Digital agency Huge yesterday released a set of renderings showing off their concepts for how existing popular apps like Fandango, Foursquare, Chase Bank, and others could take advantage of the Apple Watch when the smartwatch launches in the coming months.
Breaking down the major new features of the Watch, including the Taptic Engine, Voice command, and the Digital Crown, Huge reminds readers that none of the renderings are based off any confirmed apps from the companies or Apple itself, but they do offer an interesting look at the possibilities.
Huge also smartly points out that the success or failure of apps on the platform lies in developers embracing its smaller-scale and not just shoehorning existing iOS user interfaces and features into the Watch but making something new and unique. Interaction between the Apple Watch and the iPhone will of course be key, however.
Features such as native voice control, haptic feedback, and a digital crown that can be used to magnify, scroll or zoom within apps crack open a whole new world of design requirements and opportunities. The smartest companies will do more than offer facsimiles of their existing apps; they'll create custom experiences that exploit the watch's unique interface.
Tackled first are "existing apps" that the company reimagines for the wearable platform, namely Uber. Pointing out Uber's dependency on tracking a car, Huge thinks possible voice control, a quick messaging system between the user and driver, and easy peeks at real-time car tracking would push the app to be even more popular on the wrist.
On the banking side, the company takes a look at the possibilities for an app like Chase, thinking the transfer of money, checking balances, and alerts for bills due and deposits made could provide even more ease-of-mind for customers banking on the go.
On the more social side, Huge mocks up an idea for movie-going app Fandango consisting of electronic ticketing, alerts for movie times, and, of course, theater time listings for movies nearby.
Perhaps most questionable, but also one of the most interesting, are Huge's ideas for Instagram on the Apple Watch. Though most users probably wouldn't mind taking out their iPhone to check the service, Huge envisions the Watch version of the app as more of a companion piece: alerting users to photo comments, tags, and likes, with possible photo browsing relegated to the digital crown. The company also points out the significant gain any news outlet, like The New York Times, could receive from having alerts and breaking news sent right to their readers' wrists.
Next, the company looks at "new use cases" the Apple Watch will enable, thanks to the release of WatchKit to developers a few months ago. Though iBeacons have been the source of some questionable developments about the possibility of location-based advertisements hitting the Apple Watch, Huge points to a few clever alternatives, like the watch notifying a user passing a grocery store that they have milk or bread on their shopping list, for example. More broadly, Huge envisions a native to-do list app in the vein of Apple's Reminders but which could easily best its iPhone counterpart due to its easier-to-access location on the Watch.
The Apple Watch launch is rapidly approaching, although a rumored March release date has yet to be confirmed by Apple. Apple has promised it will share more information on the Watch as its launch nears, and third-party developers have been hard at work on their Apple Watch projects for some time now. But for the time being, readers can see the possibilities outlined above, as well as others including a kitchen assistant, haptic feedback-fueled navigation, and a sports-focused news app, in Huge's feature published at Fast Company.
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