Apple fans are still a good six months away from testing the gadget maker’s new smartwatch, but details are ticking out — thanks to the geeks building apps for the device.
In preparation for the Apple Watch’s 2015 debut, Apple released a guide for software engineers, with what to expect when building apps.
This is what the geeks have to say about the upcoming $349 smartwatch after reviewing the developers kit, which hit the Web on Nov. 14: Watch users will be tethered to their phones.
Yes, Apple CEO Tim Cook made it clear when announcing the Apple Watch in September that it will work closely with the owner’s iPhone. But developers say they are surprised just how tethered it will be.
“It’s virtually 99 percent dependent on having an iPhone to link it up to,” said Nick Van Wiggeren, software engineer for DigitalOcean, a cloud support service for app developers. “If you’re more than 20 feet away from your phone, there’s a chance you won’t get e-mail notifications,” he said.
On the positive side, all that tethering means good things for the watch’s battery life.
Cook oddly left out details about what kind of battery life consumers can expect. That had some developers worried that apps could drain the battery.
But developers are now saying that the watch will be so dependent on the iPhone that it won’t be a problem.
“Apple doesn’t allow any software on the watch itself,” said Masanari Arai, co-founder and CEO of Kii Corp., which also provides support service to app developers. That will help “save the battery,” Arai said.
Geeks say they are impressed by the number of sensors in the watch, which they say will allow users to use gestures to operate it. Arai, for example, said he sees users shaking their wrists to make notifications go away.