"Wearable First" - the New "Mobile First"

As at the screen sizes change -- the way we communicate also has to change. Not only how we communicate with one another but also the way we interact with apps and "stuff" (meaning IoT) around us.
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Young woman wearing smartwatch using laptop computer. Female working on laptop in an outdoor cafe.
Young woman wearing smartwatch using laptop computer. Female working on laptop in an outdoor cafe.

As at the screen sizes change -- the way we communicate also has to change.
Not only how we communicate with one another but also the way we interact with apps and "stuff" (meaning IoT) around us.

The new ways users interact make us (developers) learn to create new app usage scenarios from scratch.

Here are a few thoughts on how this works for apps on wearables:

"Wearable First" -- the new "Mobile First".

The screen sizes are changing and a generation of folks for whom wearables are a "normal thing" are being raised. Wearable first is something we are going to see appearing more and more in the next few years.

* It's not that you create an iOS app first and then all of a sudden you get the werable part right.
If you are thinking of creating a wearable experience -- focus on it.

Forget about mobile- make the wearable part work great and mobile will follow.

It's so much easier to stretch the interface for a mobile screen than fit the mobile interface into a wearable.

* Something that works on mobile will not be working with the same success on a wearable.

The fact that you have solved a mobile user's problem doesn't mean that wearable device owners will be happy with the solution.
The screen sizes change and the problems to be solved also change.

Lockscreen is the new timeline.

If any of you had a chance to use a smartwatch- you know what I mean.
You get notifications and react to them straight from your wrist - this is the main area used on the watch.

If everything is happening on the lock screen - do you always need to build an actual app when guys like Telegram, Messenger, Chill, etc. provide you with all the tools you need to create one tap lockscreen experiences?

"We are planning to support all major messaging platforms, especially b2b oriented: Slack, HipChat, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, etc. It is a great way to reach an existing audience and stay in touch with your customers.

Bots are the future of wearables. We are looking to create wearable - focused experiences for StatsBot where you can get and interact with all your the data received at a glance from your wrist which excites us the most."

Statsbot team - building analytic Bot for Slack

"I think bots will definitely change the way we consume news and interact with apps - especially with smartwatches. Bots will be a way for many players to engage with their users in a new format- without a need to build a smartwatch app."

Ed Moyse - founder of JournoRequests

Messaging platform are becoming very important.

You can compare them to an OS where bots are taking the place of apps. This is the new experience users are getting used to, it takes 0 space on the home screen, is easy to install and interact with from the lockscreen. Boom! 💥

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Hope you guys enjoyed the read. Happy to hear your thoughts.

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