Did you know that there are well over 10,000 apps that will interact with the Apple Watch in some form or another? These apps can do anything from running natively on the watch itself, to sending the wearable notifications and alerts. Most of them work just fine without a connecting iPhone too, which is important because you may not always have your phone on you.
Of course, not all of those apps are worthy enough to be installed on your shiny new watch, just like all the apps available in the iTunes store aren’t worthy enough to be on your iPhone. You have to pick and choose the most useful, and most relevant apps to you.
Now that Apple’s WatchOS 2 is available and Apple Watch applications can run independently – without an iPhone connected – we thought it would be a good idea to take a look at some of the best apps on the platform.
The Best Apple Watch Apps for WatchOS 2
Citymapper
Provided you live in one of the cities where this app offers coverage, it’s an extremely useful service to have on your smartwatch. Cities include Boston, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and more.
It tells you commute times for traveling in the city and offers up-to-date schedules and instructions to find public transportation. It displays running times for all trams, trains, and buses. Once you hop a transport, the app will even let you know all the different stops along the route.
Thanks to WatchOS 2, the app runs right on your watch without the need to keep an iPhone hanging around. Ready for the best part? It’s free on iTunes.
Just Press Record
Having a smartphone handy is great when you need to jot down personal notes or reminders for yourself. Admittedly, the functionality would be quite limited on a smartwatch, especially with the smaller display. That doesn’t mean you can’t leave memos for yourself.
Just Press Record allows you to leave voice memos and recordings for yourself right from your Apple Watch. It’s easy to use too, just tap the big red record button to get started. The recording will by synced to the cloud so you can access it from either your phone or your watch.
Just Press Record is $2.99 on iTunes.
Find Near Me
Ever been out and about and wondering what shops, restaurants and attractions were nearby? Find Near Me will allow you to locate just about any business, from an ATM or bank, to a bar and restaurant.
The interface is easy to navigate, even on your wrist, and there’s a unique search function. You can use Siri to locate nearby businesses, and you can set up your own search terms, as well.
When you choose a business in the list, it will tell you the address, phone number, and a variety of other necessary details. You can also track your distance from the business via GPS. As you can imagine, it’s a remarkably convenient app to have handy on your smartwatch.
Find Near Me is free on iTunes.
Hole19
Would you like a tool on your smartwatch to track your golfing stats? Hole19 does work independent of the iPhone, but you’ll need a connected handset to start your round of golf.
Information is relayed to your watch such as your course stats, current score, hole routing, and your average score across all games played. You can also track distances, and track each putt with the app. It’s a powerful tool that will certainly help you out on the course.
Plus, Hole19 is free on iTunes.
Deliveries
The Deliveries app essentially lets you track all your incoming packages in one place. Worried about your new laptop or gadget being delivered while you’re not home? With this app, you can monitor where everything is in the transit process.
What services are covered by the app? The developers claim more than a “dozen” including UPS, FedEx, US Postal Service, DHL, TNT, Canada Post, City Link, Royal Mail, and more.
Of course, this app is available on iPhone too, and it’s really no different on the Apple Watch. You’ll see the same information such as your incoming packages, their physical location on a map, and notifications along the way.
Deliveries is $4.99 on iTunes.
Runtastic
If you’ve ever used Runtastic before on your iPhone, then you know we’d be crazy not to include it here. With the app you can monitor your heart-rate, and track your run. If you want to track your location via GPS you will need to carry an iPhone too, but other than that this app works great on its own.
If you’re truly into tracking your fitness stats and your runs, then it’s worth spending the $4.99 on Runtastic through iTunes.
CARROT Weather
Who wouldn’t want snarky weather forecasts right on their wrist? The CARROT Weather app is great if you’re out and about and you want to keep your eye on those storm clouds off in the distance.
The description is best left up to the one provided by the developers:
“An eerily accurate weather app that delivers hilariously twisted forecasts. There are secret locations to unlock. A time machine. And also evil penguins.”
Evil penguins on your wrist. If you’re not sold after hearing all of that, then we’re not sure what’s going to entice you to install this one.
CARROT Weather is $3.99 initially, and then $1.99 annually for each year you use the service.
Cruncher
You know, we’ll be honest, it sucks that Apple didn’t include a calculator app on the Apple Watch. It doesn’t make any sense really, because that’s something you think you’d need, especially when figuring out tips.
Luckily, Cruncher is available for free through iTunes. The buttons are big enough that you can even interact with the app if you have chubby fingers, which is important when you’re working with a smaller watch display.
In addition, there’s absolutely no need to have your iPhone handy to use the app which may just save your hide in some situations.
ProCamera
One interesting use for modern smartwatches is that they can act as a remote shutter for a smartphone camera. Why would you need something like this? Imagine you’re taking a photo with your family and you want to be in it. You can set the phone down facing the shot and then take the picture with your watch.
ProCamera is an Apple Watch app that can do that and more. Sure, the Apple Watch has such a featured baked in, but this app offers extra support. The app has a remote trigger, remote viewfinder preview so you can make sure you’re taking the right shot, and a photo preview once the shot has been taken.
There’s also a timer so you can set the camera to countdown. You can customize the length of the timer as necessary, and even tell it to take multiple shots when the time is up.
ProCamera is $4.99 on iTunes.
What Apple Watch Apps Do You Use On a Regular Basis?
Those are our picks for the best Apple Watch apps. Are there any apps missing from the list that you rely on heavily? Do you feel there are some apps we forget to mention? Feel free to share your picks!