Fandango Announces Apple Watch Movie Ticket App

[MacRumors]

Fandango announced late last night that its popular movie ticket buying service will be featured in a full-fledged Apple Watch app when the device launches on April 24.

Eagle-eyed viewers may have caught a glimpse of the app in yesterday's debut of the new ad for the Apple Watch, but the company's announcement brings more details on the online ticketing service's upcoming app for Apple's new wearable.

Ticket purchasing and checking out will still occur on Fandango's official website, according to the company, with the new Watch app acting mainly as a retainer for a user's purchased tickets. Following the syncing of a user's account on the Apple Watch, a "mobile barcode ticket" will appear on the Watch app, which the company says can be scanned by the ticket-taker at a movie theater for "easy access to the theater."

"Fandango continues to build award-winning iOS apps that leverage Apple's latest technologies including Siri and Passbook, enabling fans to easily discover new movies, get the latest trailers, information and buy tickets," said Fandango President Paul Yanover.

"We're excited to be one of the first apps available for Apple Watch, which takes movie-going to a whole new level by providing quick access, once you've purchased tickets, to movie times, theater location and more movie info conveniently on your wrist. We think the Apple Watch will ignite consumer excitement and help build momentum for the category."

The Fandango Apple Watch app won't just function as a glorified movie ticket, however, but will also remind users of upcoming showtimes related to their ticket purchases, provide directions to the theater, detail information on a chosen theater's amenities, and include a running "countdown-to-showtime" clock for those killing time before a matinee.

As the company points out, the launch date of the Apple Watch, and subsequently of the Fandango Apple Watch app, lies just a week ahead of the May 1 opening for Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron, and thus the numerous summer blockbusters premiering over the next few months.

Though ticket purchasing is still reliant on the Fandango website, and it's unclear whether every theater will accept the scannable barcode tickets, the simplicity of the new Fandango Watch app definitely looks like something movie-goers planning to invest in an Apple Watch should be excited for.

The Apple Watch will be up for pre-order on April 10, before its official launch two weeks later on April 24. Following yesterday's "Spring Forward" event, MacRumors has more information regarding the Watch's battery life, band options, and a curated list of all the new videos and most important news stories from the event.

Article Link: Fandango Announces Apple Watch Movie Ticket App

 

[extricated]

Awesome! I was actually looking for this app from among the crowd of others during the demo portion of the keynote. I obviously missed it.

 

[sualpine]

Hey MR: Pro tip: the people that are going to drop $349+ on an Apple Watch are perfectly capable of browsing the App Store. Please do not clutter your site with articles like this for each new watch app.

 

[sulpfiction]

I won't be able to afford going to the movies after I buy this watch .

 

[peterh988]

How do these 'tickets on your device' work in practice if you're buying more than one?

For example I went to a rock concert on Saturday, getting in would have been fine, but we needed separate tickets to negotiate the inside of the venue. This wasn't a problem with 'real' tickets, but it would have meant I'd need to accompany her to the toilet if I'd had both tickets on my phone and hiding behind touchID.

Is there a workaround for this?

 

[Doctor Q]

I won't be able to afford going to the movies after I buy this watch .

You can buy an Apple Watch with the money you'll save by skipping one outing for dinner, parking, movie tickets, popcorn and drinks for a family of four in a major city!

 

[dannyyankou]

Fandango is awesome. Looking forward to it.

 

[leftynaut]

Thank god. I see so many movies throughout the day, it's become SUCH a hassle to take out my iPhone every few hours. And they said the Apple Watch had no killer apps!

 

[Jeff Meredith]

Great if coupled with Apple Pay

This is a nice app addition to watch. Like all apps would love to see coupled with Apple Pay.

There's many good Sport and Music ticket apps TicketMaster, SeatGeek, StubHub that take Apple Pay. If Fandango would reduce the friction with Apple Pay I would use it.

 

[iGeek2014]

For those purchasing an Apple Watch who frequent movie theatres frequently this would be a great app.

Just a shame Apple in the UK haven't partnered with someone over here to provide a similar function.

 

[boshii]

How do these 'tickets on your device' work in practice if you're buying more than one?

For example I went to a rock concert on Saturday, getting in would have been fine, but we needed separate tickets to negotiate the inside of the venue. This wasn't a problem with 'real' tickets, but it would have meant I'd need to accompany her to the toilet if I'd had both tickets on my phone and hiding behind touchID.

Is there a workaround for this?

If it works like the fandango app on the iPhone, you receive stubs for each ticket purchased when your barcode is scanned.

 

[MacFan23]

For those purchasing an Apple Watch who frequent movie theatres frequently this would be a great app.

Just a shame Apple in the UK haven't partnered with someone over here to provide a similar function.

It's more that there isn't a Fandango equivalent in the UK than Apple not partnering with them.

Regardless, it's likely that at some point down the line, the 4 major cinema chains (Vue, Odeon, Empire & Cineworld) will come out with their own individual apps, like they have with iOS.

 

[technosix]

I won't be able to afford going to the movies after I buy this watch .

Much to Apple's delight...they got paid before the others...

 

[MarkCollette]

Hey MR: Pro tip: the people that are going to drop $349+ on an Apple Watch are perfectly capable of browsing the App Store. Please do not clutter your site with articles like this for each new watch app.

Likely there are those on the fence who haven't put in the time to research the apps.