The Apple Watch has become an essential companion for many, offering a ton of functionalities right on your wrist by way of Apple Watch apps. These apps—typically not standalone apps—are designed to work in tandem with their iPhone or iPad counterparts. This integration allows for a seamless experience, ensuring that you get the most out of both your Apple Watch and your other Apple devices.
We’ve tested several apps to bring you the best of the bunch for the Apple Watch. These apps cover a variety of categories, from fitness and health to productivity and entertaining weather. Each of these apps offers unique features that enhance the capabilities of your Apple Watch, making your daily life easier and more enjoyable.
How we rated the best apps for Apple Watch
WhistleOut searches for apps that are easy to use and affordable. We evaluate apps through hands-on testing and rate them on a five-star scale based on the following criteria:
- User experience: We search for apps that enhance the user experience, improving the power of your phone and making your life less complicated. The apps we recommend are intuitive, allowing users to put them to use as soon as they open them.
- Price & value: We select apps that charge minimal download fees and tend to favor apps that don't charge anything. We do include some apps that charge fees, though we guarantee that they're worth the price tag.
- Efficacy: App developers like to talk a big game; we test their products to see if they deliver on their promises.
- Practicality: Your phone has a limited amount of storage, so you don't want to clog it with single-use apps that don't improve your day-to-day life. We reward apps that are worth their weight in data.
- Privacy & security: We evaluate the permissions an app requests, sussing out the legitimate from the suspect. We also scour user reviews on relevant app stores to see if customers are reporting security concerns and investigate the veracity of those complaints.
The 5 best apps for apple Watch
Gentler Streak
Your compassionate fitness companion
Free from Apple
Gentler Streak is an innovative fitness app designed for Apple Watch users who seek a balanced and sustainable approach to exercise. Unlike traditional fitness apps that push you to your limits, Gentler Streak encourages a more mindful and compassionate way to achieve your fitness goals. It’s perfect for those who want to stay active while avoiding burnout and overtraining.
Gentler Streak promotes long-term health and well-being. The app provides personalized activity recommendations based on your fitness level and daily readiness. It helps you find the right balance between exertion and recovery, ensuring you get the most benefit from your workouts without overexerting yourself.
The Activity Path tool visualizes your fitness journey, showing you how your workouts and recovery days align over time. The app’s user-friendly interface makes it easy to track your progress and stay motivated. It offers gentle nudges to keep you moving and reminds you to rest when needed, promoting a sustainable exercise routine.
Gentler Streak also integrates seamlessly with Apple Health, allowing you to sync your activity data effortlessly. The app’s insightful analytics provide a comprehensive view of your fitness, helping you understand how different activities impact your overall health. You can set realistic goals and track your improvements over time, making it easier to maintain a consistent and healthy exercise regimen.
The verdict:
- User experience
- Price and value
- Efficacy
- Practicality
- Privacy & security
Carrot Weather
The snarky weather app
Free from Apple
Carrot Weather is a unique weather app for Apple Watch users who appreciate a mix of accurate forecasts and entertaining commentary. Known for its humor and personality, Carrot Weather delivers precise weather updates with a twist, making it a delightful addition to your Apple Watch. Whether you need to know the forecast for your morning run or want a laugh to brighten your day, Carrot Weather has you covered.
You can tailor the app to show the weather information that's most important to you, such as temperature, precipitation, wind speed, and more. The app also offers various complication styles, allowing you to integrate weather data seamlessly into your Apple Watch face.
Carrot Weather offers a range of sarcastic, witty, and occasionally dark commentary on the weather, which you can customize to match your preferred level of snarkiness. This unique approach makes checking the weather a fun and engaging experience, setting it apart from traditional weather apps.
Integration with Apple Watch is seamless, offering quick access to current conditions, forecasts, and weather alerts directly from your wrist. The app also supports Siri, allowing you to ask for weather updates and receive snarky responses hands-free.
