Apple Watch App Development

Table of Contents

Apple Watch App Development

Credits

About the Author

Acknowledgements

About the Reviewer

www.PacktPub.com

eBooks, discount offers, and more

Why subscribe?

Preface

What this book covers

What you need for this book

Who this book is for

Conventions

Reader feedback

Customer support

Downloading the example code

Errata

Piracy

Questions

1. Introducing the Swift Programming Language

Registering as an Apple developer

Getting and installing Xcode development tools

Introduction to Xcode playgrounds

Introduction to the Swift language

Variables, constants, strings, and semicolons

Variables

Constants

Strings

Semicolons

Numeric types and conversion

Booleans, tuples, and string interpolation

Booleans

Tuples

String interpolation

Controlling the flow

The for…in loops

What's new in Swift 2.0

Error handling

Binding

Protocol extensions

Summary

2. Understanding Apple Watch

Introduction to the WatchKit platform

Introducing the WatchKit application architecture

Introducing the WatchKit application life cycle

Introducing the WatchKit classes

Limitations of the WatchKit platform

Apple Watch Human Interface Guidelines

What's new in watchOS 2

Watch faces

Photos

Time-Lapse

Time travel

Nightstand mode

Activation Lock

FaceTime audio

Social features

Summary

3. Exploring WatchKit Controls

Building the Guessing Game application

Using Interface Builder to create the watch user interface

Adding our user interface controls – text and labels

Creating Outlets to our Interface Builder objects

Creating Actions that respond to user actions

Building and running the Guessing Game application

Summary

4. Using the Core Location and Watch Connectivity Frameworks

Creating the navigation tracking application

Building the Watch Tracker application – iPhone

Adding and removing annotation placeholders

Handling requests for background location updates

Building and running the Watch Tracker application

Building the Watch Tracker application – WatchKit

Limitations of using Core Location within watchOS 2

Using Interface Builder to create the Watch Tracker UI

Creating the Outlets for our Interface Builder objects

Creating an Action event to handle our map zooming

Using Core Location with the WatchKit extension

Communicating between the iPhone app and the WatchTracker WatchKit extension

Integrating the Watch Connectivity framework – iPhone app

Integrating the Watch Connectivity framework – WatchKit extension

Building and running the Watch Tracker application

Summary

5. Navigating Around in WatchKit

Building the Health Monitor application

Understanding page-based interfaces and navigation

Understanding modal interfaces and navigation

Understanding hierarchical interfaces and navigation

Integrating the HealthKit framework to handle updates

Integrating the HealthKit framework – iPhone app

Building the Health Monitor application – WatchKit

Creating the profile details interface controller's WatchKit class

Creating the Outlets for our Interface Builder objects

Creating an Action event to handle our Start Monitoring button

Using HealthKit to obtain heart rate and pedometer information

Using HealthKit to obtain biological personal information

Building and running the Health Monitor application

Summary

6. Implementing Tables within Your App

Building the Shopping List application

Setting up and provisioning your app for Apple Pay

Configuring our Shopping List app to work with Apple Pay

Understanding the WatchKit table object

Building the Shopping List application – WatchKit

Creating the table row interface controller's WatchKit class

Configuring our product table row controller class

Creating the product class structure to hold product items

Creating the ProductsList property list

Populating our WatchKit table controller with row information

Responding when a row has been selected within our table

Running the Shopping List application – WatchKit

Handling payment requests with the PassKit framework

Building and running the Shopping List application

Summary

7. Adding Menus to Your App

Introduction to gestures and the menu interface

Understanding WatchKit context menu gestures

Understanding the WatchKit context menu interface

Design considerations for WatchKit context menu icons

Understanding the default WatchKit context menu actions

Adding a menu to our Shopping List application – WatchKit

Establishing the WatchKit context menu connections

Design considerations when using Taptic Engine

Learning how to integrate Apple Watch haptics within an app

Running the Shopping List application – WatchKit

Summary

8. Incorporating the Glance Interface in Your App

Introduction to working with WatchKit glances

Understanding the glance controller life cycle

Adding a glance to our Shopping List application – WatchKit

Creating a glance build scheme for our Shopping List app

Creating the glance interface controller WatchKit class

Configuring our glance controller using templates

Establishing glance interface controller connections

Storing information to show within your glance controller

Displaying information within your glance controller

