WatchKit

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Build apps that leverage watchOS features like background tasks, extended runtime sessions, and access to the Digital Crown using WatchKit.

Posts under WatchKit tag

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WKApplication、WKWatchKitApp
Validation failed Missing Info.plist value. A value for the key “WKApplication”, or “WKWatchKitApp” if your project has a WatchKit App Extension target, is required in “demo.app/demo.app” bundle. For details, see: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/watchkit/creating_independent_watchos_apps/setting_up_a_watchos_project (ID: 1***fc8) 我们APP中没有watchkit相关功能,但是在xcode16.3上传包的时候一直提示此错误?是什么原因?
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130
Jul ’25
Couple simple suggestions to make WKExtendedRuntimeSession a lot better
I just launched my watch app with alarms using WKExtendedRuntimeSession, as an api I wish it was possible to: set a small title/message on the alarm ui itself, right now all it displays is the "Alarm from < app name >" with the app icon, but it would be nice to be able to set a short 1~2 line message below it as well! be able to read the current scheduled date, right now it's only possible to know it's scheduled.
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84
Jul ’25
Using notifyUserWithHaptic for Background Alarms in Standalone Watch App
I’m building a standalone Apple Watch smart alarm app that should trigger alarms on the watch in response to Bluetooth or internet events. This means the app operates in the background and attempts to trigger an alarm when such an event occurs. As far as I know, the appropriate API for this is WKExtendedRuntimeSession.notifyUserWithHaptic:repeatHandler. However, I can’t seem to start an extended runtime session while the app is in the background. I’m getting the following error: -[WKExtendedRuntimeSession _invalidationReasonAndDelegateCallbackErrorForError:outCallbackError:]:729: WKExtendedRuntimeSession hit internal error. Error Domain=com.apple.CarouselServices.SessionErrorDomain Code=17 "startSession cannot be called on a scheduled session" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=startSession cannot be called on a scheduled session} Calling notifyUserWithHaptic directly also similarly fails. It seems notifyUserWithHaptic is intended to be scheduled during a foreground session to trigger at a later time, rather than being called ad hoc from a background context. Is there any way to create a proper alarm view on the Apple Watch from a background execution context?
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74
Jul ’25
Apple Watch Logs and Debugging
Developing a standalone app for the Apple Watch. Unless I turn off Bluetooth on the paired iPhone, the Apple Watch’s Wi-Fi deactivates every ~30 seconds, which causes the connection to Xcode to drop. How is this supposed to work? I can see my app’s logs in Xcode, but I can’t view any other system logs from the Apple Watch. I tried using the Console app, with the iPhone connected via USB, trusted, etc, but I don't see any system logs. How can I access full system logs? Thanks!
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153
Jul ’25
Fitness app not now show saved routes
When I set the distanceFilter = 5 (5 meters) in the GPS CLLocationManager I can't display the workout routes in the Apple Fitness app after writing the recorded GPS data to HealthKit via HKWorkoutRouteBuilder. The smaller distanceFilter, Fitness will displays the route. Should I consider setting up a small distanceFilter when developing a workout app on watchOS?
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116
Jul ’25
Maximise background update on WatchOS
I'm looking to maximise my Watch app's widget to be as up to date as possible. If we imagined the app was a simple step counter, and we wanted to display the users count as up to date as possible. We can conclude: We don't care about widget timelines beyond the current entry as we can't predict the future! We need to refresh the count as often as possible The refresh should be very quick with a straightforward HealthKit query, no networking or heavy work needed. We will assume the user has the complication/widget on their active Watch face. With the standard WidgetKit APIs we can expire the timeline after 15 minutes and in my experimentation a Watch app can usually update its widget timeline at that frequency if it's on the Watch face. I'm experimenting with two methods to try and improve refreshes further A user's step count might not have recently changed when the timeline update is called. I was therefore looking into the HealthKit enableBackgroundDelivery API (which requires the HealthKit Background Delivery entitlement to be enabled) to get updates limited to once an hour from a HKObserverQuery, I can then call the WidgetCenter.shared.reloadAllTimelines() from there. WatchOS also support the BGAppRefreshTaskRequest(identifier:"") and .backgroundTask(.appRefresh) APIs. I can request updates once every 15 minutes here too and then call the WidgetCenter.shared.reloadAllTimelines(). With option 1, this update opportunity is great as it will specifically update when there's new steps so even once an hour this would be helpful (A real shame to be limited to once an hour even if this used up WidgetKit standard reload budgets: FB13879817, FB11677132, FB10016177). But I can't determine if this update takes away one of the standard timeline expiration updates that already run 4 times an hour? Could I observe additional Health types to get additional updates? Do I need the Background Modes Capability as well as the HealthKit Background Delivery for this in Xcode or just the HealthKit one? With option 2, I can't find a suitable option in the (short) list of supported background modes in Xcode. Does not selecting any mean my app will get 0 refreshes from this route and so should not be implemented in my use case?
