Apple has just allowed some companies to check out the soon-to-be-released Apple Watch in order for them to test out their apps, discover glitches and make some tool adjustments to the watch's design.
These companies are working hands on, examining the smartwatch at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California. All of these tests and preparations are being made as Apple gears up for the smartwatch's public release in April.
The companies, which at times had to share a room at the secret lab, are expected to bring in source code for their apps stored in a hard drive. Hard drives ought to remain within the headquarters and should not be brought home. In order to avoid leaking out information, Apple will store the code and send it to the companies a few days ahead of the watch's release.
One person who has been to the lab shared his experience:
"Apple, which will share more details about the gadget at a March 9 event, uses extreme measures to keep the work secret," said an insider. "Internet access is blocked inside the rooms, and no outside materials can be brought in to the labs with the test watches."
More than 100 developers were invited by Apple to test the apps in Apple Watch in February. Some of the big companies that have been involved with the apps testing include Facebook, Starwood Hotels, United Continental Holdings Inc and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG. Smaller indie devs who have good track records in the App Store were also invited by Apple to test the Watch.
Part of the tests involve dealing with challenges for both Apple and the developers. One of these challenges is knowing how to balance the apps in order to make them useful but not annoying. Developers are reminded to be "judicious" with their created alerts that could interrupt users and could drain the watch's battery. The ideal time suggested is no longer than 10 seconds when using the apps.
"Not every email that lands in your inbox deserves to jerk you away from what you're doing at that moment in time," said Shawn Carolan, co-founder of Handle Inc and an early investor in Siri. "If your watch is buzzing every 15 seconds with a notification you are going to go crazy."
Another challenge is the issue brought on by building software on an unreleased product where some companies were seen as holding back.
"It's requiring some development resources that are very precious for a lot of these guys," said Slaven Radic, founder of Tapstream Network Inc. "Most of them are taking the look-and-see approach."
Apple is said to be preparing for a "Spring Forward" event on Monday, March 9, where it will be showing off the Apple Watch apps that developers have been working on and give some added information on the upcoming device.
