Fandango announced late last night that its popular movie ticket buying service will be featured in a full-fledged Apple Watch app when the device launches on April 24.
Eagle-eyed viewers may have caught a glimpse of the app in yesterday's debut of the new ad for the Apple Watch, but the company's announcement brings more details on the online ticketing service's upcoming app for Apple's new wearable.
Ticket purchasing and checking out will still occur on Fandango's official website, according to the company, with the new Watch app acting mainly as a retainer for a user's purchased tickets. Following the syncing of a user's account on the Apple Watch, a "mobile barcode ticket" will appear on the Watch app, which the company says can be scanned by the ticket-taker at a movie theater for "easy access to the theater."
“Fandango continues to build award-winning iOS apps that leverage Apple’s latest technologies including Siri and Passbook, enabling fans to easily discover new movies, get the latest trailers, information and buy tickets,” said Fandango President Paul Yanover.
“We’re excited to be one of the first apps available for Apple Watch, which takes movie-going to a whole new level by providing quick access, once you’ve purchased tickets, to movie times, theater location and more movie info conveniently on your wrist. We think the Apple Watch will ignite consumer excitement and help build momentum for the category.”
The Fandango Apple Watch app won't just function as a glorified movie ticket, however, but will also remind users of upcoming showtimes related to their ticket purchases, provide directions to the theater, detail information on a chosen theater's amenities, and include a running "countdown-to-showtime" clock for those killing time before a matinee.
As the company points out, the launch date of the Apple Watch, and subsequently of the Fandango Apple Watch app, lies just a week ahead of the May 1 opening for Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron, and thus the numerous summer blockbusters premiering over the next few months.
Though ticket purchasing is still reliant on the Fandango website, and it's unclear whether every theater will accept the scannable barcode tickets, the simplicity of the new Fandango Watch app definitely looks like something movie-goers planning to invest in an Apple Watch should be excited for.
The Apple Watch will be up for pre-order on April 10, before its official launch two weeks later on April 24. Following yesterday's "Spring Forward" event, MacRumors has more information regarding the Watch's battery life, band options, and a curated list of all the new videos and most important news stories from the event.