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143
Jun ’25
Update Complications in WatchOS from iOS using WatchConnectivity?
I'm trying to update data displayed in my Watch Complications (WidgetKit). I have an iOS app that sends data to the Apple Watch using WCSession.default.transferUserInfo. However, the data only updates on the complications or widgets after I open the watchOS app manually. Ideally, I'd like the Watch widget/complication to reflect the updated data as soon as it's sent from the iPhone, without requiring the user to open the Watch app.
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136
Jun ’25
Apple Watch Data to Server
I was wondering which is the preferred way to send a lot of data from sensors of the apple watch to server. It is preferred to send small chucks to iphone and then to server or directly send bulk data to server from watch. How does it affect battery and resources from watch ? Are there any triggers that I can use to ensure best data stream. I need to send at least once a day. Can I do it in background or do I need the user to have my app in the foreground ? Thank you in advance
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122
Jun ’25
Trying to deploy WatchOS 9.6 to a watch that is on 10.6
I have an Apple Watch 4. (GPS). It's on version 10.6. I'm trying to deploy a basic app onto it (IOS 18) (WatchOS 9.6). I've set the targets in General for Watch App, Watch AppTest, Watch AppUITest. I still get an Apple Watches watchOS doesn't match App Watch app.app watch02 9.6 deployment target. Upgrade users Apple Watch watchOS version or lower app app.apps deployment target. What can I do to fix this?
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118
Jun ’25
Background communication of Apple Watch
I am currently developing an app for the Apple Watch. In RTPController.swift, I handle the sending, receiving, and playback of audio, and the specific processes are as follows: Overview of the current implementation: Audio processing: Audio processing is performed by setting the AVAudioSession to the playAndRecord category and voiceChat mode within RTPController, and by activating the AVAudioEngine. Audio reception: RTP packets (audio data) are received over the network within the setupConnection() method of RTPController. Audio playback: The received audio data is passed to the playSound(data:) method and played back through the AVAudioEngine and AVAudioPlayerNode. Xcode Capabilities settings: Signing &amp;amp; Capabilities Background Modes: Audio, AirPlay, and Picture in Picture Voice over IP Workout processing Privacy descriptions in Info.plist: Privacy - Health Share Usage Description Privacy - Health Update Usage Description Privacy - Health Records Usage Description Question 1: When the digital crown is pressed during a call, a message appears on the screen stating, "End Call to Continue," and the call cannot be moved to the background. As a result, it is not possible to operate other apps while on a call. Is this behavior due to the specifications of CallKit? Question 2: Our app stops communication when it goes into the background, but the walkie-talkie app on the Apple Watch can transition to the background by pressing the digital crown during a call, allowing it to continue receiving and playing the other party's audio while in the background. To achieve background transition during a call and audio reception and playback in the background, is the current implementation of RTPController and the enabled background modes insufficient? Best regards.
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115
Jun ’25
Launching an apple watch app from the companion app
Hi, as stated in the title I'm trying to launch a watchOS app from its companion iOS app. My issue is very similar to this post: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/734362 The response from apple in that post says that it is not possible, but I have found it to be possible for media apps. Specifically if you turn Settings > General > Auto-Launch > Live Activities > Media Apps and turn Auto-Launch to "App". My app is for medical research and having this available would be very helpful for our testing. I need the app to be fully in the foreground. Is there a way to get specific permissions for our app to do this? Am I missing something? I've tried starting a workout session to accomplish this, but it only seems to work when the watch is charging. Any feedback is appreciated, thank you.
