May 12, 2015 at 17:09Apple Watch Development: Myths and Facts
Friends! This post is about developing for Apple Watch in terms of project management. In terms of goals, objectives, expectations and results. I note: from the point of view of a single team. Subjectively.
Much has been written about the features of the development. For example, a good post from Mail.ru Group on Habré .
In February 2015, while working on a timer application, our designer suddenly had the idea to combine the super-duper trend and the trendy Apple Watch theme with our application.
The idea is simple, but at that time this thought seemed simply brilliant. The fact is that so far it has never occurred to us what can be done useful under this watch. And here such a combination of circumstances - the best solution for the clock and not come up with than a timer application.
Lusting up on this idea, I began to imagine what it would give us and how much we would spend time / effort / money on implementation. Discussed with colleagues, read articles, announcements, succumbed to the hype and believed Tim Cook. We make the future. Happiness is provided.
The watch was announced for "early spring", which means: you need to start immediately.
Below I give theses from my plan-expectations from this venture and the actual result for today.
Yes, please do not judge strictly: I am writing with a good share of irony.
It's funny to even remember such a forecast, but it was. In short, nothing happened in fact. It’s just that information appeared on the compatibility of our application and the clock.
This point alone is a misconception to look for! Self-deception literally. The design was redone several times. After the third attempt there was a stupor. The tiny screen, the mass of restrictions, features and requirements made this task very difficult. My expectations from the watch’s functionality were also based on guesses and fantasies. When official and detailed information appeared, it became clear that half of the plan would not be realized. Sound control, vibration, notifications, animation - everything went under the knife.
Errors in xcode, the lack of a live clock and torment over the "user interface" finally killed the hope of creating a super application in a couple of weeks.
There are many examples of support and good interaction between the support of developers and developers. Alas, in our case everything was on "general terms." Neither support nor expedited application review. I'm not saying that we were not invited to the round table in Cupertino.
Yes. To be honest, in my pink dreams I imagined I would fall into a certain selection (featured), as a unique and especially useful developer of personal productivity applications, who had guessed to make support for Apple Watch.
In fact, there are a million times more such clever people than hours. And a billion times more than the demand for personal productivity apps among watch owners.
I did not believe much in this forecast. But, he also had a place to be. Bloggers, fanatics, journalists and other opinion authors spread the prognosis for a miracle. Not less. I do not know what will happen next, but now nothing of the kind is observed.
It seemed as if only a hint to any journalist that you had created applications for new items from Apple, and they will rush to write about you! In fact, it turned out that everyone needs an informational occasion, including monster companies, such as Beeline. And the information space was literally clogged with information about how someone created something for the watch.
By the way, in Russia, watches are not officially sold. And large Russian (in the sense of with customers in Russia) companies make these applications and blow the whole world about it. A good news item is more expensive than money.
Such a funny list of "plan fact". Who has successful experience, please share in the comments?
In fact, I have no regrets about this experiment and it’s not so bad. It was interesting to try and learn a lot. Now we understand a little in the development of the Apple Watch and are optimistic about the future.
In addition, I’m still sure that our application is really useful and has a place to be on the watch.
Anyone who wants to try the development for watches, I sincerely advise you to learn as much as possible and carefully read the recommendations.
Much has been written about the features of the development. For example, a good post from Mail.ru Group on Habré .
In February 2015, while working on a timer application, our designer suddenly had the idea to combine the super-duper trend and the trendy Apple Watch theme with our application.
The idea is simple, but at that time this thought seemed simply brilliant. The fact is that so far it has never occurred to us what can be done useful under this watch. And here such a combination of circumstances - the best solution for the clock and not come up with than a timer application.
Lusting up on this idea, I began to imagine what it would give us and how much we would spend time / effort / money on implementation. Discussed with colleagues, read articles, announcements, succumbed to the hype and believed Tim Cook. We make the future. Happiness is provided.
The watch was announced for "early spring", which means: you need to start immediately.
Below I give theses from my plan-expectations from this venture and the actual result for today.
Yes, please do not judge strictly: I am writing with a good share of irony.
As soon as the watch goes on sale, the hype around the applications will immediately begin. People will start struggling to find what can be installed on them, and there will be few options. Well, here we are so beautiful with our productivity.
It's funny to even remember such a forecast, but it was. In short, nothing happened in fact. It’s just that information appeared on the compatibility of our application and the clock.
The watch is small, which means doing nonsense there. It won’t take much time.
This point alone is a misconception to look for! Self-deception literally. The design was redone several times. After the third attempt there was a stupor. The tiny screen, the mass of restrictions, features and requirements made this task very difficult. My expectations from the watch’s functionality were also based on guesses and fantasies. When official and detailed information appeared, it became clear that half of the plan would not be realized. Sound control, vibration, notifications, animation - everything went under the knife.
Errors in xcode, the lack of a live clock and torment over the "user interface" finally killed the hope of creating a super application in a couple of weeks.
We are doing something that Apple needs now, and we count on support.
There are many examples of support and good interaction between the support of developers and developers. Alas, in our case everything was on "general terms." Neither support nor expedited application review. I'm not saying that we were not invited to the round table in Cupertino.
Yes. To be honest, in my pink dreams I imagined I would fall into a certain selection (featured), as a unique and especially useful developer of personal productivity applications, who had guessed to make support for Apple Watch.
In fact, there are a million times more such clever people than hours. And a billion times more than the demand for personal productivity apps among watch owners.
We are at the origins of a new boom. Apple is creating another huge market, and the first lucky developers to take off all the cream.
I did not believe much in this forecast. But, he also had a place to be. Bloggers, fanatics, journalists and other opinion authors spread the prognosis for a miracle. Not less. I do not know what will happen next, but now nothing of the kind is observed.
Another argument. According to the forecast, it was a real trump card. It is called an “informational occasion.”
It seemed as if only a hint to any journalist that you had created applications for new items from Apple, and they will rush to write about you! In fact, it turned out that everyone needs an informational occasion, including monster companies, such as Beeline. And the information space was literally clogged with information about how someone created something for the watch.
By the way, in Russia, watches are not officially sold. And large Russian (in the sense of with customers in Russia) companies make these applications and blow the whole world about it. A good news item is more expensive than money.
Conclusion
Such a funny list of "plan fact". Who has successful experience, please share in the comments?
In fact, I have no regrets about this experiment and it’s not so bad. It was interesting to try and learn a lot. Now we understand a little in the development of the Apple Watch and are optimistic about the future.
In addition, I’m still sure that our application is really useful and has a place to be on the watch.
Anyone who wants to try the development for watches, I sincerely advise you to learn as much as possible and carefully read the recommendations.