Apple will let developers build native apps for its Watch with new update

08.06.2015
Developers will be able to create applications that run natively on the Apple Watch using a new version of the wearable device's operating system announced Monday.

That's one of the biggest new features coming this fall to WatchOS 2, the next edition of the software that powers Apple's recently-released wearable device. CEO Tim Cook announced the update during Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote in San Francisco. The news drew cheers from the audience of developers, who will be able to do more with the Apple Watch than they could at the time of the device's launch in April.

All of the logic for an app on WatchOS 2 can run on the Watch with the new update. It's an improvement to the current state of Apple's WatchOS, which requires users have their iPhones on and within range in order to work with third party apps. That limitation has been criticized by both developers and reviewers alike, since it reduces the Watch's utility.

What's more, Apple Watch apps will also be able to connect with an iPhone over known Wi-Fi networks to sync information between apps, which will allow people to wander further away from their phone while still keeping everything up-to-date.

In addition to support for native apps, developers will get more access to the Watch's hardware, so they can provide force feedback through the Taptic Engine, record a user's heart rate using HealthKit and take in audio from the device's microphone.

In addition to the developer news, end users will get a bunch of improvements. WatchOS 2 brings updates to the device's watchfaces, including a new face that shows time lapse video of scenes Apple recorded around the world and one that lets them set the time in front of one of their photos. In addition, third-party developers will be able to create their own "complications" -- bits of information that display in addition to the time -- that people can keep on watchfaces to get quick access to information like sports scores.

WatchOS 2 also includes a new "Time Travel" feature that lets people scroll time forward on the watchface, using the Watch's Digital Crown, to see future information like upcoming events and weather forecasts. (It won't allow people to see future stock prices, though.)

The update also includes improvements to the Watch's communication features. Users can set up multiple friend groups, and add friends to those groups right from the Watch, without having to open the Apple Watch app on an iPhone. The Digital Touch feature, which lets users send drawings to their Apple Watch-toting friends, now supports drawings with multiple different colors of ink.

The announcement comes alongside a slew of other announcements at Apple's developer conference, including a new version of OS X called El Capitan, along with iOS 9, the latest version of the company's mobile operating system.

Blair Hanley Frank

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