sounds like the watch will be as crippled as the Notification Center. Hopefully developer access to the various functions will improve.

macUser2007 · Jan 30, 2015

What are the advantages of this iWatch thing over Google Wear? More limited functionality and worse battery life?

If the leaks are remotely true, Apple should keep this one in the incubator for a while longer.

Otherwise, it looks lamer (and more expensive) than some of these: https://play.google.com/store/devices/collection/promotion_500013a_android_wear_us?hl=en

And we all know how well they are selling.

MikhailT · Jan 30, 2015

Apple isn't locking down or crippling anything, they clearly told us last year AppleWatch SDK will come in two phases. The first one will be a serverly limited SDK that will require the iPhone to do the bulk of the operations and will not have access to all hardware features. This simply is because Apple needs more time to build up SDK, just like the original iPhone.

The second phase will come later this year with the full SDK to let devs build more powerful Watch apps with more hardware support and doesn't require iPhone.

bdkennedy1 · Jan 30, 2015

Would people be too lazy to pull their phone out of their pockets and use that?

AngerDanger · Jan 30, 2015

ArtOfWarfare said:
I'm not dreaming about the future. I'm making it so.

They already cast Fassbender as Steve Jobs; you'll have to wait until the next movie.

Aluminum213 · Jan 30, 2015

bdkennedy1 said:
Would people be too lazy to pull their phone out of their pockets and use that?

Wouldn't you rather read texts and notifications on a very small screen with severely limited controls?

8CoreWhore · Jan 30, 2015

Sheeesh, it's not even out yet and they want it to pilot them to the moon. Give it time.

chitoac · Jan 30, 2015

This looks awesome!. Haters gonna hate, they hate us because they ain't us. Lol

lowercaseperson · Jan 30, 2015

ArtOfWarfare said:
Which are the future. Safari in iOS 8 has WebGL enabled - as soon as developers start to realize that and take advantage of it, native apps will die swiftly (pun intended.)

Agreed...If the simple iOS apps were web apps the iPhone could be so much cooler. I'm not this ultra die hard, blindly accept anything Jobs said, type of person; but he was right to try and limit the iPhone to web apps...unfortunately the bandwidth just wasn't (and probably still isn't) there. :apple:

----------

macUser2007 said:
What are the advantages of this iWatch thing over Google Wear? More limited functionality and worse battery life?

If the leaks are remotely true, Apple should keep this one in the incubator for a while longer.

Otherwise, it looks lamer (and more expensive) than some of these: https://play.google.com/store/devices/collection/promotion_500013a_android_wear_us?hl=en

And we all know how well they are selling.

The question of hour is: will gen1 support the second SDK?

Keirasplace · Jan 30, 2015

MacRumors said:
[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]

Apple made its WatchKit SDK available alongside the release of iOS 8.2 and Xcode 6.2 beta in November, enabling developers to begin creating apps and software for the wrist-worn device. Looking beyond mockups and conceptual apps, however, a new third-party Tesla app designed by Eleks Labs offers insight into both the opportunities and limitations that developers face with the first-generation Apple Watch.

Image
According to Eleks Lab mobility business developer Markiyan Matsekh, the technical capabilities of WatchKit do not match the expectations set during the Apple Watch keynote. In developing a prototype Tesla app that allows users to control a Model S over the Internet using a web-service API, the team of software engineers found a lot of functionality to be unavailable to developers at this time.Matsekh claims that developers do not have access to the Apple Watch's gyroscope, accelerometer, built-in speaker and microphone or Taptic Engine system of tactile notifications for development. Additionally, despite the Apple Watch display being touch sensitive, he claims that only Force Touch, which displays the shortcut menu, is available for developers, while GPS is restricted to a paired iPhone.

Even with its current limitations, this Tesla app provides an early look at the opportunities that Apple Watch apps make possible. The multipurpose software brings a lot of Tesla car control functionality to the wrist, such as an overview of the car's battery, temperature and mileage, a controls menu for opening or closing the car and activating the headlights, and various screens related to charging, climate, location and the car's condition.

YouTube: video
Despite claiming that the Apple Watch has "weak potential for programmers" based on its current emulator-only development environment, Matsekh recognizes that his assumptions are based off of the first WatchKit SDK available to developers. As with the iPhone and iPad, the first-generation Apple Watch will inevitability have some developmental hiccups that are ironed out over the years.

Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed at the company's quarterly earnings call on Tuesday that the Apple Watch is on schedule to ship in April, likely alongside a new version of WatchKit. MacRumors also learned that Apple has asked some developers to have Apple Watch apps ready for mid-February. In a short few months, a clearer picture should emerge of just how much potential Apple's first wearable device has for developers.

Article Link: Third-Party Tesla App Provides Look at Opportunities and Limitations of Apple Watch Development

Good grief, it is obvious :
- The Watch OS itself, its SDK (and possibly even some hardware) wasn't really finalized initially so they limited the scope of the public SDK.
- Most developers don't have access to the watch, especially one with the latest OS/Hardware. That would severely limit testing/dev possibilities, which explains why Apple wouldn't want to open up the watch
- Apple want to make sure he hardware and OS work well doing basic functions before letting apps run free doing complicated things on it.
- Apple is notorious for keeping SDK closed off when introducing some new component, software or hardware, to a system.

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lowercaseperson said:
Agreed...If the simple iOS apps were web apps the iPhone could be so much cooler. I'm not this ultra die hard, blindly accept anything Jobs said, type of person; but he was right to try and limit the iPhone to web apps...unfortunately the bandwidth just wasn't (and probably still isn't) there.

----------

The question of hour is: will gen1 support the second SDK?

Really, that's your Q of the hour... Seriously. .The SDK is simply a software thing. The current SDK is not even exploiting a small fraction the watch functions. The Watch itself has the equivalent of an A5 on it. PRetty sure it can do a lot more than that.

filmantopia · Jan 30, 2015

redheeler said:
I don't get why Apple insists on locking down new products and features. Let developers take advantage of them now, it'll be opened up eventually anyway.

By setting limitations Apple is protecting the integrity and quality of the user experience. Apple is smart for doing this, because anything that causes the Apple watch experience to be less than excellent for what it already promises to do will result in complaints, outrage, media stories, negative reviews, and potentially a failed product.

If you want to continue enjoying quality, "just works" Apple products, don't complain about their temporary limitations. When they figure it all out and technology develops they'll continue to open it up more.

Third-Party Tesla App Provides Look at Opportunities and Limitations of Apple Watch Development [Updated]

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