Swift Development for the Apple Watch: An Intro to the Watchkit Framework, Glances, and Notifications

Apple Watch is the sort of science-fiction gadget that people used to dream about as kids. What kinds of apps do you envision for this new device? If you’re comfortable using OS X, Xcode, and iOS―and familiar with Swift―this concise book shows you the basics of building your own apps for this wrist-mounted computer with Apple’s WatchKit framework.

You’ll learn what an Apple Watch is, what it isn’t, and how and why people might interact with apps you build for it. This practical guide also examines the type of apps most suitable for this device, and shows you how to be a good citizen in the iOS/Watch ecosystem.

• Learn the Watch app lifecycle, and understand how these apps interact with the user’s iPhone
• Build a Watch app and its iOS counterpart by adding controls, working with multiple screens, and sharing data
• Design a simple glance, the non-interactive Watch component that provides quick-look information
• Add functionality to the notification system, including actionable items, and display them on the Watch face
• Design and build complications, Watch-face gadgets that can display quick snapshots of information, including future events with Time Travel

Jon Manning is a world renown iOS development trainer and writer, game designer and mobile software engineering wizard.

He has co-authored two books on mobile development and enjoys re-implementing such things as OpenGL and the Objective-C runtime (in his spare time). Jon is also a researcher in Human-Computer Interaction working towards a PhD.

Paris Buttfield-Addison is a mobile app engineer, game designer and researcher with a passion for making technology simpler and as engaging as possible.

He has written two books on game development and currently spends his time designing mobile products for millions upon millions of users while drinking too much coffee.

Paris has coded for everything from Qt to 6502 assembly to iOS and thinks digital watches are a pretty neat idea. He claims he will soon have a PhD.