Apple opens up early Watch access to more developers ahead of launch

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Apple has opened up early Apple Watch access to more developers ahead of its April 24 launch, reports the Financial Times. The company had previously allowed select, high profile developers to visit its Cupertino campus and use working versions of the device, but within the last two weeks it has expanded the offer to ~20 devs per day.

The program is huge for developers, allowing them to test their apps on a working device, rather than the Mac-based simulator Apple released last year. It’s also very secretive, as entrants are asked to sign strict non-disclosure agreements, and forced to work in conference rooms draped with curtains and guarded by Apple security.

But Apple is betting that all of this hard work will pay off. In addition to fitness tracking and notification features, the company is pushing a large app selection as one of the flagship features of its new wearable. After all, app quality and selection have long been a bold bullet point in comparison lists between iOS and its competitors.

The Apple Watch will become available for pre-order on April 10, at 12:01 am (PST), and will officially go on sale later this month. As of today, a number of iOS apps have already been updated with proper support for the device including Twitter, popular note-taking app Evernote, weather app Dark Sky and Target’s shopping app.

Source: Financial Times