The Apple (AAPL, Financial) "Watch" is already creating hype in the smartwatch arena with other players trying their best to compete with it in all possible ways as indicated in the CES 2015. But as the innovation at Apple’s workshop is unquestionable the tech giant is all out there in the market creating a buzz on its “Companion” app for the iPhone- the screenshots of the working of the app was recently provided by 9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman. Analysts across the globe are opining that the Apple Watch could lead to a new app market which is touted to fast become a billion-dollar dollar business.
In fact, the apps in the Watch is something to watch out for and Apple has always exceeded expectations in terms of software and hardware and that has been well conveyed through the loyal base of highly paid mobile-app developers primarily engaged on iOS platform, who have generated around $10 billion in revenue at the Apple Store in 2014. Now is the juncture to quickly take a look at the Watch app which has been revealed, and introspect how such apps can actually drive the market movements in terms of generating more business for business houses. Here’s the total story.
The Companion app is here before the actual Watch release
Let’s check out what has been revealed by 9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman regarding this app. For the user this app allows to choose whether certain alarms need to be pushed from the iPhone to the Watch. Also the app is highly interactive and aids in selecting whether the user wants a red spot to appear at the top of the watch face when there is an unread notification.
This app would also aid in navigation while travelling, and would let the user choose options on how to respond to text messages. As fitness is one of the promotional features of the Watch, this app would show up numerous customization options for health alerts. The owner of the Watch can set the time intervals for receiving progress updates, get weekly summaries on the health data and notifications would be promptly send if some health related goal is achieved by the user.
The best part of the Watch is that it would be facilitated with a passcode similarly as the iPhone has, which would be required by the user while making Apple Pay transactions.
Calling on app developers
Apple, in order to encourage companies to develop apps for its Apple watch, gave its app developers access to its software development kit in November last year. The company is expected to release its first wearable in March this year and the Watch functionality has opened a broad array of perceivable tasks that could be performed through multiple apps. Apple has also introduced the iBeacon technology in the Watch that could allow a pulse emitter to gauge the user’s location and even generate information about local stores and apps within a certain radius.
Thus, several app developers are jumping on the bandwagon to create apps to fit the requirements and screen size of the Apple Watch.
Final thoughts
Apple has always been an innovator and knows how to strategize to emerge the market leader. Though its products have always been for the premium-range segment, it has never compromised on the quality of its tech products to date, and maybe that’s the unique selling proposition of Apple that has helped to win over other rivals in the market. Now, as the time for the Watch release is about to come, Apple is disclosing information about the Watch in detail and there could be more information that is shared prior to March, so let’s stay tuned and keep watching!
