Apple’s WatchKit is a set of tools designed to help developers easily prepare their apps for integration with the smartwatch ahead of its expected market launch in early 2015.
Using WatchKit, developers will be able to create full interfaces for their apps that will allow user interactions from the Apple Watch to communicate with and respond to the app on an iPhone.
“Users can launch, control, and interact with your app in ways unique to Apple Watch,” the Apple website stated.
Through “glances”, people will be able to view key, read-only information from an app, such as the latest news, sports scores and flight details.
Additionally, users will reportedly be able to perform actions directly from their wrists using actionable notifications, such as switching of the lights in the house after they have left, “liking” a photo on Instagram, and finding an alternative transit route if a bus or train is late.
“Apple Watch is our most personal device ever, and WatchKit provides the incredible iOS developer community with the tools they need to create exciting new experiences right on your wrist,” Apple senior vice president of worldwide marketing Philip Schiller said.
Apple to dominate the smartwatch scene
Even though the Apple Watch was only announced in September and is not yet available for sale, a recent report from BI Intelligence, the research arm of business news website Business Insider Australia, has already predicted that the smartwatch will “kick-start” growth in the overall smartwatch market.
The report claimed that the Apple watch would account for 40 per cent of smartwatch shipments next year, and that it would achieve a peak 48 per cent share by 2017. The report also stated that both Apple and Google would dominate the smartwatch market in the same way they had with the smartphone and tablet markets.
“Because these platforms make up over 90 per cent of the entire mobile platform market, many mobile users interested in wearable devices will gravitate toward Apple Watches and Android Wear-based devices,” a statement from Business Insider explained.
However, a separate global survey of more than 2,000 Business Insider readers indicated that Apple was marketing its smartwatch more effectively than its competitors.
“Prospective iPhone buyers were significantly more interested in a companion watch than likely Android purchasers,” another Business Insider press release read. “About 31 per cent of those who said they would buy an iPhone in the next six months plan to buy a smartwatch, more than double the proportion among those buying Android phones.”
The survey noted, though, that the smartwatch market in general would be limited.
According to the media release, the majority of people still “don’t see the point of these devices”.
“This is the reason 51 per cent of those uninterested in smartwatches gave us for why they wouldn’t buy the device,” the release stated. “At a distant second, 13 per cent of respondents said they just didn’t like wearing a watch. Until consumers see a clear reason why smartwatches will improve their lives and productivity, the smartwatch category will remain small.”
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