So developers have no access to accelerometer or gyroscope?

No, developers cannot access any of the watch fitness tracking capabilities.

The reason has to do with battery life. The 18-hour minimal use battery life would quickly drop to 4-8 hours if developers were able to constantly/regularly access these Watch functions (e.g., heart rate monitor).

 

Supposedly native apps will be supported after WWDC, so maybe they'll get limited access to these functions after that.

 

Apple probably wants apps to go through HealthKit for heart rate data so people can manage which apps have access to it through the Health app.

 

So, is confirmed that developers will have no access to sensors such accelerometer?

 

Yes.

Right now, developers have no access to any watch sensors - they DO have access to iPhone sensors.

 

Developers have no access to *anything*. Not even the Digital Crown (it will automatically be used if their app has a scrolling table, but developers can't read its values). They can't even detect touches on the screen, unless that touch happens to press an on-screen button. Until the native SDK hits, third-party watch apps are mostly just interactive menus controlled by the iPhone.

 

That's pretty limited... Looks like is tightening the developers hands, Isn't? However, I do understand the battery consumption concerns commented in previous replies.

 

I wouldn't worry, developers will be given the API's over time, just like how developers were very limited early on with the iOS SDK, and have been given more and more flexibility and access over time.

 

Give it time, as the Watch's technology improves in future generations, it will open up more. Compare the iPhone 6 and 6+ of today to the first iPhone in 2007 and see how far that has come.

 

I agree. If we do not see any "access" improvements with watchOS SDK in near future with current Apple Watch, definitively we will see them with newer versions of the Apple Watch having better hardware.

 

no access to hear rate monitor
no access to accelerometer
no access to microphone
no access to taptic engine
no access to speaker
limited access to User Interface capabilities (can't replicate most of the UI interaction paradigms from the built in apps (like using the digital crown to modify something on screen, the crown can only be used to scroll long list))
the list of limitations goes on and on...