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106
Jun ’25
Confused by what is allowed for System Level Apple Watch Bluetooth Connection. Does it require MFi or are there only some BLE chips allowed?
Hello. I am building a BLE device that is Activity Fitness based and would like a "System Level" BLE connection on WatchOS using an ESP32 (I have built a test of this on the firmware side). Meaning I do not want my iOS app to pass the BLE connection to the WatchOS app. It seems like these App Level connections do not get as many background updates as a System Level connection, and also requires the WatchOS app to be launched to connect to the BLE device The System Level BLE connection (WatchOS Settings > BLE > Health Devices) allows for auto connection in the background, and gets more reliable background communication between the BLE device and the Apple Watch On the Apple MFi Page it only mentions iOS: From Apple MFi Page: :: Who does NOT need to join - Developers and manufacturers of accessories that connect to an Apple device using only Bluetooth Low Energy, Core Bluetooth, or standard Bluetooth profiles supported by iOS Does this apply to WatchOS as well? So, if I am making an BLE device that is Activity Based, and has one of the allowable Health Device UUIDs, is the BLE System Connection allowed using any BLE chip? Including say an ESP32 I have built a test BLE firmware that is a Health Device UUID, and the WatchOS sees it as a health device Is this fine then? No need for MFi application and also no need to worry about which BLE chip is used? thanks
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100
May ’25
Unable to install iOS & watchOS app to iPhone, because of intents change
I've been happily building and deploying my app to my iPhone and Watch S8, and the app was ready to submit to App Store Connect last night. However, when archiving it I got an error saying that my DynamicEventSelectionIntent was in multiple extensions. It was, kind of. When I started working on the complications I copied the Widgets intents into the complications, and left the name the same, but they were not in multiple targets. It looks like the info plist only had one item in the IntentsSupported (because they're the same name), so I decided to rename them so I had a widget one and a complications one. The problem I have now is that I can't deploy to my iPhone and Watch anymore because I'm getting this error: This app contains a WatchKit app with one or more Siri Intents app extensions that declare IntentsSupported that are not declared in any of the companion app's Siri Intents app extensions. WatchKit Siri Intents extensions' IntentsSupported values must be a subset of the companion app's Siri Intents extensions' IntentsSupported values. All I've done is rename one intent, and locate every instance of it in the info plist files, and add the appropriate new one into the right places. Here's what I've got. Main App contains Widget and WidgetIntentHandler, plus Watch App, which contains Complications and ComplicationsIntentHandler. Target: Main app: (I've removed everything that has no bearing on extensions.) Target: Widget: Target: WidgetIntentHandler: Target: Watch App: Target: Complications: Target: ComplicationsIntentHandler: Please, can someone tell me what should and should not be in the various parts, as I've tried for 12 hours now and I cannot get this to deploy to my iPhone anymore :( Thanks.
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2.3k
May ’25
Can't change iPhone watch app complication picker app name
I have an objective-c watch app and have added a swift widget style compilation to it and am having problems. The complication works fine but the name in the iPhone watch app complication picker stubbornly remains as the watchkit app name despite me trying various ways of changing it. Here are the various CF bundle name and display name values I am using: phone app values CFBundleIdentifier - com.Distribution-Systems-Associates.Tennis-Watch-v1 CFBundleName - $(PRODUCT_NAME) CFBundleDisplayName - Tennis Scorekeeper watchkit app CFBundleIdentifier - com.Distribution-Systems-Associates.Tennis-Watch-v1.watchkitapp CFBundleName - Tennis Scorekeeper CFBundleDisplayName - Tennis Scorekeeper WatchKit extension CFBundleIdentifier - com.Distribution-Systems-Associates.Tennis-Watch-v1.watchkitapp.watchkitextension CFBundleName - Tennis Scorekeeper CFBundleDisplayName - Tennis Scorekeeper __Watchkit complication __ CFBundleIdentifier - com.Distribution-Systems-Associates.Tennis-Watch-v1.watchkitapp.watchkitextension.Tennis-Watch-V1-Complication Changing the values in the complication doesn't seem to matter. Every other name in both my iPhone and watch apps are as expected. ChatGPT suggested that I try adding a localized name in the watchkit app but that didn't seem to do much of anything useful. I have run this though Chat quite a bit to see if I could get any accidental insights that way and while it has been interesting, it has also been not terribly helpful. I didn't post any of the complication code because that seems to be fine. However, I can do that if needed. The complication works as intended (starts the app). The various names everywhere else show up as intended. It's just that this one name refuses to be overridden. Thoughts?
