Záchranka for Apple Watch

With Záchranka, I got the chance to take the lead: help shape how the watch app worked, build a foundation I was happy with, and carry it from early discussions to working builds. It was the first professional project I led (not counting my bachelor’s thesis), and I was excited to take on that responsibility.

As part of MeguMethod, I built the Apple Watch companion for an app that helps people contact emergency services and share their location. It brings emergency actions, mountain rescue and location information to the wrist, with widgets and watch-face shortcuts for quick access.

I was the sole watch app developer, with a colleague reviewing my code, a designer working with me on screens and interactions, and a project manager handling budget and coordination. I worked directly with the client to figure out what could be achieved on watchOS, and where we would need a different approach.

Five apps, one foundation

The watch app needed to support five country apps, each with its own branding, emergency numbers and dispatch services. I kept their common behaviour in one shared core so improvements could carry across all five.

I also proposed reusing configuration from the existing iOS app, avoiding separate phone and watch configurations to maintain. To fit the work to the budget, the client’s team handled most of the preparation in the iOS shared code. I built the watch foundation while that was underway, then resolved the remaining compatibility issues and brought it together.

Figuring out what the watch could do

Widgets led to some of the toughest technical decisions. The client expected them to update the way the existing iPhone widgets did, but we couldn’t get the same behaviour on watchOS.

I had to work out a practical approach and explain the limits so we could agree on what someone would actually see on their watch. We settled on showing the best available location information between refreshes, combining scheduled background updates with updates triggered by the iPhone.

I enjoyed that part of leading the project: figuring out the options, talking through the tradeoffs, and making a decision together.

Shoutout to Luky

Luky is the best Figma designer I’ve worked with. His designs use components and thoughtful layouts, which makes them great and easy to build from. But what I appreciate most is how he takes our feedback and works with us to make the screens work in practice.

Apple watch is quite different that a phone screen. Not only is the size much smaller compared to an iPhone, but even the watch sizes themselves have a huge impact - who would have thought that 40mm is so much more restrictive than 42mm?

The screen for choosing which number to dial was a good example. The client wanted a lot of information on it, and even after trying different approaches, it just wouldn’t fit. Luky and I shortened the text and changed the layouts, putting labels inside the buttons instead of beside them. We worked towards a version that fit the watch and got the client’s signoff.

Getting the details right, then delivering

I wrote automated tests as I built the app. After a rebase, one of them caught a mountain-rescue flow selecting the wrong emergency number. I tracked it down to a change in the shared iOS code and flagged it with the client, who confirmed the bug.

I made sure the core emergency flow worked end to end, including when conditions weren’t ideal. Missing information shouldn’t get in the way when someone needs help.

After testing on a real watch and working through client feedback, I handed off working builds for all five country apps in October 2026. The client is preparing the release and handles final checks and deployment.

That’s what I’m proudest of: seeing my first project in the lead through to delivery, and discovering how much I enjoy shaping a product and taking responsibility for getting it done.