iWatch to Have Third-Party Apps, Pre-Release SDK Sent to Certain Developers

September 9th is coming and Apple seems to be pretty confident in their upcoming wearable,  dubbed iWatch by most.  With several leaks and mockups going around the web,  the iWatch is pretty much confirmed by everyone but Apple.  Mark Gurman reports that this upcoming iWatch will be able to run third-party applications.  Furthermore,  he goes on to say that this upcoming wearable will have a pre-installed App Store.  It’s unknown wether it’ll have a full-fledged App Store similar to the iPhone or iPad or wether it’ll have a section of the existing iPhone’s App Store.

The SDK will have deep integration with iOS 8’s extensions,  HealthKit,  and HomeKit API’s.  It’ll also make use of iOS 8’s core features such as Continuity,  Handoff,  Widgets and more.

The device is also rumored to have an Apple system-on-a-chip processor,  pulse readers,  and motion sensors. To help track your fitness. An NFC chip will also be included to help with Apple’s new mobile payment system.

This upcoming wearable will be fashionable,  yet function as a smart watch.  All smart watch’s up until this point,  have lacked the design aspect.  Most manufacturers sacrifice design to cram features and hardware into their watches.  It’ll be interesting to see how Apple plays it out.

Gurman writes:

A small handful of high-profile social network and services companies with apps on the iPhone and iPad App Store have already been seeded with a pre-release version of the Apple SDK (Software Development Kit) for wearables under strict non-disclosure agreements. One of the developers with access to the pre-release SDK is Facebook, according to a source. Facebook is also said to be finishing up work on an iOS 8-optimized version of its iPhone app with improved notifications. The social network is also experimenting with ways it can leverage the new Notification Center widget APIs.

Apple has been working with fashion,  fitness, medical sensors experts, and payment industry executives to build this device. It’ll be interesting to see wether or not this upcoming iWatch will live up to the hype.