Apple to watchOS developers: make all apps native by 1 June

Support for original watchOS SDK to be discontinued soon, warns Apple

Apple has ordered watchOS developers to make apps submitted to the App Store from 1 June to be native, with the threat of rejection if they don't.

Developers have been able to publish native Watch apps since last June, shortly after the launch of the first Apple Watch, when Apple first made the watchOS 2 software developers kit (SDK) available.

This capability enables software to run on the Apple Watch without having to rely on a connected iPhone to do all the legwork, addressing one of the biggest complaints about the smartwatch and making for a better user experience.

Apple confirmed that all apps submitted from June must be native, hinting that it will reject Watch apps from the App Store if they don't comply.

Apple said in a note on its developer website: "Starting June 1 2016 all new watchOS apps submitted to the App Store must be native apps built with the watchOS 2 SDK or later."

The 1 June cut-off date is just two weeks away from Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference keynote, when the company is expected to unveil watchOS 3 alongside iOS 10 and OS X 10.12.

No new Apple Watch hardware is expected, however, with rumours instead hinting that Apple will launch its next smartwatch alongside the iPhone 7 in September.

We don't yet know much about the Apple Watch 2, but recent speculation claims it'll be "20 to 40 per cent thinner" than the original while using the same LG-made OLED screen and an added FaceTime camera.