Apps for Wearables: Square Pegs in Round Holes?

Pratima H

INDIA: “What do I need it for?”

That’s a not-so-easy question. And quite a strong nudge that has often pushed technology players down a cliff or two for some brutal introspection and made them bring to us products that finally make sense – and this has worked from the days of mainframes, pagers, bulky phones to today’s driverless chaises, Jeeves like TVs and super-smartphones.

The ultimate test echoes that lovely punchline – It’s not about the shoes, it is what you do with them.

That’s the question that most wearable-players are grappling with too. The answer is crucial, for that is what will determine whether this new form factor for wrists can actually displace or complement or do something to the one we carry in our pockets (the phone). The answer is something that will lift wearables off the slow road of a fringe market like fitness tracking.

Customers don’t mind strapping a new gadget on themselves, but whether it is an albatross or a dove - now that matters.

Application – that pops as a quick answer here and even a five-year old (trust us, today’s five-year olds can shock us a lot) can give you that word. Apps, as we know them in our world, can swing the fate of many products in either ways. They nail the ‘what to do with this’ puzzle and separate the men from the boys.

But ‘apps’ don’t just arrive out of air. They have to be sculpted by developers, and with a keen eye on many facets together – UI (Usability Interface), hardware muscle, software capability, support systems, bandwidth range, connectivity constraints, ecosystem doors and windows and a lot more.

But then a watch is a watch is a watch. Will Apps be able to crack that one?

A new Kienbock’s Syndrome

It’s hard to ignore the word ‘wearables’ now, and not just because of supersonic IPOs like Fitbit. From Kickstarter’s darling Pebble and Samsung’s pre-emptive moves like Gear to much-awaited/(dreaded by other players) Apple Watch or updates in Android Wear; the wardrobe of wearables is going through a Milanesque make-over.

Yet, it’s not just about size of bezel, glass materials, plastic finish, steel colours, tap vs. swipe debate and other cosmetic aspects. The evolution, and a badly needed one at that, is re-stitching a precise gene this time – apps and app-design ingredients.

After all, the real impact of a wearable watch will be gauged when it can actualise the endless potential of a hands-free pet.

Something that is not just limited to what NASA and Microsoft are trying to achieve with Onsight for a better way to Mars study. Industry folks have already started predicting enterprise-level uses from obvious verticals like healthcare, retail or IT to far-flung ones like oil and gas, mining, manufacturing and what not.

That re-enforces the moot point – how in the world will apps make it possible to deliver all that productivity, collaboration, actionable information, analytical beef and jet speed – key ingredients for any enterprise-level outcome?

Apps for Watches - Shouldn't Socks Match

Excitement and confidence in numbers notwithstanding, interestingly, now it is in the hands (or wrists if you like) of developers and app-bakers to convert euphoria into reality. If the wearables market is set to rise 38 per cent year-over-year, and hit 70 million units in 2015, as Gartner predicted or if 70 per cent employees expect their employers to permit the use of wearables at work as a PwC study noted; then there is not only a goldmine of opportunities for app-players but also a landmine of possible gaffes.

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich could not have been more right-timed when at this year’s International Consumer Electronics Show, he raised this concern - 'such devices need to become more practical and less expensive before they appeal to consumers already using smartphones'.

Yes, a watch has to have smart apps and interfaces to become a smart-watch. And no, copy-pasting or wire-drawing apps that were meant for desktop world won’t help too much. To add to the dilemma, apps have to be easy, with actionable alerts and still devoid of too much clutter. That could be a reason why other watch-players have been yanking it all along.

Now is that where Apple watch’s arrival would change the plot completely? After all, from what it has released in developer universe so far, there are new terms and aspirations floating round - high frame rates, smoother animations, glances, video, interactive notifications, unique watch-only UI, sleek app icons on the home screen etc.

There is a lot to read in the SDKs (Software Development Kits) these days. We are still not close to answering whether Apple wants to displace those glossy, swish, haute-couture watches or the ones that Android wear or Pebble have been peddling? But while that question is being sussed out, there are other cogs in the wheel too.

For instance, the innate difference between a usual-world usual app design and apps for something that is a small screen wrapped around a wrist. Krishnakumar Gangaatharan, Solution Architect - Global Service Providers, AppDynamics sorts this out when he tells that in today’s increasingly competitive app space, User Experience (UX) Design is a major area of focus. “Utilizing the real estate on the screen to simplify and enrich the usage of the app retains users. Designing the UX for larger devices like tablets, phablets and smartphones is fairly easy because of the experience (gathered over a period of time by the developer) and evolving design standards. Android, for example, started design language with 4.0 but is now enforcing a unified design standard with its recent versions (Material design 5.x onwards).”

