Trouble converting a dependent watchOS app to an autonomous watchOS app without a companion app

Question

Created Mar ’23

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Followed the instructions found here: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/watchos-apps/creating-independent-watchos-apps#Convert-a-dependent-watchOS-app-to-an-independent-watchOS-app

Background:

We've created our project as a watchOS app with a companion iOS app. Since then, our requirements have changed and the watch app is functionally independent.
We now wish to release just the watchOS app to the app store as the iOS app is not really needed.
We would like to add back the iOS app separately later on, but for now we just want to figure out whats going on with the watch app itself.

Problem:

We keep running into this particular error:

The WatchKit app's Info.plist must have a WKCompanionAppBundleIdentifier key set to the bundle identifier of the companion app.
Domain: com.apple.dt.MobileDeviceErrorDomain
Code: -402652971

Sanity Checks:

We have checked the runs without iOS app option
We have removed the iOS app folder and removed it from the list of targets
We have also removed the wkcompanionappbundleidentifier key from the watch app's info.plist

Stack:

SwiftUI
Swift 5
Xcode 14.2

Any help on this would be amazing, thank you!

Boost

Answer 1

Frameworks Engineer OP

Apple

Mar ’23

Hi there! I think you're going down a route that isn't supported in trying to remove the iOS app. (While you could technically do it with some surgery on your project—you'd want WKWatchOnly, not WKRunsIndependentlyOfCompanionApp—I think you'd be rejected on submission to the App Store.) You have a couple options:

Leave the iOS app in place, and check the Runs Independently Of Companion iOS App box.
Remove your current app from sale, and start fresh with a new Watch-only app.

It sounds like the latter is what you really want. If you already have an iOS app that isn't really needed but is doing no harm, the first option should meet your needs just fine. The user can delete the iOS app if they don't want it, and the watchOS app will stay. (And if the user installs the app from the App Store on Apple Watch, the iOS app won't be installed at all.)

Hope that helps.

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