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144
May ’25
no option for "Extended Runtime Session"
How can I enable "Extended Runtime Sessions" for a companion watch app? Here https://developer.apple.com/documentation/watchkit/using-extended-runtime-sessions in targets under 'Signing & Capabilities' I checked "Audio" and Session Type 'Mindfulness', I created an ExtendedRuntimeManager.swift file. When running a simulation the error message says "Extended Runtime Session ungültig: Reason=-1, Error=This application does not have appropriate permissions to schedule a session." How does the app get the 'appropriate permissions'?
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112
May ’25
WatchOS app not downloaded from appstore
This is a bit of a headscratcher. Xcode 16 fyi. I've written a standalone watchos app (with a stub ios app). Distributes and works perfectly over Testflight. I've submitted for app store and it passed the checks an I've released it for sale. Told my brother to use a promo code to download it and show me how it looks and report me any nuisances. He tells me there's no app neither on phone (expected) nor in watch. And he checked both the Watch ios app list and the watch. I've gone through various GPTs and they've all told me the basic troubleshooting. That his watch might not be supported (wrong, it's a watch 10 ultra with latest updates and my min supported versions are hilariously low). They've suggested that I might not have the right keys for making it standalone set, also no. They suggested that skip_install shouldn't be set to no; also wrong I think they're thinking xcode 13 and below. The stub ios app has a dependency on watchos app and also has an embed directive. I also checked the archive and saw the watchos app embedded indeed. Again, the app works perfectly fine when distributed over testflight. And AFAIK that's a release build which I know for a fact because I had a problem with not giving healthkit entitlements to release (that was another but minor headscratcher at the time, when it was working over direct xcode upload). Minor detail, I've written, test(flight)ed the app in UK and in English, my brother is in Turkey. Of course now I immediately pulled the app out of sale because I don't want people paying and getting nothing, that's gonna cause a lot of trouble. So I need any help I can get to How to debug this without exposing the app and myself: is it possible to limit the release? Obviously: what could be going wrong? How the hell did I even pass app review? Is this maybe isolated to my brother's watch? I'm more than happy to share project files and/or info.plist files(end products of them, because my plists are generated from project file).
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179
Apr ’25
Calling from Watchos
I am working with a watchOS app in SwiftUI, and I am using the following code to dial a phone number from the watch: var number = "123456789" if let telURL = URL(string: "tel:\(number)") { let wkExtension = WKExtension.shared() wkExtension.openSystemURL(telURL) } The issue is that when I try to dial a number starting with a * (asterisk) or # (hash), it doesn't work. When dialing a regular number, it works fine. Is there any way to get this to work?
