Our WatchKit course teaches you everything you need to know to create apps for the Apple Watch (which we sometimes refer to as the iWatch). In genuine bitfountain fashion, we'll take you step by step through the process of building multiple real apps. In this course the apps we build interface with iPhone apps, so we'll be dabbling in both and learning how to connect them. You will build multiple apps in this course, including a music player!
The apps you build in this course can and should be used in your professional portfolio so you can be job-ready.
An Apple Watch is not required to take the course. We use the Watch simulator through Xcode.
Prerequisite:
We strongly recommend that you first take the iOS 8 Immersive course or the iOS 8 Mini course with Swift. Not only will that make this course a lot easier but WatchKit apps need an iPhone app to run. We have included a link to register for the mini course for free in the first lecture.
Topics Covered:
Interface elements - buttons, switches and other interface objects
Positioning and layout - WatchKit's alternative to autolayout
Connecting the iPhone to the Watch App: Control a music player on the iPhone from the Watch
NSUserDefaults: Sync NSUserDefaults between the Watch and the iPhone
CoreData: Sync CoreData between the Watch and the iPhone
Glances: Learn about glances to show relevant information to the user!
Notifications: Build a weather notification Watch App
Why take this course and how much time does it take to complete?
WatchKit development is a brand new frontier that is still in Beta by Apple. We aim to show you the cutting edge technology with comprehensive instructions on building WatchKit applications.
The course should take you roughly a month to complete if you give an honest attempt to the assignments and challenges.
Eliot regularly teaches iOS development classes and workshops at General Assembly and guest lectures for companies and development boot camps around NYC. He also taught the inaugural class for Coalition for Queens which focused on increasing diversity in iOS development. He also coaches students in a one-on-one environment with a focus on transitioning to full time development. Eliot cofounded and organizes the iOS Office Hours meetup NYC.
In his free time he works as a contractor for startups focusing on agile development.
Find me on twitter @EliotArntz - I check my direct messages quite frequently.