Are iPhone's apps notifications going to be triggered on the Apple Watch by default, without even creating an actual Watch app?

Question

I would like to support my iPhone's app Local Notifications in the Apple Watch from the very first moment the Watch is released, but I don't plan on building a Watch App yet. From what I researched, it seems like iPhone's notifications will be automatically supported on the Watch, without needing any additional development or WatchKit implementation.

Apps are not required to do anything to support notifications. The system provides a default notification interface that displays the alert message from the notification. However, apps can customize the notification interface and include custom graphics, content, and branding.

Is this correct?

If so: 1. Will notifications on the Watch have action buttons just like configured for the iPhone app? 2. Is there any way I can test that on the simulator to be sure it works as expected?

If not: 3. Is there any way to support only notifications without creating a Watch app?

This is the more related question I found so far, but it's not really what I'm looking for. How to trigger notifications using WatchKit

Answer 1

I would like to support my iPhone's app Local Notifications in the Apple Watch from the very first moment the Watch is released

Yes notifications for your iOS application will work from day one on Apple Watch.

Will notifications on the Watch have action buttons just like configured for the iPhone app?

If your iOS app already supports actionable notifications they will work with Apple Watch.

Is there any way I can test that on the simulator to be sure it works as expected?

Good question actually, you can't test your current iOS app's notifications working on the simulator but you can test a custom notification interface from WatchKit.

You should file a feature request for this.

Is there any way to support only notifications without creating a Watch app?

No, you'll need to provide a sample Notification JSON payload as part of an WatchKit Bundle, which requires submitting an Apple Watch app.