From the very first time you put on a new Apple Watch and activate it, it takes just a moment before you realize that you stand with a cornucopia of possibilities on your arm.
Apple delivers Apple Watch with the awesome operating system watchOS, an intelligent user interface and a host of great apps right out of the box.
That being said, there is a whole world of third-party apps waiting to be explored and that’s exactly what we are going to do.
How to Find Apps for Apple Watch
Apple offers direct access to the App Store from your Apple Watch and the good thing about that is two-fold.
You will only see apps made for Apple Watch and you can download the apps directly from the watch to the watch.
In reality, however, the App Store on Apple Watch must still be perceived as being in the development phase.
The number of apps is limited and so are the search options. For example, you can only use the Scribble feature to search with if the language is set to English or Chinese and otherwise you are directed to use Dictation.
What Is ‘Scribble’?
‘Scribble’ is a way of entering text into Apple Watch.
If an app requires text and allows the Scribble feature, you simply write the letters, one by one, on the watch face with your finger and it will be turned into text.
Moreover, many Apple Watch apps must be activated from the iPhone first before you can use them on the watch.
Conclusively the best way to find apps for your Apple Watch is from iPhone, but of course you can easily use Apple Watch’s own App Store as a complementary option.
10 Good Apps for Apple Watch
So let’s get started with the fun!
The list is composed of 10 third-party apps for Apple Watch and represents a wide variety of app types you can download and use with your Apple Watch.
This is a third part app that will track your sleep and provide you with daily reports on the quality of your sleep.
If you wear your Apple Watch to bed, as I do, AutoSleep will be able to analyse your sleep and give you valuable information about when you were in deeper or lighter sleep, your heart rate curve and how much time you were awake / in disrupted sleep.
On your iPhone you will have access to even more data.
Now, AutoSleep will tear on the battery during the night, but you can reduce the power consumption by turning Cinema Mode on before you go to sleep.
By doing so, you also make the screen blank to avoid annoying light from your watch.
Free: No.
In-App Purchases: No.
Arcadia is a package containing twelve 80’s-style arcade games.
If you grew up with personal computers in the 1980s, you will instantly recognize the style of these games.
Even the classic Space Invaders found its way to this package and most of the games are actually quite entertaining and give you that genuine retro feeling.
Now, these games are not meant to keep you entertained for hours, but to kill 5-10 minutes while waiting for your bus or train.
Free: No.
In-App Purchases: No.
In my opinion one of the best password managers out there.
Basically you enter a new password into your iPhone and then you send the password to your watch.
You don’t have access to any form of editing features on the watch, so all editing happens on your iPhone.
For me I simply like the idea of having all my passwords with me even if I don’t have my iPhone nearby, so I’m happy with that.
Free: Yes.
In-App Purchases: Yes.
A translator right there on your arm.
You can choose between 38 languages and it’s super easy to use.
On the home screen you press the flag representing the language you’ve selected and then you can use either Dictation or the Scribble feature to enter the text you want to have translated.
Free: Yes.
In-App Purchases: Yes.
As trivial as this app may sound, it’s actually quite useful.
Not only does it show a graph of the battery level, but it also learns your habits to make smart predicitions on what your future battery levels will be.
This allows you to better plan when to next charge your watch.
Free: No.
In-App Purchases: No.
If you have just a little bit of astronomy in you, you will love Night Sky.
As expected, the possibilities are limited when compared to the iPhone edition, but Night Sky provides both information on the positions of the planets in the sky and the most well-known constellations.
When you hold the watch up to the sky, Night Sky tells you exactly what it is you’re looking at.
Free: Yes.
In-App Purchases: Yes.
I’m not exactly the fitness type of person, but I do appreciate a good walk once in a while, so at least I like to know how many steps I’m taking on daily basis as I know this number will influence my state of physical health.
Now, Apple has already done Activity than can do this and more, but with Pedometer you can have the complication show you the number of steps without touching your watch first.
Practical and very motivational too.
Free: Yes.
In-App Purchases: Yes.
A kind of memory-challenging game for Apple Watch including the games Rush Back, Combiblox and Dot Rush.
Geometry is the main theme of these games.
Free: Yes.
In-App Purchases: Yes.
Another game that deals with memory puzzles, numbers, equations, colors and various visual challenges.
You can even take the daily Brain Test which at the end of the test will tell you your Brain Age.
Similar to the Arcadia games you will play this game at moments when there’s nothing better to do.
Free: No.
In-App Purchases: No.
Fine app that helps you locate the nearest Restaurants, Bars, Coffee Shops and more.
When you’ve found an interesting place you can tap it and get more information like Hours Open, Location and Map.
If you tap the map Yelp will provide you with turn-by-turn directions.
The mobile version is more advanced and gives you more options.
Free: Yes.
In-App Purchases: No.
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