# watchOS apps Build watchOS apps that combine complications, notifications, and Siri to create a personal experience on Apple Watch. ## Overview Apple Watch provides easy access to vital information on someone’s wrist. The watchOS experience focuses on quick actions that achieve useful tasks through brief, punctuated interactions.  On Apple Watch, keep interactions as short as possible. Provide vital information at a glance, encouraging the wearer to respond with just a few taps, and then drop their wrist and move on. They don’t need to wait to see if the action succeeds; instead, the watchOS app automatically notifies them of any important updates. For watchOS, expect to spend more time planning, designing, and refining your app’s experience than writing the actual code. For design guidance, see [Designing for watchOS](https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/platforms/designing-for-watchos/). When designing a watchOS app, mix a combination of the following technologies to create a richer experience. ## The watchOS app The main app serves as the foundation for your watchOS app experience. Anyone can launch and interact with your app directly. However, the app’s interface isn’t necessarily the primary way people interact with your app. Many may prefer to interact through complications or notifications, and may never explicitly launch your app.  ## Complications Complications provide small glimpses into your app’s data directly on the watch face. People can add complications to most watch faces, but space is limited. Design complications to show information that is timely, up to date, and useful. People can also launch the watchOS app quickly and easily by tapping a complication.  ## Notifications Use notifications to alert people of significant events. You can also provide actions so that people can respond immediately without opening your app. You can use either local or remote notifications to communicate, even when your app isn’t running.  ## Siri Use SiriKit and App intents to expand the ways people can interact with your app. If your app uses domains like messaging or media, use to add Siri support to your app. For other features, use to expose your app’s functionality to system services like Siri and the Shortcuts app.  ## Topics ### Essentials Create your first watchOS app. [Creating an intuitive and effective UI in watchOS 10](/documentation/watchOS-Apps/creating-an-intuitive-and-effective-ui-in-watchos-10) Provide an even more streamlined, consistent, and glanceable user experience with new design features. [Updating your app and widgets for watchOS 10](/documentation/watchOS-Apps/updating-your-app-and-widgets-for-watchos-10) Integrate SwiftUI elements and watch-specific features, and build widgets for the Smart Stack. [Building a watchOS app](/documentation/watchOS-Apps/building_a_watchos_app) Set up your app’s life cycle and create its user interface with SwiftUI. [Migrating to a single-target watchOS app](/documentation/watchOS-Apps/migrating-to-a-single-target-watchOS-app) Adopt the single-target configuration to simplify your project and avoid ambiguity about where to store resources and apply entitlements. ### App experience Craft a complete app experience on the wearer’s wrist. [Setting up a watchOS project](/documentation/watchOS-Apps/setting-up-a-watchos-project) Create a new watchOS project or add a watch target to an existing iOS project. [Creating independent watchOS apps](/documentation/watchOS-Apps/creating-independent-watchos-apps) Set up a watchOS app that installs and runs without a companion iOS app. [Keeping your watchOS content up to date](/documentation/watchOS-Apps/keeping-your-watchos-app-s-content-up-to-date) Ensure that your app’s content is relevant and up to date. [Updating watchOS apps with timelines](/documentation/watchOS-Apps/updating-watchos-apps-with-timelines) Seamlessly schedule updates to your user interface, even while it’s inactive. [Authenticating users on Apple Watch](/documentation/watchOS-Apps/authenticating-users-on-apple-watch) Create an account sign-up and sign-in strategy for your app. [Enabling the double-tap gesture on Apple Watch](/documentation/watchOS-Apps/enabling-double-tap) Customize your app’s response to the double-tap gesture on Apple Watch. ### Accessibility Build accessibility into your app’s initial design. For a detailed discussion about helping a wide range of people more easily interact with your app, see . [Create accessible experiences for watchOS](/documentation/watchOS-Apps/create-accessible-experiences-for-watchos) Learn how to make your watchOS app more accessible. ### User interface Design an adaptive interface that highlights your app’s most important data. For a detailed discussion about building user interfaces, see . [Building a productivity app for Apple Watch](/documentation/watchOS-Apps/building-a-productivity-app-for-apple-watch) Create a watch app to manage and share a task list and visualize the status with a chart. [Supporting multiple watch sizes](/documentation/watchOS-Apps/supporting-multiple-watch-sizes) Customize the layout of your user interface to support all Apple Watch sizes. [Designing your app for the Always On state](/documentation/watchOS-Apps/designing-your-app-for-the-always-on-state) Customize your watchOS app’s user interface for continuous display. [Setting the app’s accent color](/documentation/watchOS-Apps/setting-the-app-s-accent-color) Set your app’s accent color. ### Complications Use WidgetKit to create complications on the watch face that provide quick access to useful information from your app. For a detailed discussion on creating and updating complications, see . ### Notifications Use notifications to string together longer workflows. [Notifications](/documentation/watchOS-Apps/notifications) Communicate with users even when your app isn’t running. ### Siri Build a voice-based interface for your app. For a detailed discussion about exposing your app’s features to system services like Siri and the Shortcut app, see and . ### Health and fitness Create health and fitness apps for watchOS. For detailed information about designing health and fitness apps, see . ### Runtime management Extend your watch’s ability to run even when no one is interacting with it. For the complete API, see . ### Network requests Download information directly to the watch. For a detailed discussion about downloading and uploading data, see . [Making default and ephemeral requests](/documentation/watchOS-Apps/making-default-and-ephemeral-requests) Send requests from your app when it’s running in the foreground. [Making background requests](/documentation/watchOS-Apps/making-background-requests) Send requests from your app when it’s running in the background. ### Unit tests Build and run unit tests for your watchOS app. For a detailed discussion about creating unit tests, see . [Setting up tests for your watchOS app](/documentation/watchOS-Apps/setting-up-tests-for-your-watchos-app) Configure your watch-only project with unit tests and user interface tests. --- Copyright © 2026 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. | [Terms of Use](https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/terms/site.html) | [Privacy Policy](https://www.apple.com/privacy/privacy-policy)