Vishal BhatiaWearable devices are becoming more and more popular. People buy smart watches, bracelets, sensors and other devices. But not everyone understands why they should use these small devices. The developers, in turn, have some challenges with smart watch app development.
Once created, wearable devices caused a wave of curiosity from consumers, businesses and developers. How useful are these gadgets and what is their potential? As companies deal with the possibilities of new technologies, wearable app developers faced new specific challenges. Are there any options to overcome them? Let’s dive deeper.
Technical Specifications
The most obvious difference of smartwatches from a modern smartphone is the size. It has fewer cores and a clock frequency, less memory. But for this type of device, these indicators are not the most important. Yes, they represent certain restrictions for developers. From the point of functionality and convenience — smartwatches are well equipped.
Another component is a small screen. Despite PPI is not bad the screen resolution is still low. As an example, Apple Watch Series 3 has a screen of 272 x 340 pixels or 312 x 390 pixels, depending on the model.
How does it affect the wearable app development services? For example, you are able to create an application with a map but you will not be able to show a large number of markers, create a varied structure, or add rich animations.
First, it can be difficult to implement. Second, smart watches are not designed to be used that way, at least at this point in time. Of course, this will badly affect the application speed.
If you consider the watch as a way of interacting with the user, the size also matters. It will be more difficult to use screen gestures since the screen is significantly smaller than on a common smartphone screen.
Some manufacturers add physical buttons or wheels (for example, Digital Crown from Apple). It compensates for a small size and related problems. Accordingly, the user interacts with the watches in a different way. It leads to a different approach to smartwatch app development.
Unclear Purpose of Use
Wearable app developers should keep in mind that in creating the app they must understand what the product is going to be used for. If you don’t understand the purpose clearly, you will not be able to create a successful solution
What does it mean? The app you develop must support any wearable device and work properly on any of them. Also, it must have a unique set of features and not just duplicate the features of a similar app for the smartphone or tablet. Keeping that in mind, you will be able to create a great product.
Security and Data Leak Threats
Cybercrime is a huge problem these days. A lot of applications are being hacked and infected by different viruses. Wearable devices work with sensitive data, and that’s why it’s vital to care about security. It must be a cornerstone of the whole product.
What are the benefits of a secure app? It improves the communication with customers, attracts new clients, and starts long-term relationships.
Interface Compatible With Small Screen
All wearable devices have very small displays. Literally, they are not more than several centimetres. Of course, you cannot create the app with the same approach as for a smartphone or tablet.
With such a small screen, the interface is not the strongest point. The app interface must be well planned and scrupulously designed. Otherwise, the product will be unusable. So, to provide a balanced experience, take time to design your app.
First of all, make suitable icons. They should fit the screen size and resolution and not be too detailed and small or big. Do not add too many elements, and simplify the menus.
Compatible with Different Platforms
Developing an application for Android or iOS, you can create one app and it will be compatible with most existing devices. It is quite different with wearable devices. There are several platforms available, so it will be more reasonable to create an app for most of them.
As a result, it will help your business get more new customers and keep existing ones. Also, do not forget to adapt your app to different screen sizes and resolutions.
Battery Life
Small sized wearable devices have a small battery so it is reasonable to think about how to optimize the app in order to consume less energy. But for most developers, that is a big challenge, to create an app with minimal consumption. It is also important because many app stores block software which consumes a lot of energy. You do not want to be banned because of that.
How to provide a solution with balanced energy consumption? Do not add too many elements. Make it as simple as possible. The more features you add, the more it affects the battery life.
Lack of API Standards and Protocols
Wearable app development services are very trendy in today’s world. Therefore, the programmers can still have some challenges while developing the software. One of the biggest problems is that the software does not run on certain devices.
To make the app universal and compatible with most devices, the programmer may use the API. But there are not many APIs for wearable devices yet. In this case, our wearable app development services will be able to create own API protocols compatible with the specific device.
Functionality
The most important characteristics of the smartwatch app development are the mobility and ease of use. To create a balanced product, the developer should add great functionality. They may require making at market analyses to understand what the customers need. We mentioned earlier that the smartwatches application does not have to be just a copy of a program for a smartphone or tablet.
Updates
To support the stability of your developed product, do not forget to provide regular and timely updates. But it is important to keep a balance. They should not be delivered too often nor not often enough.
Wearable devices are very trendy nowadays. Wearable app developers have to work hard to satisfy the need of different groups of customers. Think about creating apps for different devices, do not overload it with features, and make them unique. Do not forget that customers use the smartwatches in a different way than a smartphone.
An Amazing idea deserves a world-class development company like Dedicated Developers, where you will find high-end technology, tech-expert developers, and development quality. For more information on our Wearable App Development Services, mail us at inquiry@DedicatedDevelopers.com
