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A developer's take on Watch SDK

Rogifan

Rogifan

macrumors Penryn
Original poster
Nov 14, 2011
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Here's a couple interesting blog posts on Watch and WatchKit expectations.

http://david-smith.org/blog/2014/11/05/understanding-the-promise-of-the-applewatch/

http://david-smith.org/blog/2014/11/06/expectations-for-watchkit/

"I couldn’t be more excited to get started. Like I said yesterday I’m increasingly convinced that a device of this class will radically change how I interact with my iPhone. I have a long list of ideas for how I could enhance my existing portfolio with the first phase of capabilities (along with a few new ideas). Then an even longer list of ideas for what could be compelling native apps to build next summer."
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IMO the success of Watch will come down to developer support and apps. It sure seems like developers are excited to get started developing for it. And I think Appple has an advantage over 3rd party devices in that it controls all the software so developers can create a deeply integrated experience between Watch and iPhone.

From Apple's press release it sounds like actionable notifications and glances will come first with full native apps later (WWDC perhaps)?
 
Rogifan said:
IMO the success of Watch will come down to developer support and apps.
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To a degree yes, but more importantly, it boils down to how the consumer reacts. If the pricing that is rumored turns out to be true, I don't know how successful it is.

I can see as a developer getting on the ground floor of this and why they were excited. The early developers of the iPhone made a lot of money very quickly. You don't want to let this opportunity slip by.
 
maflynn said:
To a degree yes, but more importantly, it boils down to how the consumer reacts. If the pricing that is rumored turns out to be true, I don't know how successful it is.

I can see as a developer getting on the ground floor of this and why they were excited. The early developers of the iPhone made a lot of money very quickly. You don't want to let this opportunity slip by.
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The Watch Edition is getting all the headlines because of rumored prices but Apple is not going to be expecting to sell a ton of Edition watches. As far as the other two versions, I think people will be willing to pay more if they know the quality and materials used is a notch above. And from everything I've read so far it appears the build quality is top notch.
 
Apple missed the train. :apple:Watch is vaporware (Spring 2015? you gotta be kidding) and so is developer support (Summer 2015 to start write first apps? ridiculous)

I'm writing this holding Gear S I got today. It's amazing, and there are already 3rd party apps for it. While Ive is busy talking about his vaporware that's still half a year from being released, other companies are delivering amazing products.
 
samiznaetekto said:
Apple missed the train....other companies are delivering amazing products.
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Same could be said about the iPod, the MacBook Air, the iPhone, App Store and the iPad. Apple traditionally is not first or rushes to market until it feels all things are ready. While hype is building no smart watch has sold in Apple type numbers. They are probably just paving the street for the aWatch.
 
Julien said:
Same could be said about the iPod, the MacBook Air, the iPhone, App Store and the iPad. Apple traditionally is not first or rushes to market until it feels all things are ready. While hype is building no smart watch has sold in Apple type numbers. They are probably just paving the street for the aWatch.
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Exactly. Apple has never been first with anything. And some would argue their jumping on the "smartwatch" train too early. As far as calling the product vaporware obviously the OP doesn't know what that term means. A physical 3-D object that exists and is running software is not vaporware.
 
samiznaetekto said:
Apple missed the train. :apple:Watch is vaporware (Spring 2015? you gotta be kidding) and so is developer support (Summer 2015 to start write first apps? ridiculous)

I'm writing this holding Gear S I got today. It's amazing, and there are already 3rd party apps for it. While Ive is busy talking about his vaporware that's still half a year from being released, other companies are delivering amazing products.
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Ah, great! Thanks for letting me know. I had no idea that the Gear S worked with iOS.

Oh wait, it doesn't? So then it's useless to everyone who owns an iPhone.

Also I'm not sure you know what vaporware means. Just because you know about a product but aren't holding it in your hands right now does not mean it's vaporware.
 
Supermallet said:
Ah, great! Thanks for letting me know. I had no idea that the Gear S worked with iOS.

Oh wait, it doesn't? So then it's useless to everyone who owns an iPhone.

Also I'm not sure you know what vaporware means. Just because you know about a product but aren't holding it in your hands right now does not mean it's vaporware.
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I'm not sure you know what the Gear S is...it's standalone - you don't need a smartphone to use it. It's useful for anyone.
 
samiznaetekto said:
Apple missed the train. :apple:Watch is vaporware (Spring 2015? you gotta be kidding) and so is developer support (Summer 2015 to start write first apps? ridiculous)

I'm writing this holding Gear S I got today. It's amazing, and there are already 3rd party apps for it. While Ive is busy talking about his vaporware that's still half a year from being released, other companies are delivering amazing products.
Click to expand...

The problem is the Gear S is ugly and 52% of the population can't wear it. First and foremost, a wearable needs to look acceptable. Not necessarily spectacular, but at least acceptable. No self-respecting woman would be caught dead wearing the Gear S.