Understanding the glance interface guidelines

Running the Shopping List application – WatchKit

Summary

9. Incorporating Notifications within Your App

Working with WatchKit notifications

Understanding the notification controller life cycle

Configuring the notification scheme for our Shopping List app

Adding Action buttons to your dynamic notifications

Responding to actions within your custom notifications

The difference between static and dynamic interface controllers

Configuring our Shopping List app's dynamic notification controller

Establishing our notification controller connections

Configuring a category for our static interface controller

Scheduling notifications with your notification controller

Displaying messages within the notification interface

Understanding the notification interface guidelines

Running the Shopping List application – WatchKit

Summary

10. Image Compression and Animation

Building the animation application – WatchKit

Setting up and adding images to the assets catalog

Configuring our app to use App Transport Security

Using Interface Builder to create the watch user interface

Establishing connections to our interface controller

Establishing our Action events that respond to user actions

Animating your images within the WatchKit interface

Loading and compressing images within the WatchKit interface

Building and running the Animation Example application

Summary

11. Packaging and Deploying Your App

Creating and setting up your iOS development team

Creating the iOS development certificate

Obtaining the development certificate from Apple

Creating App IDs for your WatchKit applications

Creating development provisioning profiles

Profiling your application using Xcode Instruments

Preparing your app for submission using iTunes Connect

Submitting an app to iTunes Connect using Xcode

Summary

Index

Apple Watch App Development

Apple Watch App Development

Copyright © 2016 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

First published: April 2016

Production reference: 1250416

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

Livery Place

35 Livery Street

Birmingham B3 2PB, UK.

ISBN 978-1-78588-636-2

www.packtpub.com

Credits

Author

Steven F. Daniel

Reviewer

Dylan Marriott

Commissioning Editor

Amarabha Banerjee

Acquisition Editor

Reshma Raman

Content Development Editor

Priyanka Mehta

Technical Editor

Taabish Khan

Copy Editor

Shruti Iyer

Project Coordinator

Izzat Contractor

Proofreader

Safis Editing

Indexer

Rekha Nair

Graphics

Abhinash Sahu

Production Coordinator

Melwyn Dsa

Cover Work

Melwyn Dsa

About the Author

Steven F. Daniel is the CEO and founder of GENIESOFT STUDIOS, a software development company that is based in Melbourne, Victoria, which focuses primarily on developing games and business applications for iOS, Android, and Mac OS X. Steven is a software developer with more than 14 years of experience developing desktop and web-based applications for a number of companies, including ANZ, Department of Justice, BP Australia, and AXA Australia.

Steven is always interested in emerging technologies, and he is a member of the SQL Server Special Interest Group (SQLSIG), Melbourne CocoaHeads, and the Java Community. He was the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of SoftMpire Pvt Ltd., a company that focused primarily on developing business applications for the iOS and Android platforms.

Steven is the author of various book titles: Xcode 4 iOS Development Beginner's Guide, iOS 5 Essentials, iPad Enterprise Application Development Blueprints, Xcode 4 Cookbook, and Android Wearable Programming.

Check out his blog at http://www.geniesoftstudios.com/blog/, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/GenieSoftStudio.

Acknowledgements

No book is the product of just the author; he just happens to be the one with his name on the cover. A number of people have contributed to the success of this book, and it would take more space than I have to thank each one individually.

I would personally like to thank two special people who have been an inspiration and who have provided me with so much support during the writing of this book. The first is Reshma Raman, my Senior Acquisition Editor, who is the reason that this book exists, and the second is Priyanka Mehta for her understanding and support as well as her brilliant suggestive approaches during the chapter rewrites. I would like to thank both of you for everything and making the writing process enjoyable.

To my reviewers, thank you so much for your valued suggestions and improvements to make this book what it is, I am truly grateful to each and every one of you.

Thank you to the entire Packt Publishing team for working so diligently to help bring out a high quality product. A big shout out to the engineers at Apple for creating the Apple Watch and the WatchKit Platform to provide developers with the tools to create fun and sophisticated applications.

Finally, I would like to thank all of my friends for their support, understanding, and encouragement during the book writing process. I am extremely grateful to have you as my friends, and it is a privilege to know each and every one of you.

