App Ops Desk · Issue #31

watchOS companion lockstep

Companion apps fail in the seams: phone updated, watch not; watch build requires a phone build you did not upload; deployment targets disagree quietly.

Read time: 5 min watchOS Versioning Pairs with Issues #1 and #11
One action this week: Write the phone↔watch compatibility rule for this release in one sentence and verify both binaries from the same archive train.

Lockstep checklist

  • Same release train / known-good pair recorded
  • Minimum phone version required by watch stated
  • Watch-only features degrade on phone-only installs
  • Connectivity failure UX tested once on hardware

Failure modes

  • Independent watch bump without phone store build
  • Assuming simulator pairs equal customer hardware
  • Forgetting Watch screenshots/metadata when features changed

Bottom line

Companions are a distributed system with two installers. Document the pair you actually tested.

Resources hub → Full library and jump-by-symptom links. Join the free list Product updates only. Founding checkout is separate and not live yet.

Get the next App Ops Desk issue

Free weekly release-ops briefs for solo iOS/macOS founders. Join the list.

Join the free list

Prefer the paid weekly brief? Founding members