14 DAY TRIAL // It’s no news that Microsoft plans to add support for smartwatches and other accessories in the Windows Phone platform, and the first step for this to happen would be the release of the necessary APIs.
And this has just happened with the release of the Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1, which apparently contains most of the APIs needed for an OEM to make sure their smartwatch or other accessory is supported by Microsoft’s mobile operating system.
As WPCentral points out, the new APIs found in Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1 have been listed on Pastebin, and some of these hint to support for smartwatches, which would enable devs to include in their apps features like phone calls management, alarms, reminders and notifications manager.
However, these APIs do not seem to be aimed at public developers yet, but rather to OEMs and hardware manufacturers. This means that the companies planning Windows Phone smartwatches will also be the ones to offer the necessary apps that would pair their accessories with smartphones.
It’s unclear if and when these APIs for smartwatches and other accessories will be opened for third-party developers, but regardless of that, Windows Phone users will definitely have access to smartwatches and other accessories in the not so distant future.