Apple confirms native Apple Watch apps are coming this autumn
Also, the Watch has sold "a lot" of units - truly surprising revelation there
The Apple Watch has thousands of apps after just over a month on the market, but they’re streamed over from the paired iPhone, which often means little lags – and occasionally longer waits. But change is on the horizon.
Apple has long promised that native Watch apps were on the agenda eventually, and today at the Code Conference, the company’s head of operations, Jeff Williams, confirmed that the functionality will become available sometime this autumn.
Williams says that the new version of the Watch SDK will allow developers to start creating apps that live and run directly on the Watch hardware, and that it’ll appear at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. That’s good news for both creators and consumers, as developers may then have months to perfect their native apps before release.
He noted that fitness apps will be able to utilize the various Watch sensors directly, and that other hardware features like the Digital Crown can be tapped for various app interactions. With more control over the hardware experience, developers will be able to devise more distinctive and innovative wearable experiences.
Also, if you were worried about Apple Watch sales – even though the devices remain unavailable for immediate shipment – Williams says the company has sold "a lot" of them and that sales have been "fantastic." It’s very typical of Apple to not disclose actual sales numbers, but given the seeming demand, it sounds like a reasonable enough assessment for now.
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Andrew Hayward
Freelance Writer 
