Select Developers Invited to Cupertino to Work on Apple Watch Apps

Apple invited dozens of development and design representatives from various development firms to visit Cupertino last week and this week, reports 9to5Mac. The developers are there to work with Apple engineers to finish up their WatchKit apps ahead of the Apple Watch's release in April. Apparently, Apple met with a small number of developers in January and it plans to meet with over 100 developers this month.

The developers invited by Apple to Cupertino range from those behind titles for sports applications and productivity software. Apple has also been meeting with banks to work on WatchKit applications that assist with the Apple Watch’s Apple Pay functionality. Besides U.S.-based banks, Apple has been working on WatchKit apps with developers from Germany-based banks, which indicates Apple is likely in talks with more foreign banks to expand Apple Pay to more countries across the world.

Sources say Apple asked developers to travel to Cupertino on an urgent timeline. This suggests that the company may be planning another media event or marketing effort before the watch ships.


Interestingly, Apple kept things secretive in its meetings with developers. Rather than using names, Apple labelled developers in the room by unique number identifiers. Some praised the watch noting its digital crown was "really nice" and its Taptic Engine was "super impressive"; however, others said the vibration feature was not as impressive as expected and that Force Touch "takes time" to get used to.

As Apple prepares for the launch of its smartwatch, retail employees have been learning about the device at secret workshops held in Los Angeles, Cupertino, Austin, and Atlanta. Apple has also been installing new safes at its retail store locations to hold the gold edition Apple Watch.

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