UK bookmaker William Hill has announced the launch of its Apple Watch-ready iOS update across nearly 100 countries – the same day as the Watch itself is rolled out.
The update will allow William Hill’s most technologically savvy customers to set their betting preferences, constantly be aware of the day’s top bets and place their wagers with just a couple of taps, the company says.
Director of innovation and customer experience Jamie Hart said: “We are all about constantly improving the experience for our customers. We have an Innovation Lab full of smart developers who focus on doing that every day. Now, using Glance functionality, William Hill punters can place a bet with just a couple of taps of the Watch – a UK first.”
He added: “We’re all about creating enjoyable and memorable experiences for customers – like placing your first Watch bet the same day as you’ve unboxed it. We’ve been at the vanguard with all kinds of innovations in online and mobile betting throughout our history so we were always going to make sure this was ready to go. As long as our customers are investing in new tech, devices and platforms, we’ll be developing things for them – always looking for unique ways to enhance the betting experience. The fascinating part for the team was establishing which functionality to bring to a wearable – what do punters want to see in Glance view, how do we give punters control of their bet but within a very short user journey?”
He continued: “An Apple Watch app has to be relevant to the wearable format – it can’t just be about extending your mobile app to the new device because you can. So we thought long and hard about what punters want to be able to do on top of the rich experience that they will still be accessing on their mobile – so, specifically, we’ve created a super-quick route to placing a bet, with just a couple of taps. And, we’ve incorporated a summary of top bets into the Glance view which lets users take a quick peek at the info that they need most frequently by sweeping upwards on your Watch. For our punters, top bets will be as accessible as the time or the weather forecast.”
