Well, well, well here we are. It’s New Years Eve and we’re all ready to jump into 2015 within just the next few hours. We’ve only been bringing this up for days now in our “best of 2014” article lineup. If you guessed that this was all part of a drawn out intro for another “best of” piece then you’re right!
This time we’re going to take a look at some of the best smartwatch apps of 2014. Of course, this one is going to be structured a little differently since there are several different “top” smartwatch platforms on the market currently. Just taking into account some of the more renowned platforms we have Android Wear, standard Android, Samsung’s Tizen, Pebble and more. That’s only going to increase significantly over next year as Apple will even be launching their own smartwatch and proprietary platform.
Since there are so many, we decided to pick the top app for each platform. Keep in mind, this does not mean it is the best app for other devices, and it doesn’t mean that there aren’t comparable apps on each platform. We’re going to pick out our favorites, and list them accordingly.
The Best Smartwatch Apps of 2014
This list was chosen by us from everything that released in 2014. If you do not agree with some of the apps, or you would like to nominate your own choices feel free to join the discussion below. That said, it may or may not differ from similar sites out there that have covered the same thing – we aren’t the only site to cover smartwatch and wearable news, after all.
The Best Smartwatch Apps of 2014: Android Wear
Android Wear is an excellent platform, and it has been continuously updated by Google in recent months to include new functionality. However, what really pushes the platform to its limits in terms of what these devices can do, is the third party app support. Of course, every device is different and there’s a huge list including the LG G Watch R, Moto 360, Asus ZenWatch, and many more. Most of these apps will work across the board for any Android Wear device, provided they include the necessary hardware.
IFTT
IFTT or If This Then That is an incredibly powerful app that lets you customize various functions of the device. You can do a whole slew of different things like automatically update your location on Facebook, mute notifications and alerts on your device once you connect to a particular wireless network, or even refresh your social feed at various times of the day.
Essentially, it lets you specify an action that will occur after a rule or parameter has been met. Needless to say, it makes using your Android Wear smartwatch that much more efficient.
Banjo
One of the biggest issues with news aggregation apps for Android Wear is that they are terrible at resizing content to fit the small display. Banjo has been specifically optimized for use with smaller smartwatch displays, so it’s great at delivering you news to your wrist. It also updates your news stream automatically to match things happening around you locally.
Evernote
If you don’t already use Evernote on your mobile phone, then you’re missing out bigtime. It’s a great app for doing lots of different quick tasks, many of which involve leaving reminders for yourself.
It just so happens that Evernote has optimized their app for use on Android Wear smartwatches too. You’ll never be able to comprehend how useful it is, until you can pull up your honey-do and grocery lists at the drop of a hat, while you’re out and about.
The Best Smartwatch Apps of 2014: Pebble
Pebble was one of the first true smartwatches to hit the market, and since then the Pebble Steel has continued to hold its own against some of the biggest platforms out there. In fact, most of the devices on the market today barely hold their own to the Pebble.
Side note: Evernote would have made an appearance here too but since we already have it listed above in the Android Wear apps section we decided to omit it. If you have a Pebble, then definitely pick up the Evernote app for yourself.
Paypal
Even though the Pebble smartwatch does not include an NFC chip, you can still pay for meals and bills with your watch, believe it or not.
The Paypal app allows you to pay for goods thanks to a simple QR code, which gets displayed on the screen after you log-in. Of course, only select retailers allow you to pay this way so it’s not usable everywhere. It’s still pretty cool though.
The app also doubles as a great finance tracker, when you have money stored away in a Paypal account.
Music Boss
The Pebble supports music playback – or at least the controlling portion of it – by default, but it’s nowhere near as handy as the Music Boss app. It automatically chooses which music app you have running on your device and delivers the appropriate controls and options on screen. If you don’t have something running already, you can start it up right from your watch. You can also control your Chromecast stream right from your wrist, as well.
Cards for Pebble
S
imilar to how the Google Now cards work on Android and Android Wear, the Cards for Pebble app delivers various info cards on your Pebble smartwatch. It’s got a little bit of everything from a calendar, sports and game scores, RSS reader, world clock and weather reading you’re sure to find something you like.
You can cycle through the different cards and information panels using the hardware buttons onf the Pebble. In addition, each card is minimal and clean when displayed on the screen.
The Best Smartwatch Apps of 2014: Tizen (Samsung Gear)
Samsung delivered a whole bunch of Gear models this year running their proprietary OS Tizen. Of course, the first model in the lineup was running a slimmed down version of Android – not Android Wear. All of Samsung’s watches are decent and offer a great deal of functionality if you’re willing to dish out the dough for one. You will need to own a compatible Samsung handset in order to use them though, unless you pick up the Gear S which is a standalone watch with 3G network connectivity support.
HERE
Android and Android Wear devices have Google Maps, but since the Gear models are running Tizen owners will need to turn to something different. Luckily, Nokia has offered their HERE app which is a suitable alternative. It offers turn-by-turn directions and navigation, offline map caching for those times when you have no network access for your phone, and hands-free operation. It’s also free, like Google Maps. If you own a Samsung Gear model running Tizen, then you might want to take a look at Nokia’s HERE app.
Fleksy
Using a keyboard on a smartwatch touchscreen really, really sucks. The displays are way too small especially for people with chubby fingers (don’t worry we do too). Fleksy is a predictive keyboard that runs on Samsung’s Tizen OS.
Over time it learns the words and phrases you type most and allows you to be more efficient at finger typing on such a tiny-ass display. Seriously, if you own a smartwatch and you don’t use a predictive keyboard you’re nuts!
Budgit
Keep tracking of your finances and expenses can be a real pain in the ass, especially when you’re always on the go. Luckily, Budgit is an expenses-centric app for the Gear smartwatches. With it, you can set daily and annual budgets to stay under, and keep track of all your various expenditures.
You can even see all your information and stats in a lovely little pie chart too, which makes visualizing your spending patterns that much easier.
The Best Smartwatch Apps of 2014
Now that you’ve seen our list of the best smartwatch apps of 2014, what are your thoughts? Would you have included different apps in the list than we did?
Do you use one of the apps mentioned on the best smartwatch apps of 2014 list? Do you regret the purchase or are you happy with it? Are there any apps that you would like to see on your device that are not yet available?
Oh, and Happy New Year everyone!