WatchKit FAQ

How can you share a Core Data database between a watch app and an iPhone app?

To share a Core Data persistent store file, you essentially use the same mechanism as shown for the shared data example. Below is a code snippet to show how this works:

let kMyAppGroupName = "com.raywenderlich.mywatchapp.container"
var sharedContainerURL: NSURL? = NSFileManager.defaultManager().
  containerURLForSecurityApplicationGroupIdentifier(kMyAppGroupName)
if let sharedContainerURL = sharedContainerURL {
  let storeURL = sharedContainerURL.URLByAppendingPathComponent("MyCoreData.sqlite")
  var coordinator: NSPersistentStoreCoordinator? = 
    NSPersistentStoreCoordinator(managedObjectModel: self.managedObjectModel)
  coordinator?.addPersistentStoreWithType(NSSQLiteStoreType, 
    configuration: nil,
    URL: storeURL,
    options: nil,
    error: nil)
}	

Let’s Get Down to Business

Can you make games for the Apple Watch? What kinds of games are suitable?

While it’s still too early to say what type of games will succeed and whether users will want to play games on the watch, it almost goes without saying that you’ll need to think about the Apple Watch from a different perspective.

Remember how games for iPhone and iPad required a different mentality when compared to desktop games? Likewise, the Apple Watch will require a unique approach.

We know already there are limits to what you can do because there is no API for hardware access on the Apple Watch, nor does it support gesture recognizers or allow custom drawing on the screen. Remember, you can only use native interface elements.

But don’t let those limits put a dampener on your creativity; think of them as ground rules. :]

How can you earn money with Apple Watch apps?

It’s still far too early to say. One thing to note: iAd is not supported, and considering the small screen size and the amount of time a user will interact with your watch app, on-screen advertisements would probably annoy users and not perform well enough to be financially worth it anyway.

Also, if the WatchKit extension is included in your app bundle, you can’t disable it or otherwise prevent user from installing it. So, it can’t be supplementary that you make available through in-app purchases.

However, there are still ways that you can monetize a WatchKit extension:

• If you have a free version app and a paid version app in the App Store, you could just implement the WatchKit extension in the paid app version.
• If you have an app with in-app purchases, you could just display limited information in the extension, but allow a user to unlock additional features via in-app purchases.

This is obviously not an exhaustive list of the possibilities to monetize WatchKit apps, but one thing is clear: you’re going to have to been just as creative with your monetization as you are with the watch apps themselves.

Is there any reason to believe watch apps are a new opportunity that might let developers make a living just by developing for the App Store?

Any judgements at this point are premature. Even though the Apple Watch is indeed a brand new platform full of new opportunities, it may not create a similar gold-rush era to the one we saw when the App Store first launched.

One thing to keep in mind is that the Apple Watch is a different proposition entirely. Given its aesthetics and price tag, it’s more akin to jewelry that communicates with your iPhone than an essential device.

However, a WatchKit extension could make it easier for an app to stand out in the crowd. Much like the days when native iPad apps were more successful than iPhone apps that were merely scaled to fit, a thoughtful, well-designed Apple Watch app that complements an iPhone app could drive sales.

More Questions?

If you have any questions that weren’t covered here (And I know you do!) please post a comment. We’ll pick out the most frequently asked, compelling and even challenging to update the post – and you’ll also get attribution just for asking!

Also, as mentioned earlier, please chime in with any comments or clarifications for the answers listed here and we’ll update as needed.

Thanks all!