He confronts the bottleneck of developing for smaller screens which leaves a limited canvas to work on. These Software Development Kits (SDK) are made public with a design language, as opposed to evolved design, hence the developers don’t have the liberty to innovate in terms of UX design, he points out.

At this point, one is tempted to wonder whether differences between third-party apps and first-party apps in today's device ecosystems will swing the current set of issues and possibilities a lot.

Ram Menon-CEO & Founder, Avaamo reckons that there are two major eco systems- Android and IOS and with a billion plus apps the third party eco system will continue to grow by function/ by vertical and in many cases country specific uses. “Ubiquity of the platform will continue with more and more apps being mobile – meaning taking into account the unique aspects of the device- GPS/ sensors/ compass/ haptics/Battery and bandwidth- all things unique to the mobile device.” He reasons.

As Gangaatharan sees it, while first party apps are generally easy on the battery and processors, third party apps bring in variety and innovation. It is by enforcing a common design language that the user experience can be made seamless and productive.

Squinting at SDKs

When we sit down to compare developer-tools and guidelines that each player has been offering, there are some stark differences and streaks that appear among Pebble, Android wear and Apple’s WatchKit SDKs.

Essentially, all the SDK’s provide design templates, design guidelines and interfaces with android/iOS for interaction with companion apps. Hence there is no major difference between the SDKs if Gangaatharan’s angle shows it right. “Pebble is the only cross platform watch, that can pair with both Android and iOS devices. Pebble’s e-paper display, which is much more energy efficient that AMOLED or LCD display, has a small colour range, limiting app developers. Pebble and Apple watch runs on controlled hardware thereby delivering predictive or close-to-claim numbers, performance wise. On the other hand, Android wear runs on 3rd party hardware, making it difficult to standardize performance metrics. But 3rd party hardware fuels innovation in Android wear devices. (eg: Android watches are the only ones with a round watch dial instead of a square one that all Pebbles and Apple watches sport.”

Ask Menon and it seems that all SDK are evolving as the wearables space develops. Apple’s new watchkit to be announced shortly will allow apps to run on the watch independently and take advantage of the Apple watch sensors instead of being tethered to the phone. “This will allow faster loading times and enhance the experience.” He hopes.

Apple Watch, on the face of it seems to be a strong contender for the pin-up boy space on wearable wall. But does it really take the smartwatch story forward when it boils down to hands-on stuff like real-time notifications, interaction design, actionable notifications, functionality (when not paired with iPhone), battery life and other practical issues?

The Apple Watch is not too bad for a first attempt, fuelling the growth of wearable tech, says Gangaatharan. Apple watch interaction design is the most promising among the watch kits, seconds Menon as well here.

It could be because Apple has tried to produce a wholesome experience by introducing health and fitness apps, heart rate monitor sensors, several communication apps, enriched third party apps support and a rich collection of software native to the watch.

Gangaatharan dissects that though the primary use of a smart watch is to avoid pulling your phone out all the time and to get real time notifications, Apple takes the game further to give a complete wearable experience. “Even though the watch relies heavily on a paired phone for most functions, it can stay paired even across the same wifi network. Standalone watches are still not available from Apple, unlike Android.”

Leveraging best on the brick-work of sensory muscle would also be a big factor here.

In Menon’s surgical assessment, the next user interface for wearables is not "beeps" or "tones", it requires your body. “You will literally feel signals- It’s called haptics, and while it’s been around for years, most notably in game controllers, Haptic technology—haptics—uses force upon the skin to deliver real-time tactile feedback. The "Apple Taptic engine" is an amazing way to bring this technology to the wrist. Done right, haptics can mimic the feeling of a pin prick by a wearable that tracks your blood sugar, simulate the plucking of virtual guitar strings on a tablet screen, or re-create the physical recoil of a phaser from your favorite game controller."

In his opinion, Apple has done a great job in establishing the guidelines for haptic interaction design or what is possible on the body close to the skin. "We spent hundreds of hours with the Apple watch development team understanding the limits on what’s possible and they taught us a lot of what’s the right thing to do.”

Apple watch, as Gangaatharan allows too, is the first iteration of Apple’s wearable devices. Apple has restricted itself to its core differentiators by focusing heavily on design and ease of use. Functionality is set to match android wear devices, with room left for improvement.

But yes, the smaller screen size equals added effort for developers to develop apps for Apple watch. “The UX of the app needs to be simple and intuitive. The app itself must be capable of running on smaller chipsets. Battery efficiency of applications is critical to Apple watch apps. Developers should use Application Performance Management (APM) software to develop light, fast apps that are not resource hungry.”

Tough juggling act for developers as it sounds, but Apple Watch might just be the tipping point for doing exactly what is a matter of common-sense when it comes to not-so-sloppy apps – If it’s a round hole, don’t push in a square peg dear!

Now, can we do that without cutting any corners?