Apple Watch may be ad-free, admits TapSense
In an update to Monday’s announcement of its new ad platform for Apple Inc.’s upcoming Apple Watch, TapSense has set the record straight over a number of key points contained in the original blog announcement. The platform will not integrate with Apple Pay, won’t display ads in watch faces and Apple may never actually allow them to serve ads on the Apple Watch.
The original announcement described an ad platform aimed at developers and brands alike featuring ‘hype-local’ targeting of ads, Apple Pay integration and new interactive ad formats like watch faces, glances & full-screen capabilities.
First spotted by Apple Insider, the update reveals that efforts by TapSense to serve ads to Apple Watch may be prevented by Apple’s development guidelines for the new wearable. The current Apple Watch Programming Guide is merely a preliminary document aimed at helping developers plan.
“Both Apple’s WatchKit SDK and the TapSense SDK are in Beta and APIs are subject to change,” TapSense said in the updated blog post. “As and when Apple makes the WatchKit guidelines available, we will review it carefully to ensure our SDK is both in compliance and approved by Apple.”
Apple Insider notes that under the development guidelines and APIs for iOS advertisers are prohibited from ad injection or popups on the iOS Home screen, within widgets in the Notification Center or to trigger system alerts for ads.
In the update TapSense concedes that these restrictions are likely to also apply to the Apple Watch, stating that, “the original post inaccurately mentions support for watch faces. Currently, the WatchKit SDK doesn’t provide developer access to watch faces.”
Originally touting the convenience and potential benefits of its Apple Pay integration, the company has clarified that, “Although Apple Pay integration with Apple Watch is a great convenience for the consumer, the TapSense SDK will not integrate directly with Apple Pay. To redeem a coupon from an ad, it would need to have a readable barcode that can be scanned at the point of sale, or the ad could be added to Passbook and then delivered to Apple Watch to be redeemed.”
For those who intend to buy an Apple Watch, and were concerned to learn about targeted ads coming to the wearable, there is a glimmer of hope that Apple will stand by its promise to value the privacy of its customers.
Image courtesy Apple
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