iWatch SDK already at Facebook & more say insiders

Apple has already given a small group of select developers access to its iWatch SDK, insiders claim, with Facebook said to be among those potentially readying demo software for the wearable. The decision to distribute the development kit under a tight NDA is believed to have been made so that Apple can demonstrate the sort of third-party functionality its much-rumored wearable will have at its event on Tuesday, September 9th.

Still, Facebook and the unnamed others haven't had long to ready their wares, at least according to 9to5Mac's sources. Access to the SDK was only granted "very recently," the site claims.

That probably won't matter too greatly, however, since Apple isn't expected to commercially launch the iWatch – or whatever the wearable ends up being called – until sometime in 2015. Instead, the opportunity will be to overshadow recent Android Wear smartwatches, like Motorola's Moto 360, which went on sale last week, as well as give developers a chance to begin coding for the new platform.

In that way, Apple could ensure that when the iWatch finally does hit retail, there'll be a range of applications and services ready and waiting to run on it.

Those apps will be released through an App Store or the platform, though it's not certain at this stage whether Apple will have a full, standalone store or simply devote a section of the existing iPhone store to iWatch-compatible titles.

The latter is how Google has managed such apps, with the companion Android Wear software for Android linking to a subsection in Google Play filled with suitable software.

While details of the iWatch SDK are unclear at this stage – and the toolkit itself likely still under development – it's expected to tap into several of iOS 8's headline features, such as HealthKit.

SOURCE 9to5Mac