About the Reviewer

Dylan Marriott is a young iOS developer from Switzerland. At the start of his career, he worked with web technologies, but he soon got involved with mobile and never went back. He started off with Android and then transitioned toward iOS. He currently works at Evernote, where he gets to work with the newest iOS technologies. In his free time, he has published a number of iOS and Apple Watch apps.

www.PacktPub.com

eBooks, discount offers, and more

Did you know that Packt offers eBook versions of every book published, with PDF and ePub files available? You can upgrade to the eBook version at www.PacktPub.com and as a print book customer, you are entitled to a discount on the eBook copy. Get in touch with us at for more details.

At www.PacktPub.com, you can also read a collection of free technical articles, sign up for a range of free newsletters and receive exclusive discounts and offers on Packt books and eBooks.

https://www2.packtpub.com/books/subscription/packtlib

Do you need instant solutions to your IT questions? PacktLib is Packt's online digital book library. Here, you can search, access, and read Packt's entire library of books.

Why subscribe?

Fully searchable across every book published by Packt

Copy and paste, print, and bookmark content

On demand and accessible via a web browser

This book is dedicated to:

My favorite uncle Benjamin Jacob Daniel, thank you for always making me smile and for inspiring me to work hard and achieve my dreams. You are a true inspiration, and I couldn't have done this without your love, support, and guidance. Thank you.

Chan Ban Guan, for the continued patience, encouragement, and support, and most of all, for believing in me during the writing of this book.

I would like to thank my family for their continued love and support and for always believing in me throughout the writing of this book. This book would not have been possible without your love and understanding, and I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Preface

With the increasing amount of new wearable devices hitting the market, wearables are the next wave of mobile computing technology. After the release of Apple's WatchKit SDK, a whole new world of exciting development possibilities awaits us.

Apple Watch App Development provides you with a practical approach that shows you how to develop and build Apple Watch apps using the Xcode Integrated Development Environment. You will be introduced to the architecture and limitations of the Apple Watch platform, followed by an in-depth look at the Swift programming language, where we talk about closures, tuples, protocols, delegates, and how to work with Xcode playgrounds.

We also discuss more advanced topics, such as notifications, glances, Apple Pay, as well as the Core Location and Watch Connectivity frameworks to synchronize data between the Apple Watch and the iPhone using the WatchKit platform. By the end of this book, you will have a good understanding of how to build real-world applications for the Apple Watch platform using the WatchKit framework and Swift 2.0.

In this book, I have tried my best to keep the code simple and easy to understand by providing a step-by-step approach with lots of screenshots at each step to make it easier to follow. You will soon be mastering the different aspects of Apple Watch wearable programming, as well as mastering the technology and skills that are needed to create your own applications for the Apple Watch platform.

Feel free to contact me at <[email protected]> for any queries, or just drop me an e-mail to say Hello.

What this book covers

Chapter 1, Introducing the Swift Programming Language, focuses on how to go about signing up to the Apple Developer program, as well as downloading and installing the Xcode development tools. We will cover Xcode playgrounds before moving on to learning the basics of the Swift programming language and some of the new additions to Swift with Swift 2.

Chapter 2, Understanding Apple Watch, introduces you to the WatchKit platform architecture and the application life cycle, as well as a list of the WatchKit classes that make up the WatchKit platform. You'll learn about some of the limitations behind the WatchKit platform architecture, as well as some of the new additional features that are a part of watchOS 2. You will then go on to learn about the Apple Watch Human Interface Guidelines.

Chapter 3, Exploring WatchKit Controls, introduces you to some of the controls that come as a part of the WatchKit platform. You will learn how to work with Xcode's Interface Builder to build the visual interface for our first WatchKit application. You will also learn how to use Outlets to bind objects to the Interface Builder objects and create some Action events to respond to these objects when tapped by the user to provide visual feedback.

Chapter 4, Using the Core Location and Watch Connectivity Frameworks, delves deeper into learning more about the WatchKit framework and the new layout system using groups. You'll learn about the MapKit and WKInterfaceMap frameworks. You will also learn how you can use these to incorporate mapping capabilities within your WatchKit apps using the Watch Connectivity framework to send geographical location-based coordinates between your iOS app and WatchKit to display the user's current location on the Apple Watch.

