4 ms·

Am I groking this right? The Watchkit app actually runs on the iPhone as an extension, and just the UI component runs on the watch hardware? Edit: better direc

Am I groking this right? The Watchkit app actually runs on the iPhone as an extension, and just the UI component runs on the watch hardware? Edit: better direct link: https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/ios/documentation/General/Conceptual/WatchKitProgrammingGuide/DesigningaWatchKitApp.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40014969-CH3-SW1 https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/ios/documenta... "The Watch app resides on the user’s Apple Watch and contains only storyboard and resource files; it does not contain any code. The WatchKit extension resides on the user’s iPhone (inside your containing iOS app) and contains the code and resource files for managing your Watch app’s interface."

pat2man 12y ago
Yup, still MVC but the view is the only part running on the watch.
CodeWithCoffee 12y ago
What's more, you can't get the current properties of the interface objects (e.g. the position on screen, or text content). You can only write to them: https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/ios/documentation/WatchKit/Reference/WKInterfaceObject_class/index.html#//apple_ref/occ/cl/WKInterfaceObject https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/ios/documenta....
- mikeash 12y ago
  Does that matter? If you need to know those values, you can just store them locally when you set them.
- 0942v8653 12y ago
  Wait, then how do you get user input at all? Just buttons? That sounds like a pain.
  - c1sc0 12y ago
    There seems to be some kind of dictation-based input
sschueller 12y ago
So if the phone is dead the watch won't even show the time? Does this setup significant improve battery performance?
- wiremine 12y ago
  It looks like there are native Apple apps on the watch: they noted in the intro video that clicking on an image of a map opens up the Apple Watch's "Maps App"
  - dep_b 12y ago
    You can add a map to your own app as well
    - 1234naskjnaf 12y ago
      You can add a non-interactive snapshot of a map.
- potatolicious 12y ago
  The watch is independently able to show the time. It also has built-in time-display capabilities in the SDK to limit the amount of traffic going between watch and phone (i.e., you don't have to manually update a timer or clock display from your own code, the watch does so locally). Seems like all of this is meant to reduce processing on the watch side, and also to minimize the amount of data moving between watch and phone.
- tolmasky 12y ago
  > Does this setup significant improve battery performance? Not for your phone.
0x0 12y ago
It's been said that an updated SDK with support for "native apps" (maybe that also means untethered?) will be released some time in 2015. http://www.macrumors.com/2014/11/18/apple-watchkit-ios-8-2/ http://www.macrumors.com/2014/11/18/apple-watchkit-ios-8-2/ This first version is probably just a very early beginning of how the runtime will evolve, to put something out there before launch.
- c1sc0 12y ago
  This has been confirmed by Apple
- TazeTSchnitzel 12y ago
  Reminds me of how the original iPhone only supported web apps, and they later came out with a full SDK.

pat2man 12y ago

Yup, still MVC but the view is the only part running on the watch.

CodeWithCoffee 12y ago

What's more, you can't get the current properties of the interface objects (e.g. the position on screen, or text content). You can only write to them: https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/ios/documentation/WatchKit/Reference/WKInterfaceObject_class/index.html#//apple_ref/occ/cl/WKInterfaceObject https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/ios/documenta....

mikeash 12y ago
Does that matter? If you need to know those values, you can just store them locally when you set them.
0942v8653 12y ago
Wait, then how do you get user input at all? Just buttons? That sounds like a pain.
- c1sc0 12y ago
  There seems to be some kind of dictation-based input

sschueller 12y ago

So if the phone is dead the watch won't even show the time? Does this setup significant improve battery performance?

wiremine 12y ago
It looks like there are native Apple apps on the watch: they noted in the intro video that clicking on an image of a map opens up the Apple Watch's "Maps App"
- dep_b 12y ago
  You can add a map to your own app as well
  - 1234naskjnaf 12y ago
    You can add a non-interactive snapshot of a map.
potatolicious 12y ago
The watch is independently able to show the time. It also has built-in time-display capabilities in the SDK to limit the amount of traffic going between watch and phone (i.e., you don't have to manually update a timer or clock display from your own code, the watch does so locally). Seems like all of this is meant to reduce processing on the watch side, and also to minimize the amount of data moving between watch and phone.
tolmasky 12y ago
> Does this setup significant improve battery performance? Not for your phone.

0x0 12y ago

It's been said that an updated SDK with support for "native apps" (maybe that also means untethered?) will be released some time in 2015. http://www.macrumors.com/2014/11/18/apple-watchkit-ios-8-2/ http://www.macrumors.com/2014/11/18/apple-watchkit-ios-8-2/ This first version is probably just a very early beginning of how the runtime will evolve, to put something out there before launch.

c1sc0 12y ago
This has been confirmed by Apple
TazeTSchnitzel 12y ago
Reminds me of how the original iPhone only supported web apps, and they later came out with a full SDK.