How would this feature work?
- A method would exist that would trigger the launch of another app, possibly by specifying an app ID.
- If the specified app is installed on the device, it would be launched.
- If the specified app is not installed on the device, an error would be returned so that the running app can handle the situation.
Why would this feature be useful?
This feature would be useful for apps that have complementary functionality. For example, let's say you have a to-do list app that syncs with a third-party web service; the app allows you to view a list of to-do items and check them off. Now let's say you wanted to create a complementary clock face, which shows only the top item on your to-do list. Ideally, these two complementary apps would be connected—i.e. tapping somewhere on the clock face would launch the to-do list app, where you can see the full list of to-do items.
Why not simply create a sub-view in the clock face?
Clock faces are much more limited in terms of interactivity. For example, vertical scrolling is not practical on a clock face because of interference with the notification menu (when swiping up from the bottom) and the music player (when swiping down from the top). Horizontal scrolling is not practical because this is also the mechanism for navigating from the clock face to the apps menu. Hardware buttons are also not programmable on clock faces (e.g. if you were to open a sub-view on a clock face, you wouldn't be able to use the "back" button to close it—instead you would need to provide a GUI element for exiting the sub-view). In short, clock faces are really only intended for simple interactions (e.g. tapping), while apps allow for more in-depth interaction. Being able to link from a clock face to a full-featured app would be very useful.
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