Apple Watch
Human Interface Guidelines
Apple Watch represents a new chapter in the way people relate to technology. It’s the most personal device Apple has ever designed, and it enables new ways to receive information and to interact with apps.
As you design your Apple Watch app, understand the foundations on which Apple Watch itself was designed:
Lightweight interactions. Apple Watch was designed for quick interactions that efficiently use the size of the display and its position on the wearer’s wrist. Information
is quick and easy to access and dismiss. The best apps support fast, frequent interactions and focus on the content that people care
about the most.
Holistic design. Apple Watch was designed to blur the boundaries between device and software. For example, wearers use Force Touch and the Digital Crown to interact seamlessly with onscreen content. Your app should enhance the wearer’s perception that hardware and software are indistinguishable.
Personal communication.
Because Apple Watch is designed to be worn, its UI is attuned to the wearer’s presence. No other Apple device has ever been so closely connected to the user. Be mindful of this connection during the design process.
Gestures
User interactions on the Apple Watch display generate touch events and gestures, but unlike iOS apps, Apple Watch apps don’t handle these events directly. The system provides automatic responses for
all gestures and touch events, notifying your app only for taps in your interface.
Gestures include the following:
- Taps trigger action-based events in your app
- Vertical swipes scroll the current screen
- Horizontal swipes display the previous or next page in a page-based interface
- Left edge swipes navigate back to a parent screen in a hierarchical interface
Action methods are your chance to provide an appropriate response to tap gestures. When the wearer taps a button or other control, Apple Watch calls the action method provided by your app. Use that method to respond to the interaction and update your interface accordingly.
Force Touch
The Apple Watch display not only senses a touch, it senses the force applied by the wearer’s finger and responds accordingly. When pressed firmly, the Apple Watch display causes the current screen’s menu (if any) to appear. You can use a menu to present relevant actions to the wearer without taking space away from the current screen.
For more information, see Menus.
The Digital Crown
The Digital Crown lets people scroll content without obstructing their view of that content. Scrolling is the only supported Digital Crown interaction for apps, and the system automatically manages those interactions for you. Apps do not have direct access to the Digital Crown.
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Next App Components
Read about the components that people use to interact with content on Apple Watch