Since watchOS 2.0 was released, various developers have been playing around with the software and getting game clones like 'Canabalt' y 'Flappy Bird', work well native on the Apple Watch, using frameworks like UIKit and SpriteKit, which Are not avaliables for Apple Watch app developers.
One of the main features that Apple has added to watchOS 2, is the ability for developers to create applications native running Apple Watch, without needing an iPhone. But as it turns out, developers are not able to use the more advanced frameworks available in iPhone applications such as UIKit, SpriteKit, and SceneKit.
Last week, developers Steven Troughton-Smith, Adam Bell, and Jay Freeman (Saurik), they were able to install applications, using UIKit and SceneKit, to make applications work natively, as we detail in this article. In the video below, we show you the endless runner 'Canabalt', is shown working natively on the Apple Watch.
Developer Hamza Sood, has also been playing around with watchOS 2, and has tweeted that he has been able to install natively on the Apple Watch, a Flappy Bird clone. He also went further, adding that it can be play by touch, Y controls on the Digital Crown.
Hacked a Flappy Bird clone onto Apple Watch with native SpriteKit rendering, touch / crown control, SFX through speaker pic.twitter.com/U1cavXb7SN
- Hamza Sood (@hamzasood) June 16, 2015
The developers still they don't have Apple's permission, these functionalities on the watch, but the hacked games, give a glimpse of what the device might be able to do on the future. WatchOS 2, is scheduled to be released in the autumn, will allow developers to create native apps They work with the clock, instead of the iPhone, but without the frames used in the previous examples. WatchOS 2 also gives developers access to the Digital Crown, microphone, and various sensors in the watch, including the heart rate monitor, accelerometer.