Tech giant ‘fine’ with Air NZ’s smartwatch app

Two days after Apple unveiled its smartwatch, Air New Zealand remains the only major Kiwi firm to reveal details of an app for the device.

However, it is unclear whether that is because of a lack of interest among major local corporates or any restrictions imposed by Apple.

Air New Zealand was quick to react to the unveiling of the Apple Watch on Tuesday, announcing within hours that it would be one of the first Kiwi companies to support the device.

The watch will be available in the United States, priced from US$349 (NZ$478), and in Australia priced from A$499, (NZ$518) next month and is expected to go on sale in New Zealand later this year.

Air New Zealand customers would be able to receive flight notifications, including boarding calls, and electronic boarding passes, on the watch, the airline said.

Travellers will also be able to use the watch to order coffees at the airline’s lounges.

Apple spokeswoman Fiona Martin, based in Sydney, would not confirm whether there was an embargo on local partners making statements in relation to Apple Watch apps, saying the company would ‘‘never talk about anything in regard to the back end of our business’’.

But she denied Apple had been furious with the timing of Air New Zealand’s announcement.

‘‘My understanding is that Air New Zealand has spoken to media. That is what they have done and that’s fine,’’ she said.

Other companies in Australia had signalled their intention to have apps for the watch, Martin said.

‘‘Are they are allowed to or not – I don’t think that is the question – if they are creating an app I am sure they have got guidance on how they can talk about that app in terms of how it may work on the watch.

‘‘Our biggest concern is making sure people are talking about things accurately in terms of how things work on the device,’’ she said.

Air New Zealand spokeswoman Alisha Lewis said the airline did not believe its announcement breached any aspect of its agreement with Apple.

‘‘As the nature of this agreement is confidential, we are unable to provide further details,’’ she said.

The head of one local app development company said New Zealand firms had been relatively slow to adopt the iPhone when it first came out and he predicted the same might be the case for the Apple Watch. That was especially likely given that the smartwatch was likely to retail in New Zealand for about $500 to $600, he said.

‘‘You have got competitors like Pebble that have got a product out for about $200 that gives you a lot of the [email and phone call] notification functionality which is a core part of the Apple Watch experience,’’ he said.

Pebble, based in Silicon Valley, has so far sold more than a million of its more minimalistic and wellacclaimed devices, the development of which was originally funded by a US$10 million crowdfunding campaign in 2012. The latest version of its watch, Pebble Time, is due to go on sale next month. A survey by British-owned technology distributor Element14 suggested there was only lukewarm interest in smartwatches in major Western markets.