Chapter 5, Navigating Around in WatchKit, introduces you to some of the ways that you can navigate within the watch face user interface. You'll learn the differences between page-based, modal, and hierarchical navigation, and when to use them. You will then learn how to use the HealthKit framework to access health-related information and share this information between the iOS device and the WatchKit extension to display a user's current heart rate, blood type, and number of steps taken for a particular day.

Chapter 6, Implementing Tables within Your App, focuses on teaching you how to create applications that handle Apple Pay payments using the PassKit framework. You will learn how to pass information between the iOS device and the WatchKit extension. You will also learn how to use the WKInterfaceTable controller, how to set it up and configure it, as well as how to display information from a JSON file.

You will learn how to use the WKInterfaceTable methods to determine when a row has been selected by the user and respond to this action.

Chapter 7, Adding Menus to Your App, introduces you to WatchKit menus, and how you can incorporate them into your own applications, as well as respond to them based on what the user has chosen. We end the chapter by covering how you can use the Taptic Engine to integrate haptic feedback in your own applications.

Chapter 8, Incorporating the Glance Interface in Your App, shows you how to effectively incorporate WatchKit glances within an existing WatchKit application by creating a custom GlanceInterfaceController class to display information within the glance interface. You'll learn about the glance interface guidelines, which outline the guidelines and principles that you need to follow when designing your layouts for the different Apple Watch screen sizes.

Chapter 9, Incorporating Notifications within Your App, explains how to incorporate and configure local and remote notifications within an existing Apple Watch application. You will learn about the notifications life cycle and the differences between static and dynamic interfaces.

You will learn about the Apple Push Notification service (APNs) and how you can use this to send and receive information by responding to button actions when a user taps on the button. You will learn about the notification interface guidelines, which outlines the guidelines and principles that you need to follow when designing your notifications.

Chapter 10, Image Compression and Animation, shows you how to add images to the image assets catalog, and then start to build a simple WatchKit application that showcases how to animate a series of images within the WatchKit user interface.

You'll learn about the Application Transport Security (ATS) protocol that Apple introduced with the release of iOS 9, which forces developers to provide secure connections between your Apple Watch apps that communicate over HTTPS. We will also be covering how to properly configure our Apple WatchKit extension, as well as learn the best ways of handling and compressing large image files when these are downloaded from an external website so to increase performance.

Chapter 11, Packaging and Deploying Your App, focuses on how to submit your application to the Apple App Store, and share your creations with the rest of the community. You'll learn how to set up your iOS development team as well as the development and distribution certificates.

Finally, you will learn how to use the Instruments application to profile your application to eliminate performance bottlenecks. You will also learn how to package your application using Xcode and deploy this to iTunes Connect so that you can download and test on your Apple Watch device.

What you need for this book

The minimum requirement for this book is an Intel-based Macintosh computer running OS X El Capitan 10.11. We will be using Xcode 7.3, which is the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that is used to create applications for iOS, watchOS, and tvOS. Almost all projects that you will create with the help of this book will work and run on the iOS Simulator. However, some projects will require an Apple Watch and an iPhone to work correctly.

You can download the latest version of Xcode from http://developer.apple.com/xcode/.

Who this book is for

This book is intended for developers who have a working experience of application development principles on the Mac OS X and/or iOS platforms and wish to expand their knowledge to develop applications for the Apple Watch using the Swift programming language and the WatchKit framework. It is assumed that you are familiar with object-oriented programming (OOP) and have some experience with Swift.

Conventions

In this book, you will find a number of text styles that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles and an explanation of their meaning.

Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows: Launch the Keychain Access application, which can be found in the /Applications/Utilities folder.

A block of code is set as follows:

Override func willActivate() {

    Super.willActivate()

    guessLabel.setText("Your Guess is: + String(Int(yourGuess)))

    guessLabel.setTextColor(UIColor.yellowColor())

}

When we wish to draw your attention to a particular part of a code block, the relevant lines or items are set in bold:

// Method to handle the Encryption

func encryptString(str: String, withPassword password: String) throws -> String {

    guard password.characters.count > 0  else { throw      EncryptionError.Empty }     guard password.characters.count >= 5 else { throw      EncryptionError.Short }

    // Begin constructing our encrypted string

    let encrypted = password + str + password

    return String(encrypted.characters.reverse())

}

New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, for example, in menus or dialog boxes, appear in the text like this: "To