Apple Won’t Accept Apps That Don’t Work Without iPhone On Apple Watch

Apple has told developers that it’s not going to accept apps for the Apple Watch that don’t work on the smartwatch unless an iPhone is hooked up to it. It has mandated that developers must build apps that are capable of accessing the internet over Wi-Fi instead of having to rely on a tethered iPhone for the data connection.

The change isn’t immediate. Starting June 1st, 2016 all new watchOS apps that are submitted to the App Store have to be native apps built with the watchOS 2 SDK or later. If this requirement is not met Apple won’t approve the apps and users won’t get them.

Many Apple Watch owners might appreciate the new law that Apple has laid down for app developers. This means that they will no longer need to connect their iPhone to the Apple Watch if all they want to do is use an app on the smartwatch.

Native apps for the Apple Watch ensure that users are able to access data on these apps even when they don’t have an iPhone connect. It makes things so much simpler for users.

Apple is likely to talk about watchOS, the operating system that powers the Apple Watch, at the Worldwide Developers Conference 2016 which is going to take place this June.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Apple, Gadgets
Tags: Apple Watch, Wearable Tech