Third-Party Tesla App Provides Look at Opportunities and Limitations of Apple Watch Development [Updated]

Apple made its WatchKit SDK available alongside the release of iOS 8.2 and Xcode 6.2 beta in November, enabling developers to begin creating apps and software for the wrist-worn device. Looking beyond mockups and conceptual apps, however, a new third-party Tesla app designed by ELEKS offers insight into both the opportunities and limitations that developers face with the first-generation Apple Watch.

Tesla Apple Watch App
According to ELEKS software engineer Oleksandr Malyarenko, the technical capabilities of WatchKit do not match the expectations set during the Apple Watch keynote. In developing a prototype Tesla app that allows users to control a Model S over the Internet using a web-service API, the team of software engineers found a lot of functionality to be unavailable to developers at this time.

"If you look at the opportunities available for smart watch application development, you’ll also see a quite pessimistic picture," wrote Matsekh. "Apple does not indulge developers with an abundance of functionality and tools. However, we can hope that the available functions are limited because this is only the first beta version and it will get much better towards the release."

Malyarenko claims that developers do not have access to the Apple Watch's gyroscope, accelerometer, built-in speaker and microphone or Taptic Engine system of tactile notifications for development. Additionally, despite the Apple Watch display being touch sensitive, he claims that only Force Touch, which displays the shortcut menu, is available for developers, while GPS is restricted to a paired iPhone.

Even with its current limitations, this Tesla app provides an early look at the opportunities that Apple Watch apps make possible. The multipurpose software brings a lot of Tesla car control functionality to the wrist, such as an overview of the car's battery, temperature and mileage, a controls menu for opening or closing the car and activating the headlights, and various screens related to charging, climate, location and the car's condition.


Despite claiming that the Apple Watch has "weak potential for programmers" based on its current emulator-only development environment, Malyarenko recognizes that his assumptions are based off of the first WatchKit SDK available to developers. As with the iPhone and iPad, the first-generation Apple Watch will inevitability have some developmental hiccups that are ironed out over the years.

Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed at the company's quarterly earnings call on Tuesday that the Apple Watch is on schedule to ship in April, likely alongside a new version of WatchKit. MacRumors also learned that Apple has asked some developers to have Apple Watch apps ready for mid-February. In a short few months, a clearer picture should emerge of just how much potential Apple's first wearable device has for developers.

Update 9:00 PM PT: For those interested in learning more about Apple Watch development, iMore's Rene Ritchie points towards an interesting series called As I Learn WatchKit by iOS developer David Smith. Apple also provides several public-facing Design and Development Resources for the Apple Watch and WatchKit on its website.

Top Rated Comments

troop231 Avatar
106 months ago
iWatch original.
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cux9T9wvERs

That is all :)
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
asleep Avatar
106 months ago
I'm afraid "limitations" will be the word most associated with iWatch original.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
barkomatic Avatar
106 months ago
I'm sure there will be an enormous market for Apple watches that can turn on the headlights of a Tesla Sportscar. :p
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Aluminum213 Avatar
106 months ago
Would people be too lazy to pull their phone out of their pockets and use that?

Wouldn't you rather read texts and notifications on a very small screen with severely limited controls?
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MikhailT Avatar
106 months ago
Apple isn't locking down or crippling anything, they clearly told us last year AppleWatch SDK will come in two phases. The first one will be a serverly limited SDK that will require the iPhone to do the bulk of the operations and will not have access to all hardware features. This simply is because Apple needs more time to build up SDK, just like the original iPhone.


The second phase will come later this year with the full SDK to let devs build more powerful Watch apps with more hardware support and doesn't require iPhone.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
patent10021 Avatar
106 months ago
Which are the future. Safari in iOS 8 has WebGL enabled - as soon as developers start to realize that and take advantage of it, native apps will die swiftly (pun intended.)
Web apps are PART of the future as is the pair of jeans I'll be buying in the future. But like so many incorrectly predict, web apps will not BE the future. Native OS such as iOS/Android are king and will remain so. Keep dreaming.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 16

iOS 16.4 for iPhone Nearing Launch With These 5 New Features

Monday March 20, 2023 11:50 am PDT by
Apple says iOS 16.4 is coming in the spring, which began this week. In his Sunday newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the update should be released "in the next three weeks or so," meaning a public release is likely in late March or early April. iOS 16.4 remains in beta testing and introduces a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone. Below, we have recapped five new features ...
apple park at night 1

Apple 'Tracking Employee Attendance' in Crackdown on Remote Working

Thursday March 23, 2023 3:41 am PDT by
Apple is tracking the attendance of its employees at offices using badge records in order to ensure they are coming in at least three times a week, according to Platformer's Zoë Schiffer. Since April 2022, Apple employees have been operating on a hybrid home/office work policy as part of a gradual return strategy following the pandemic, with staff required to work from the office at least...
iphone 14 pro max deep purple feature purple

iPhone 15 Pro Rumor Recap: 10 New Features and Changes to Expect

Thursday March 23, 2023 6:42 am PDT by
While the iPhone 15 series is still around six months away from launching, there have already been plenty of rumors about the devices. Many new features and changes have been rumored for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max in particular. Below, we have recapped 10 changes rumored for iPhone 15 Pro models that are not expected to be available on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus:A1...
dynamic island

iPhone 15 Dynamic Island to Include New Integrated Proximity Sensor

Friday March 24, 2023 12:27 am PDT by
This year, all iPhone 15 models will include Apple's Dynamic Island that unifies the pill and hole cutouts at the top of the display, but there will also be a material change to the feature that wasn't included in the iPhone 14 Pro models. According to a new tweet by Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the proximity sensor on the iPhone 15 series will be integrated inside the Dynamic Island ...
maxresdefault

Nothing Launches $149 Ear (2) Wireless Earbuds to Compete With AirPods Pro 2

Wednesday March 22, 2023 9:48 am PDT by
Nothing today announced the launch of its second-generation wireless earbuds, the Nothing Ear (2), which offer many of the same features as Apple's AirPods Pro 2 at a lower price point. We went hands-on with the Ear (2) earbuds to see whether they're a viable alternative to the AirPods Pro 2 for those who want to save some cash. The Ear (2) earbuds are the successor to the Nothing Ear (1),...
voice isolation

iOS 16.4 Adds Voice Isolation for Cellular Phone Calls

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:01 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 update that is set to be released to the public in the near future includes voice isolation for cellular calls, according to notes that Apple shared today. Apple says that Voice Isolation will prioritize your voice and block out the ambient noise around you, making for clearer phone calls where you can better hear the person you're chatting with and vice versa. Voice...
TMobile Sprint

Apple Stops Allowing Sprint iPhone Activations, Removes Sprint References From Online Store

Thursday March 23, 2023 12:06 pm PDT by
Apple is no longer allowing customers who purchase an iPhone, cellular iPad, or Apple Watch to activate a device with now-defunct mobile carrier Sprint. Apple has also removed remaining references to Sprint from its online store. When checking out with a new purchase, Sprint is no longer an option for connectivity, a change that Apple appears to have implemented today. Prior to now, Sprint...
airpodsd 3 purple 4

iOS 16.4 Seemingly References New AirPods and AirPods Case

Tuesday March 21, 2023 11:43 am PDT by
The iOS 16.4 release candidate version that was provided to developers today appears to hint at a new set of AirPods that could be coming in the near future. According to @aaronp613, the beta features references to AirPods that have a model number of A3048 and an AirPods case with a model number of A2968. There have been no rumors that new AirPods are on the horizon, and it is early for...