There are all kinds of Apple Watch apps, from the really cool ones to the totally weird.
But what about third-party apps that tell the time? Such a use case would seem pretty obvious for the Watch, but Apple isn’t having it.
Developers noticed a new guideline today on Apple’s website that simply says, “Watch Apps whose primary function is telling time will be rejected.”
It doesn’t get much clearer than that, and the mandate shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who’ve been following the Watch’s development and release closely.
Apps that display custom Watch faces haven’t been welcome in the App Store since Apple started accepting Watch app submissions. While the rule has been unwritten until today, Apple has made it clear to developers that users should only be able to choose from its 10 built-in watch faces for telling the time.
“I don’t expect Apple to open up watch faces to arbitrary designs, even when the full Apple Watch SDK ships later this year,” wrote Daring Fireball’s John Gruber recently. “If they do allow third-party faces, I think it’ll be through design partners hand-selected by Apple.”
Tightly controlling the look of watch faces makes sense for Apple given how crucial design is to its branding. After all, the watch face is the main thing people see on their wrist throughout the day, and cluttering it up with ugly third-party layouts would make the Apple Watch look less elegant.
Will Apple allow custom watch faces down the road? Probably. People forget that Apple didn’t let you change the iPhone’s wallpaper until 2010.
Alex Heath is a journalist who works for Tech Insider. He’s the former co-host of The CultCast. He has been quoted by the likes of the BBC, KRON 4 News, and books like “ICONIC: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation.” He lives in Lexington, Kentucky. If you want to pitch a story, share a tip, or just get in touch, additional contact information is available on his personal site. Follow him on Twitter.
10 responses to “Apple doesn’t want Watch apps that tell time”
Jailbreak it!
I have a Moto360 and best watch faces IMO are those that also show time/temp and weather info. Would hope Apple doesn’t restrict what watch faces can do.
Well technically Apple has the option to display other info, I believe they are called “complications” that you can add to the corners of the watch faces.
I get that due to copyright issues Apple would want to strictly regulate faces to only branded partners, but what makes Android Wear so incredible is it’s open platform. You can turn your Android Wear into any watch face your imagination desires and despite copyright there are direct copies of nearly all the top designer brands and some truly innovative and functional original designs available as well. You can make your Android watch distinctly your own.
I’m thinking eventually Apple will have to capitulate with this policy if they are serious about the Apple watch being a “fashion device” then they are going to have to allow for some personalization outside of their watch bands.
After using the Watch in person, I totally understand why Apple has restricted faces for now. They are so much more than a wallpaper – they are practically a platform in themselves.
They must animate while keeping time, they animate while the user customizes the level of detail, they even animate (build in) when you zoom into them from the app screen. They follow certain style and UI behaviors during customization. They must be compatible with three different sizes of Complications and save properly when a user sets a custom arrangement. The level of color vs. black even affects battery life.
I figure custom faces will be more akin to Made for iPod, or the Apple TV channels where Apple selects partners and periodically releases them.
It’s not hard for a developer to make the face fit the standards of the developer kits. It’s just apple controlling everything. I understand the copyright issue, but if their approving every face then that shouldn’t be an issue. Oh well.
It’s not “hard” to do so, but too early IMO. The full SDK is not out yet. Most devs don’t even own a Watch yet. Best practices, UI conventions, etc. are still being established. The real-world processing power and battery life are not fully out in the wild.
Giving full control – of the Watch’s most used interface – to devs without the proper tools or experience would be a very short term gain and had huge potential to leave a bad impression on users.
That is a good point. I’m sure at some point they will allow it after seeing how things are going.
Apple watch by far the best of the best
Juggalos
Yep!!!
That’s great. I guess you have tried every other smartwatch out there. Let me know which one you think is number 2 and number 3 after number 1 apple watch.
That is hilarious. Oh well. So much for customizing.