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Apr ’25
SchemeBuildError: Failed to build the scheme
I have an iOS app, and I am trying to add a companion WatchOS app. My iOS app depends on 2 libraries: GoogleMobileAds FirebaseAnalyticsWithoutAdIdSupport When I add a new target for WatchOS, the preview build starts to fail. I am not adding any libraries to WatchOS. The Google Ads and Firebase Analytics libs are only under the iOS target. I am unable to run the preview, I get an error when trying to build the watch scheme. The preview does not work. The build just crashes. I've included the error log below. But, here are the steps I've tried so far: Delete folders inside Derived Data Run a clean build (Cmd + Option + Shift + K) Delete scheme and create a new one Reset Package Cache Restart Xcode Restart Macbook But, it just does not work. I do not understand why the watchOS target is erroring for "GoogleUserMessagingPlatform" and "GoogleMobileAdsTarget" when those packages are not linked/used for the watchOS. SchemeBuildError: Failed to build the scheme “timerWatch Watch App” While building for watchOS Simulator, no library for this platform was found in '/Users/k/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/timer-dhkdhvfcqtfgskfdxpmupujswtuh/SourcePackages/artifacts/swift-package-manager-google-user-messaging-platform/UserMessagingPlatform/UserMessagingPlatform.xcframework'. (in target 'UserMessagingPlatformTarget' from project 'GoogleUserMessagingPlatform') Build target UserMessagingPlatformTarget: /Users/k/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/timer-dhkdhvfcqtfgskfdxpmupujswtuh/SourcePackages/artifacts/swift-package-manager-google-user-messaging-platform/UserMessagingPlatform/UserMessagingPlatform.xcframework:1:1: error: While building for watchOS Simulator, no library for this platform was found in '/Users/k/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/timer-dhkdhvfcqtfgskfdxpmupujswtuh/SourcePackages/artifacts/swift-package-manager-google-user-messaging-platform/UserMessagingPlatform/UserMessagingPlatform.xcframework'. (in target 'UserMessagingPlatformTarget' from project 'GoogleUserMessagingPlatform') Build target GoogleMobileAdsTarget: /Users/k/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/timer-dhkdhvfcqtfgskfdxpmupujswtuh/SourcePackages/artifacts/swift-package-manager-google-mobile-ads/GoogleMobileAds/GoogleMobileAds.xcframework:1:1: error: While building for watchOS Simulator, no library for this platform was found in '/Users/k/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/timer-dhkdhvfcqtfgskfdxpmupujswtuh/SourcePackages/artifacts/swift-package-manager-google-mobile-ads/GoogleMobileAds/GoogleMobileAds.xcframework'. (in target 'GoogleMobileAdsTarget' from project 'GoogleMobileAds')
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Apr ’25
WatchOS Xcode 16.4 to sample live RR intervals from the PPG sensor ERROR
Hi, I am getting an error stating "Argument passed to call that takes no arguments". I want this Apple Watch App to measure and store RR Intervals from the PPG sensor on the Apple Watch for Heart Rate Variability calculations. Please help me fix this, I can't figure it out. Here is my code: heartbeatQuery = HKHeartbeatSeriesQuery(predicate: predicate, dataReceivedHandler: { (query, timeSinceLastBeat, ended, error) in // Switch to main thread for UI updates DispatchQueue.main.async { if let error = error { print("Heartbeat query error: (error.localizedDescription)") self.fetchErrorMessage = "Heartbeat query error: (error.localizedDescription)" // Consider stopping the workout session if the query fails critically // self.stopWorkoutSession() return } if ended { print("Heartbeat query indicates series ended.") } // Append valid RR intervals if timeSinceLastBeat > 0 { self.rrIntervals.append(timeSinceLastBeat) self.beatCount += 1 } } // End DispatchQueue.main.async }) // End query data handler // --- END OF PROBLEMATIC INITIALIZER --- // Execute the query if it was created successfully It recommends the fix as removing this part: '(predicate: predicate, dataReceivedHandler: { (query, timeSinceLastBeat, ended, error) in // Switch to main thread for UI updates DispatchQueue.main.async { if let error = error { print("Heartbeat query error: (error.localizedDescription)") self.fetchErrorMessage = "Heartbeat query error: (error.localizedDescription)" // Consider stopping the workout session if the query fails critically // self.stopWorkoutSession() return } if ended { print("Heartbeat query indicates series ended.") } // Append valid RR intervals if timeSinceLastBeat > 0 { self.rrIntervals.append(timeSinceLastBeat) self.beatCount += 1 } } // End DispatchQueue.main.async })' But after I remove that it says "Cannot assign value of type 'HKHeartbeatSeriesQuery.Type' to type 'HKHeartbeatSeriesQuery'" PLEASE HELP ME Thanks
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Apr ’25
How to run HKWorkoutSession on watch without affecting activity rings?
My research group is using watch sensors (accelerometers, gyroscopes) to track wrist motion to detect and measure eating. https://cecas.clemson.edu/ahoover/bite-counter/ We are running an HKWorkoutSession on the watch so that the app can run for an extended period of time (up to 12 hr) and continue to sense and process motion data. Our app is adding to the activity rings, making it look like the user is exercising the entire time our app is running. Is there a method to prevent our app from contributing to the activity ring measures?
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Apr ’25