Apple launched the Apple Watch almost a month ago, with a massive number of app developers creating some innovative versions of their apps for the device - yet one that would sit perfectly within this new platform hasn’t yet made the leap.
We have been playing with the new Apple Watch here at Gourmet Pixel HQ for 4 whole weeks now and we love it. After working out how we use the watch, what kind of things we want to do with it, we also took time to reflect on what is missing in terms of apps from our fellow developer community.
It took very little discussion to realise that Spotify was the top app we felt was missing from the Apple Watch... so took a little time to get our thoughts out there as to what (when they do launch one) the Spotify app for Apple Watch should be like.
Spotify made a surprise announcement on May 20th that it had built a new feature aimed squarely at runners - Spotify Running. The Article in The Verge covers it in greater detail, but essentially Spotify takes your listening history and find perfect tracks for you, using your smartphone’s accelerometers / pedometers etc to work out your pace and load up tracks that match your running tempo.
Reading about this, and the fact that I have been using the built in Music app from Apple to control Spotify on my iPhone whilst running - made me think: “Spotify, why oh why have you not jumped in feet first with the Apple Watch????”
It wouldn’t be a hard thing to do, they just need to keep it simple. This is something that we have noticed here at Gourmet Pixel from the initial bad attempts from developers to port too many features of their iPhone apps into to Apple Watch.
With the Apple Watch you don’t use it as in input device as you do the phone or tablets. It is used for quick snippets of information, glance and crack on with what you were doing. The only inputs you want to make are quick and simple, like choosing a workout, or what playlist you wish to hear.
”LET’S MOCK IT UP” we thought...
So here we go, as mentioned - it should be simple. This shouldn’t be the place where you choose to add a track to a certain playlist, or create new playlists. You should simply be able to start playing your music ASAP.
We started with the menu, based upon a fairly standard model used throughout the Apple Watch. Nothing fancy, does the job. You can choose the new Running feature (Apple Watch / Fitness.... makes sense), or to listen to tracks via Albums, Artists, Songs, Playlists etc.
With the new Spotify Running feature, it would simply start logging your steps / pace and when it has a lock it would start playing a track based upon your tastes.
”Buttons” you say? No, no, no.
We left out any actual buttons, taking experience from the design of the Carswipes app we believe that the better solution, especially for someone on the move is gestures.
Simply tap to pause, tap again to play. Swipe left to skip to next track, right for previous. A nice additional feature we feel would benefit runners is to quickly at a glance check their heartbeat, distance and pace. They could do this by tapping with two fingers to scroll through these.
That is it, simple.
Let’s hope they are working on something like this..
Post A Comment:
0 comments: