As with any Apple event, there is much speculation prior to the event and analysis post the event. The ‘Spring Forward’ event held earlier this week is no different. The post analysis event is perhaps even more this time with lots of online discussions on the pros and cons of the luxury pricing of the Edition variant.
From an app development perspective the Spring Forward event presents a great new opportunity. With the Apple Watch one cannot but help compare its launch to that of the iPhone in 2007. Back then the phone was launched without the App Store and breath-taking apps. Those happened later. And the apps were the magnet which attracted users to the OS leading to the ‘there’s an app for that’ phrase. With the Apple Watch, while some apps have been showcased, they are perhaps like a trailer. The big opportunity and the creative possibilities are yet to be unleashed. The Alarms.com app which was showcased at the Apple event drew a lot of attention. App Developers can be expected to come up with more such apps spanning utility and entertainment. How about a game that utilises the glance of the watch to its advantage? Or digital touch? The possibilities are endless.
Apple’s foray into medical research, the ResearchKit initiative is another exciting development, no pun intended. To quote Apple, ResearchKit is an open source software framework that makes it easy for researchers and developers to create apps that could revolutionize medical studies, potentially transforming medicine forever. The upside of this project is the ease of signing on and usage. According to Stanford, 11,000 iPhone owners signed up for a heart health study through this, in the first 24 hours. While there are downsides to this initiative, the potential to make a positive impact is huge. And developers can play a key role in it.
