I’ve been wearing my Apple Watch for just over 24 hours…and I love it. In fact I love it so much that I was a bit sad last night when the battery finally got low enough that the device entered reserve power mode and I had to take it off to charge it.
The key productivity apps that I use, such as Trello and Slack, are supported well on the Watch with extension apps and I no longer really care where my iPhone is (so long as it’s within bluetooth range of the watch). So of course I am thinking about my own Xojo-iOS app and how my users might benefit from a Watch extension.
My (https://xojo.com/issue/38759)>]WatchKit feedback request is, at the time of writing, ranked 493rd so I’m not expecting Xojo support for WatchKit anytime soon. My Xojo-iOS app would simply not be useable without the very generous help I’ve received from “declare masters” such as @Jason King and @jean-paul devulder so naturally I am wondering … is it possible to declare your way to WatchKit in Xojo?
After a quick glance at the documentation it appears that it should be possible to do this (please don’t hold me to that :p). I’m extremely busy these next few weeks though so I can’t really look into it right now beyond quickly creating the basics of the classes with Declare Maker. You will need to set up appropriate delegates/callbacks so that you can interact with the user and design your interface entirely in code since the designer available in Xcode is obviously unavailable in Xojo. I put together a quick project with Declare Maker. It doesn’t yet compile because it is missing a few classes but if you don’t need the related methods for your app/tests then the basics are there. Good luck!
Thanks Jason. It is good to know that it might be possible. I’m not in a huge hurry for this but I believe an opportunity exists for somebody, if not Xojo themselves, to add support for WatchKit.
For me the Watch is a nothing more then a gadget. I mean, ever since I have a smartphone, I don’t have any need for wearing a watch at all.
But it will still be cool to use Xojo for making Watch apps though.
[quote=182504:@Christoph De Vocht]For me the Watch is a nothing more then a gadget. I mean, ever since I have a smartphone, I don’t have any need for wearing a watch at all.
But it will still be cool to use Xojo for making Watch apps though. :)[/quote]
Never underestimate Apple’s power to create a trendy need from what is just a want for some. Already, from preliminary data, it seems they have sold more Apple Watch since launch than Android Wear in a year or so.
In the workplace, there are a lot of opportunities. I do tests for some time with Android watches, and it is very effective when it is well used. The hands remain free.
In addition, Xojo has a big opportunity, as many competitors don’t offer native applications (phonegap…). For now, these competitors can therefore offer nothing for the Watch (Safari is not available on the watch). There is very few controls/sensors on the watch, so it should be much easier for Xojo. On the iPhone, Xojo arrived very late, but on the Watch, they can be in the first. I guess that 90% of the work is already done with all the work Xojo has already done on IOS. They have a beautiful card to play.
On a personal level, I have dumped watches at the same time I started carrying a cell phone around, that was near 1993 I think.
But from what I see, Apple is not marketing it to give the time. They are selling it as a fashion accessory. Hell, in Paris, Colette and Galeries Lafayette are not exactly your local neighborhood iPhone outlet. There you got people who will purchase not for the apps, but for the social status, or just to show they got dow.
I got the gut feeling that anybody thinking software marketing will be pretty much like the traditional iOS App Store is probably widely mistaken. People do not buy Rolex and Gucci watches to read the time. They are buying them to show off, together with the gold neck chain, the sports car, and the attire that says 'am loaded. As people like that are notoriously superficial and often incapable of anything beyond nail coloring, how would they ever be able to use apps, let alone install them ? Have you ever seen Kim Kardashian using a computer ?
