Attention iPhone users: Apple is going to make sure Apple Watch is right in front of you, whether you re interested or not.
The latest update to iOS, which Apple released Monday afternoon, comes with an Apple Watch app that you can t get rid of.
The app, which Apple places on your primary home screen, if there s room, will allow Watch owners to connect their devices to their iPhones when Apple releases the gadget next month. It will also connect them to a special section of Apple s app store that will allow them to get Watch-compatible programs.
In the meantime, the app serves as an advertisement for Apple Watch, linking to Apple s Web page with information on the device. And an annoying one at that, since you can t delete it.
The Watch app is now a built-in app like the Safari Web browser or the Mail app, which means Apple considers it to be part of the operating system. So once you install the update, you re stuck with the app, even if you never plan on buying an Apple Watch.
Unfortunately, you likely won t want to skip the update. In addition to the Watch app, it includes numerous bug fixes and closes several important security holes. It also upgrades the new Health app, providing new options for measurement units and fixing numerous problems.
Apple didn t have to put the Watch app in this favored place. The company offers numerous apps such as Remote, which controls Apple TV, and the Pages word process that users can install or delete whenever they feel like it.
Of course, iPhone users do have another option. While they may not be able to delete the Watch app, they can still squirrel it away, by placing it on a home screen other than the main one or burying it within a folder.
Photo: Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces the Apple Watch at a company press event in September. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
