Apple to Preview Watch Developer Kit Next Month

Apple confirmed Wednesday that it will soon release a software development kit that will allow programmers to write apps natively for the Apple Watch.

Until now, developers have been able to customize their iPhone app to allow some actions to be taken on the watch, but haven’t been able to directly program on the phone.

Speaking at Code Conference, Apple operations chief Jeff Williams said the new development would allow games to run on the watch and would permit direct access to the sensors built into the watch.

“I’m a cyclist who uses Strava, so it will have access to the sensor,” Williams said. Apple has its main conference for developers coming up in two weeks’ time in San Francisco.

Williams also said that demand for the watch has been “fantastic” and that Apple has sold “a lot” of them, but declined to offer any specifics.

Asked whether Apple was influenced by other smartwatches that preceded its wearable, Williams acknowledged trying out the competition but said Apple’s project was independent of those.

“I wore them for short periods of time but lost interest,” Williams said. “That didn’t really help us figure out what we wanted to do.”

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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