Keynote worthy Apple Watch apps

Talk I gave at VoxxedDays Belgrade 2015 conference.

Video (in English): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rft2KzD4i0k

I look at the Watch app from two angles:

1. Product Manager
How to brainstorm and decide do you need a watch app at all and if yes, what it should be

2. Developer
Issues and challenges in both iOS8+WatchKit 1 path and in iOS 9 + watchOS 2 path

Transcript

1. KEYNOTE WORTHY
   ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜ APPS
   Aleksandar Vacić · Radiant Tap VoxxedDays Belgrade 2015
   

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2. Multiple feature placements on the App
   Store for all my main apps, in various
   categories, including Run 5k watch app.
   RADIANTTAP.COM
   MY CLAIM TO FAME
   @radiantav
   

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3. APPLE WATCH IS…
   h i
   BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY DEVELOPER CHALLENGE
   

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4. is the main focus, where Apple Watch trully shines with
   ubiquitious availability and ease of use and measurement
   HEALTH & FITNESS
   Apple Watch is an excellent triage tool for firehose of
   notifications and remote control for tasks at hand
   PRODUCTIVITY
   Siri, Apple Pay and an array of similar utility functions that
   one can perform with a simple hand gesture or two
   UTILITIES
   KEY AREAS
   

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5. These are my interpretation of the Watch HIG :)
   AIM for SECONDS
   Use cases are measured in
   seconds, not minutes
   1ST: COMPLICATIONS
   Complications are 1st-level
   UI and are shown all the
   time, on the watch face
   1.5: NOTIFICATIONS
   They appear and disappear
   automatically, but don’t
   require any end-user action
   2ND: GLANCES
   Static views, need to manually
   initiate their appearance,
   swiping from the bottom
   APPS ARE 3RD LEVEL
   Obvious from their placement
   in the overall Watch UI
   CORE TENTPOLES
   

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6. Must have that one thing
   that is does much, much
   better than iPhone app.
   Complication possible?
   App must exist then.
   If actionable notifications
   add great deal of usability
   to your iPhone app then on
   the Watch they will be
   twice as useful.
   If you are weather or
   stocks app, most likely yes.
   Or any other app that has
   one screen worth of info.
   If none of the previous
   points made much sense,
   then just don’t bother.
   It’s not worth it.
   Does it need
   to exist?
   Actionable
   notifications
   BRAINSTORMING PROCESS
   None of that?
   Don’t bother
   Glances
   would do?
   

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7. COMPLICATIONS NOTIFICATIONS
   

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8. GLANCES …wait a minute!
   APPS
   

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9. INTERACTIONS
   Swipes, Taps & other Gestures
   Digital Crown
   Force Touch
   Siiriiiiiii…
   …minimize the need for them
   …is your new best friend
   …avoid as much as possible
   …if you can use it, I envy you
   

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10. Enter the
    DEVELOPER
    Thus ends the
    PRODUCT MANAGER
    

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11. iOS 9 ὑ watchOS 2
    iOS 8 ☓ WatchKit
    TWO PATHS
    

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12. WATCHKIT 1 APPS
    I hope that when full native WatchKit SDK is revealed in
    upcoming WWDC we will get proper layout engine, as even a
    very limited AL subset would be better than this.
    If not, I don’t see myself writing much of Apple Watch apps in
    the future.
    – me, Feb 2015
    // aplus.rs/2015/thoughts-on-developing-apple-watch-apps/
    

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13. WATCHKIT LAYOUT
    

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14. ARCHITECTURE
    

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15. EXTENSIONS (IOS 8) REFRESHER
    no direct communication with main app
    can use shared container (AppGroups)
    you don’t have any control over extension going up or down
    you don’t know is it even running, you can just guess
    

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16. IMPORTANT WATCHKIT POINTS
    no way to keep state for the watch ext/app
    you must pre-made all UI at compile time, no runtime alloc
    no way to know did your setText: even made it to the Watch
    no way for watch app to know will tap ever be answered
    This. Is. Hell.
    

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18. May 2015
    // aplus.rs/2015/watchkit-1-dot-0-redux/
    OH, THE SHAME!
    

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19. ESSENTIALS
    make the app one thick, all-in-one controller
    place all possible states and elements on the screen
    at the same time and then call setHidden: as you need
    nest groups like crazy, no performance penalty
    get out of awakeWithContext: really quickly
    re-read and re-set everything in willActivate:
    

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21. APP LIFECYCLE
    MUST BE FAST!
    dispatch_async()
    

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22. COMMUNICATION
    everything is asynchronous
    use that shared container as much as it makes sense
    use MMWormhole to fake realtime messaging
    don’t even try to send any more than one or two images
    drop images in the Watch app bundle and reference them
    

