Apple Watch App Development

Build real-world applications for the Apple Watch platform using the WatchKit framework and Swift 2.0

About This Book

• Find out how to download and install the Xcode development tools before learning about Xcode playgrounds and the Swift programming language
• Discover everything you need to know about the WatchKit platform architecture, its classes, as well its limitations
• This book introduces you to the very latest mobile platform with hands-on instructions so you can build your very own Apple Watch apps

Who This Book Is For

This book is for developers who are interested in creating amazing apps for the Apple Watch platform. Readers are expected to have no prior experience of programming.

What You Will Learn

• Navigate within the WatchKit interface using the page-based, modal, and hierarchical navigation techniques
• Work with context menus to allow your users to interact with the Apple Watch and respond to their actions to perform a task
• Use the MapKit framework to display a map within the WatchKit interface to track the user's current location
• Build effective user interfaces for the WatchKit platform and integrate iCloud capabilities to synchronize data between the iOS app and the WatchKit UI
• Design your apps for the Apple Watch platform by adhering to the set of User Interface design guidelines set out by Apple
• Reinforce image caching to display animations within the Apple Watch user interface
• Explore WatchKit tables, which allow your users to purchase groceries and pay for them using Apple Pay
• Analyze the new layout system to ensure that your Apple Watch apps work with various screen sizes

In Detail

With the increasing amount of new wearable devices hitting the market, wearables are the next wave of mobile technology. With the release of Apple's WatchKit SDK, a whole new world of exciting development possibilities has opened up.

Apple Watch App Development introduces you to the architecture and limitations of the Apple Watch platform, followed by an in-depth look at how to work with Xcode playgrounds. Here, we'll introduce you to the Swift programming language so you can quickly begin developing apps for the Apple Watch platform with the WatchKit framework and the Xcode Development IDE. We then discuss more advanced topics such as notifications, glances, iCloud, Apple pay, closures, tuples, protocols, delegates, concurrency, and using Swift Playgrounds, and each concept is backed up with example code that demonstrates how to properly execute it. We also show you how to package and deploy your Watch application to the Apple AppStore.

By the end of this book, you will have a good understanding of how to develop apps for the Apple Watch platform, and synchronize data using iCloud between the wearable and the iOS device.

Steven F. Daniel

Steven F. Daniel is the CEO and founder of GENIESOFT STUDIOS, a software development company that is based in Melbourne, Victoria, which focuses primarily on developing games and business applications for iOS, Android, and Mac OS X. Steven is a software developer with more than 14 years of experience developing desktop and web-based applications for a number of companies, including ANZ, Department of Justice, BP Australia, and AXA Australia. Steven is always interested in emerging technologies, and he is a member of the SQL Server Special Interest Group (SQLSIG), Melbourne CocoaHeads, and the Java Community. He was the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of SoftMpire Pvt Ltd., a company that focused primarily on developing business applications for the iOS and Android platforms. Steven is the author of various book titles: Xcode 4 iOS Development Beginner's Guide, iOS 5 Essentials, iPad Enterprise Application Development Blueprints, Xcode 4 Cookbook, and Android Wearable Programming. Check out his blog at http://www.geniesoftstudios.com/blog/, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/GenieSoftStudio.