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Apple Watch The Guardian

Guardian app introduces Apple Watch compatibility

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By John Glenday, Reporter

March 10, 2015 | 2 min read

The Guardian has become one of the first media platforms to embrace the Apple Watch with an update to its official app incorporating new wrist-based functionality.

Moments is described as being a ‘glanceable’ experience which can be personalised to flash breaking news, football results or specific stories to the wearer by moving away from generic content.

Key to this approach has been streamlining and simplifying layouts and content to squeeze onto the diminutive dimensions of the tiny screen, necessitating a need to drill down to only the most important information.

That approach took the form of three key aspects; notifications, glances and the full watch experience.

Outlining the approach to glance Helene Sears of the Guardian’s apps team remarked: “The glance feature offers a snapshot of the Moment available, with the option to tap through for more on the Watch app itself. At any time the reader can handoff to their phone for the full iPhone app experience of what they were looking at, ensuring a seamless reading experience optimised for the users context and behaviour.”

Her colleague Frank Hulley-Jones added: “We wanted to stick to the principle of keeping interactions light and focused. Reviews are a great example of this, as the headline and star rating tell you the minimum you need to know. If a reader wants more, they can turn to our phone app to get the full story.

“We used this to influence the look and feel of the watch app whilst keeping it consistent with the tones and branding used across the Guardian. It’s important that readers instantly recognise that they’re reading Guardian content, no matter what device they’re using.”

The Guardian promises that its app will continue to evolve with new functionality and is available to download now from the app store.

Apple Watch The Guardian

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