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23. ANIMATIONS
    

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24. View Slide

25. aplus.rs/2015/automatic-image-creation-for-watchkit-animated-progress-bars/
    

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26. [self.pauseRing setBackgroundImageNamed:@"red-134-3-"];
    [self.pauseRing startAnimatingWithImagesInRange:NSMakeRange(0, 31) duration:.4 repeatCount:1];
    [self.pauseSign setBackgroundImageNamed:@"pause-anim-"];
    [self.pauseSign startAnimatingWithImagesInRange:NSMakeRange(0, 38) duration:.6 repeatCount:1];
    dispatch_after(dispatch_time(DISPATCH_TIME_NOW, (int64_t)(.6 * NSEC_PER_SEC)), dispatch_get_main_queu
    ^{
    [self.pauseSign stopAnimating];
    [self.pauseSign startAnimatingWithImagesInRange:NSMakeRange(38, 18) duration:1.2 repeatCount:0];
    });
    [self.pauseRing setBackgroundImageNamed:@"red-134-3-"];
    [self.pauseRing startAnimatingWithImagesInRange:NSMakeRange(0, 31) duration:-.4 repeatCount:1];
    [self.pauseSign setBackgroundImageNamed:@"pause-anim-"];
    [self.pauseSign stopAnimating];
    [self.pauseSign startAnimatingWithImagesInRange:NSMakeRange(0, 36) duration:-.4 repeatCount:1];
    dispatch_after(dispatch_time(DISPATCH_TIME_NOW, (int64_t)(.4 * NSEC_PER_SEC)), dispatch_get_main_queu
    ^{
    [self.pauseRing setBackgroundImage:nil];
    [self.pauseSign setBackgroundImage:nil];
    });
    

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27. View Slide

28. ARCHITECTURE
    

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29. GOOD STUFF
    · Makes sense to draw and generate graphics in the Extension
    · Ability to operate without the iPhone
    · Extension can keep local cache while it’s working
    · Networking directly from the Extension
    NOT SO GOOD
    · UI layout engine is still the same
    · No shared container, you have to sync
    · You have to sync data.
    · No, really – you have to sync.
    

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30. AVAILABLE FRAMEWORKS
    ClockKit
    Contacts
    Core Data
    Core Foundation
    Core Graphics
    Core Location
    Core Motion
    EventKit
    Foundation
    HealthKit
    HomeKit
    Image I/O
    MapKit
    Mobile Core Services
    PassKit Framework
    Security Framework
    Watch Connectivity
    WatchKit Framework
    

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31. APP LIFECYCLE
    

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32. COMMUNICATION
    Full NSURLSession framework is in watchOS 2
    Goodbye MMWormhole
    Hello Watch Connectivity
    WCSession *wcs = [WCSession defaultSession];
    wcs.delegate = self;
    [wcs activateSession];
    -(void)sessionReachabilityDidChange:(WCSession *)session {}
    -(void)sessionWatchStateDidChange:(WCSession *)session {}
    

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33. WATCH CONNECTIVITY
    Interactive (foreground) messaging
    Background transfer of current context
    Background transfer of a stream of messages
    Background transfer of files
    

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34. WATCH CONNECTIVITY
    Interactive (foreground) messaging
    Background transfer of current context
    Background transfer of a stream of messages
    Background transfer of files
    NSDictionary *message = @{…};
    - (void)sendMessage:(NSDictionary *)message
    replyHandler:(nullable void (^)(NSDictionary *replyMessage))replyHandler
    errorHandler:(nullable void (^)(NSError *error))errorHandler {}
    - (void)session:(WCSession *)session
    didReceiveMessage:(nonnull NSDictionary *)message
    replyHandler:(nonnull void (^)(NSDictionary * _Nonnull))replyHandler {}
    

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35. WATCH CONNECTIVITY
    Interactive (foreground) messaging
    Background transfer of current context
    Background transfer of a stream of messages
    Background transfer of files
    NSDictionary *context = @{...};
    NSError *error = nil;
    BOOL success = [wcs updateApplicationContext:context error:&error];
    - (void)session:(WCSession *)session
    didReceiveApplicationContext:(NSDictionary *)applicationContext {}
    

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36. WATCH CONNECTIVITY
    Interactive (foreground) messaging
    Background transfer of current context
    Background transfer of a stream of messages
    Background transfer of files
    - (WCSessionUserInfoTransfer *)transferUserInfo:(NSDictionary *)userInfo;
    - (void)session:(WCSession *)session
    didReceiveUserInfo:(NSDictionary *)userInfo;
    - (void)session:(WCSession * __nonnull)session
    didFinishUserInfoTransfer:(WCSessionUserInfoTransfer *)userInfoTransfer
    error:(nullable NSError *)error;
    

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37. Some
    TIPS
    

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38. You still need to refresh display on willActivate:
    HKWorkoutSession will allow you to keep your in foreground
    Watch the following session from WWDC 2015:
    207, 208 (WatchKit in depth)
    216 (Layout, Animations)
    228 (Advanced Tips and Tricks)
    713 (Watch Connectivity)
    

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39. Thanks for
    WATCHING
    Slides at
    speakerdeck.com/radianttap/…
    

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