App makers clock watch

SOFTWARE developers say it will not be easy to come up with a “killer app” for the AppleWatch — few have seen the product and the software is still in test mode.

App makers were passionate about developing for the watch, but some were sceptical about the prospects of coming up with a big idea for the little computer on a wrist that hits stores on April 24, said Markiyan Matsekh, product manager at global software engineering firm Eleks.

A killer app that grabs consumers’ attention will be key to the success of the watch and could spawn new companies, as the iPhone did. Instagram grew into a $1-billion business bought by Facebook, and Snapchat has gone from a mobile messaging app to a company valued at $19-billion (about R230-billion).

Apple has blocked some features, such as the gyroscope and accelerometer, on the development kit, and the watch simulator cannot test all functions, according to developers. Apple declined to comment on why developers cannot access certain features.

“The limitations are discouraging,” said Matsekh.

App designer Mark Rabo said he believed Apple was spurring creativity though restraint. The challenge was “not trying to take a phone app and cram it into a watch”, he said. Rabo is developing an app called Revere, which ties notes to calendars. The watch will recognise the wearer is walking into a meeting and pull up previously dictated notes about the attendees, for instance.

Ryan Taylor, design director at Normative Design, said once the watch was released, apps would be easier to develop.—