----------
markusbeutel said:
I'm not sure you know what the Gear S is...it's standalone - you don't need a smartphone to use it. It's useful for anyone.
Click to expand...

Running 2007 smartphone technology? The Gear S is a device that is a few years ahead of the current state of technology.

----------
Rogifan said:
The Watch Edition is getting all the headlines because of rumored prices but Apple is not going to be expecting to sell a ton of Edition watches. As far as the other two versions, I think people will be willing to pay more if they know the quality and materials used is a notch above. And from everything I've read so far it appears the build quality is top notch.
Click to expand...

I'm buying the Edition, and if your avatar is any indication, you'll be eyeing it as well.
 
markusbeutel said:
I'm not sure you know what the Gear S is...it's standalone - you don't need a smartphone to use it. It's useful for anyone.
Click to expand...

Really? So you can use all of its functions as intended without ever connecting it to a smartphone? And it can do everything the Apple Watch or the Moto 360 can do?
 
It's funny and sad at the same time, that the current situation with smartwatches puts Apple in Android's position circa 2010-ish making kludgy moves, while Samsung and other smartwatch makers are in Apple's chair making awesome products. (such as Gear S) :apple: has a lot of catch-up to do, like Android had several years ago. After reading Watch documentation, it feels like a handicap joke. "Apple Watch must be paired with the user’s iPhone for your app to run." You gotta be kidding, :apple:.
 
Rogifan said:
Some more developer thoughts:

http://www.raywenderlich.com/89473/watchkit-initial-impressions
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This, from the Verge, is also interesting:

An iPhone is required — at (almost) all times. In Apple’s own words, Watch apps extend iOS apps. "You begin your Watch app development with your existing iOS app, which must support iPhone."
......
On the bright side, that means the watches won’t necessarily need constant upgrading — all you have to do is upgrade your iPhone.
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On the Accidental Tech Podcast they ralked about the Watch SDK and speculating how quickly the first gen watch would become obsolete considering native apps won't be supported at launch. Personally I think it's less about the hardware and more that Apple isn't ready yet to support native apps. They might still be tweaking the software. They want to start slow, see what developers come up with, how consumers are using the device and what battery life is like. I highly doubt there's going to be a new watch 6 months after the first one is released. If they did that I think they'd kill sales as no one will want to buy a product that becomes obsolete that quickly.
 
Rogifan said:
Apple isn't ready yet to support native apps. They might still be tweaking the software. They want to start slow, see what developers come up with, how consumers are using the device and what battery life is like.
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:apple: is like a man running with several luggage cases missing a train at the station: instead of continuing to run like mad to catch the train, :apple: is trying to save face - "oh, this was not my train, I'm here ahead of time for my train and now enjoying my coffee... see how cool I am?"

Meanwhile, Gear S on my hand is awesome. Awesome battery life, awesome screen, full standalone capability (cell phone, GPS, WiFi, BT, mail, web browser), decent speaker, charging cradle doubling as a backup battery... I can go on and on. Can't wait to see what Samsung and other manufacturers come up with in 2015 when :apple: boards their own snail train.
 
samiznaetekto said:
:apple: is like a man running with several luggage cases missing a train at the station: instead of continuing to run like mad to catch the train, :apple: is trying to save face - "oh, this was not my train, I'm here ahead of time for my train and now enjoying my coffee... see how cool I am?"

Meanwhile, Gear S on my hand is awesome. Awesome battery life, awesome screen, full standalone capability (cell phone, GPS, WiFi, BT, mail, web browser), decent speaker, charging cradle doubling as a backup battery... I can go on and on. Can't wait to see what Samsung and other manufacturers come up with in 2015 when :apple: boards their own snail train.
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Who the heck wants a web browser and email client on a screen that small? And if you have to make a screen large enough to make those two things useful then it's WAY to big to be wearing on your wrist without looking like a complete dork. Smartwatches shouldn't be shrunken down smartphones on your wrist. That certainly doesn't seem to be the intention of Android Wear.
 
Rogifan said:
Who the heck wants a web browser and email client on a screen that small?
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Not for constant use, of course. But it's awesome to have them for those situations when you absolutely need them. And speech recognition is incredible on Gear S, even for my heavy accent that Siri doesn't recognize 99% of the time.

Smartwatches shouldn't be shrunken down smartphones on your wrist.
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:apple: was in denial about big screen phones, too. Sooner or later (my guess is, "as late as with big screens") :apple: will add cellular capability to the mehWatch.
 
I just re-watched WWDC 2007 and when Steve Jobs announced Safari web apps as the solution the crowd was basically silent. It went over like a lead balloon, especially with Apple trying to pass these off as the same as a native apps. Amazing how different it is with Watch where there's an SDK right away and full native apps within the same year.
 
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