I work at night…deep into the night…usually until dawn, with little to distract me, except the 2am thumping of Oreo, our bunny…oh, and an occasional visit from a few fruit flies.
As I work this evening, a package is moving across the country. My Apple Watch is in transit as I type! It left Ontario, California at 7:28 pm and arrived in Louisville, Kentucky at 2:13 am.
I keep refreshing the UPS tracking page to see where it will go next.
Tonight, my watch and I are on a journey together.
- We are both hoping to achieve greatness.
- We both have incredible potential.
- Success is possible, but it depends on how well we execute our plans.
As a developer, I want to bring out the amazing potential of the Apple Watch. I’d love to make it do something no one thought it could do.
Leaving the University
Our destinies are tied together in many ways.
When Jill and I decided it was time for me to leave my full-time university job, the potential of the Apple Watch market factored heavily into my decision.
As app developers, we long for level playing fields.
We have a friend who made it big when the iPhone was young, and there weren’t as many apps on the market. His app was great to be sure, but having a greater demand vs. supply ratio helped as well, I’m sure.
The Proverbial Eggs in one Basket
When WatchKit was released, I thought only about the watch experience. I’m sure many developers have made this same mistake.
Then something funny happened as I started working on my first watch app.
The requirements of WatchKit dictated the direction I took. I racked my brain trying to come up with an entertainment idea that would work, but nothing seemed to work. There were just so many limitations it seemed.
Then once I finally came up with an idea and started duplicating it on the iPhone/iPad, I realized these limitations were actually a good thing.
It was at that point that I started focusing on the user experience more, and I was able to get to the essence of what would make my app great.
Eugene Jarvis, creator of the classic arcade game Defender, has said that the limitations of the hardware in the late 70’s/early 80’s actually helped to make his game great. I’ve never forgotten that.
The Right Path
I believe I am on the path I need to be on, and you know what? I no longer believe the watch portion of the app needs to be successful for our app to be successful. I believe the iPhone/iPad versions will stand on their own.
That’s an awesome feeling!
So whether the Apple Watch draws more attention to our app or not, I believe Streamside will eventually hit it big. I have an unwavering faith.
As Steve Jobs once said:
You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path.
I believe this with all my heart.
…and I can’t wait to make that watch shine!