The verdict:
- User experience
- Price and value
- Efficacy
- Practicality
- Privacy & security
Drafts
Note -taking right on your watch
Free from Apple
Drafts is an incredibly versatile note-taking app for Apple Watch users who need a quick and efficient way to capture ideas, tasks, and notes on the go. With its focus on simplicity and speed, Drafts allows you to jot down your thoughts as soon as they come to mind, ensuring you never miss an important idea or reminder. Whether you're brainstorming, making a to-do list, or jotting down a shopping list, Drafts is your go-to app for quick note-taking.
Drafts' user-friendly interface makes it easy to create, edit, and organize notes directly from your Apple Watch. You can use voice dictation or Scribble to input text, ensuring that you can capture your thoughts no matter where you are or what you're doing.
You can easily send your notes to a variety of destinations, such as email, messaging apps, and task managers. This makes Drafts a central hub for all your quick-capture needs, allowing you to streamline your workflow and keep your notes organized.
Drafts includes a feature-rich editor for refining your notes. You can format text, add markdown, and include links, making it easy to create detailed and structured notes. The app’s seamless sync with Drafts on iPhone, iPad, and Mac ensures that your notes are always up to date and accessible from any device.
The verdict:
- User experience
- Price and value
- Efficacy
- Practicality
- Privacy & security
TickTick
The all-in-one task manager
Free from Apple
TickTick is an excellent productivity app for Apple Watch users who need a powerful and flexible task manager. It helps you stay organized and on top of your tasks, ensuring you can manage your to-do lists, schedules, and reminders with ease. Whether you're planning your day, setting goals, or tracking habits, TickTick is your go-to app for boosting productivity.
TickTick’s comprehensive task management capabilities allow you to create tasks and to-do lists, set deadlines, and prioritize items to ensure you focus on what’s most important. The app’s intuitive interface makes it easy to add, edit, and check off tasks directly from your Apple Watch, allowing you to stay productive on the go.
With TickTick's calendar integration, you can view your tasks alongside your calendar events, providing a clear overview of your schedule and helping you plan your time effectively. The app also supports reminders and notifications, ensuring you never miss an important deadline or appointment.
The verdict:
- User experience
- Price and value
- Efficacy
- Practicality
- Privacy & security
Heart Analyzer
Detailed heart monitoring
Free from Apple
Heart Analyzer is a must-have app for Apple Watch users who are keen on monitoring their heart health. It transforms your Apple Watch into a comprehensive heart health monitor, providing detailed insights and analytics about your heart rate and cardiovascular health. Whether you're an athlete tracking performance or someone keeping an eye on their heart health, Heart Analyzer offers valuable data and insights.
The app provides a detailed breakdown of your heart rate data, including resting heart rate, average heart rate, and heart rate variability. It also visualizes your heart rate trends over time, helping you understand your cardiovascular health and identify any irregularities.
Detailed workout analytics allow you to view heart rate charts for individual workouts, analyze performance, and monitor your fitness progress. The app supports various types of workouts, making it versatile for different fitness activities.
Heart Analyzer integrates seamlessly with Apple Health, allowing you to sync your heart rate data effortlessly.
The verdict:
- User experience
- Price and value
- Efficacy
- Practicality
- Privacy & security
How WhistleOut reviews apps
Our mobile experts scour the app stores every month, looking for the best new apps. Before recommending an app, we use the app for at least one full workday, testing its basic functionality and evaluating whether or not it delivers on its promises.
-
Easy to use
Great apps simplify your phone. We selected the tools that don't require a complicated instructional manual. -
Affordability
The internet is filled with expensive price tags, but we're not buying what they're selling. We leaned into inexpensive, quality apps. Extra points if they're free! -
Hands-on testing
We played around with these before recommending them, ensuring they're worth your download.
From there, we weigh the app's pros and cons and then determine whether or not it's a worthwhile download for the wider population of cell phone users.
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