11 Best Apps for an Apple Watch You Should Be Using

The Apple Watch has a massive collection of third-party apps, which not only add loads of features and functionalities but also make the watch using experience more practical and pleasurable.  

From niche fitness tracking apps to wrist-based extensions for monitoring your sleep, productivity, and water intake, the Apple Watch makes a great companion and a haven for third-party apps. 

Moreover, Apple’s smart move to integrate the App store directly into the Watch lets you download your favorite apps straight from the Watch. We’ve put together a list of the best apps for an Apple Watch that you should be downloading to help you make the best of your watch! Here are our top picks: 

11 Best Apps for an Apple Watch

These apps range from camera apps, fitness apps, mental health apps, and productivity apps all the way up to translation apps. 

1. Wristcam

The Wristcam app, compatible when used with the Wristcam band, is not your typical watchOS accessory app! It is an almost perfect blend of an ultra-compact camera system and an app made exclusively for the Apple Watch. Wristcam was carefully crafted to be a wearable camera fully integrated into the Apple Watch and is a unique product that pushes the watchOS platform to its limits. Let’s look at its specifications:

Features:

• 8MP outward and 2MP selfie camera
• 8GB storage. Good for either 2000 photos or 1 hour of video
• Water and dust resistant with an IP68 rating
• Rechargeable battery 
• 35 grams of weight with the silicone band

If you are a long-term iWatch user, you’d already know that Apple’s third-party accessory support has not been satisfactory. Let’s take GoPro for example. In 2015, GoPro added support for the control of the Apple Watch, but it wasn’t up to the mark and had to be removed.  

However, that’s not the case with Wristcam as it is fully integrated with the Apple Watch despite its tiny hardware and featherlike watchOS app. Wristcam aims to bridge the gap between a lightweight wearable duo of cameras and a full-fledged application. While using the Wristcam hardware and software, you’ll be able to point out the effort that went into product integration. 

As we mentioned earlier, Apple Watch is a haven for third-party apps but almost half of these apps often crash and make the Watch slow. The Wristcam development team took note of this issue and ensured that their app offers optimal performance without affecting the capabilities of the Watch. 

For instance, Wristcam’s latest Messenger feature allows the users to send and receive short video clips with both Wristcam users and iPhone users. It doesn’t require the receiver to install the Messenger app. With Wristcam you can send a link to a video that the receiver can watch without having to install another app! Here are a few more features that make Wristcam seamless:

• With the help of Siri Shortcuts, you can use Wristcam to snap a picture with your voice

• While charging, it automatically sends photos from its internal storage to your iPhone’s camera roll

• Wristcam smartly switched between Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to optimize battery life 

• It has watch face complications for easier access to the app

What’s more? The Wristcam app offers a live viewfinder that the camera sees on the Apple Watch, options to take a video or a picture, basic controls for shifting between cameras. All the recently taken photos can also be seen on the Apple Watch if an iPhone isn’t nearby.  

Download Wristcam for Apple Watch

2. Water Reminder

Even if you have the best-looking water bottle, it won’t remind you about drinking water if your schedule is packed. This is where Water Reminder comes to the rescue. The app will notify you if you’ve gone a little too long without drinking water and that’s why Water Reminder is one of the best apps for an Apple Watch for those with packed schedules. 

How does the app know it's time for you to drink water? Whenever you drink water or any other beverage, you enter the number of fluids you are consuming on the Watch. Download the app either on your iPhone or Apple Watch and then the app will ask you to configure the settings. You can use Apple Health to sync up your age, weight, and health information so you can enter the information manually. You also have to enter the climate, your personal goals, and your activity level. 

Download Water Reminder for Apple Watch 

3. MapMyRun

Developed by Under Armour, MapMyRun is one of the best Apple Watch apps that uses a built-in GPS system along with the heart rate monitor to track your workouts. It can record all activities, including but not limited to treadmill runs, outdoor runs, bike rides, and walks. It shows your distance, pace, duration, and heart rate across each workout. 

You can also connect MapMyRun with Under Armour’s other app called MyFitnessPal for an all-around evaluation of your health and activity. The MapMyRun app really comes in handy if you are training to meet a goal or trying to watch your weight. Pair it with Under Armour’s Bluetooth-equipped shoes and you’ll get more advanced details about landing on your feet while running. 

Download MapMyRun for Apple Watch

4. Headspace

Just like running is good for your physical health, mediation is good for your mental health. Headspace is a guided meditation app that places guided meditation and breathing sessions on the wrist. If you are trying to lessen the use of your phone, this is one of the best Apple Watch apps for tech detoxification (ironic, eh?).  

The app houses quick 1-minute mini-meditation sessions or 10 minutes sessions to get your day started or if you are looking for a break during work. The app offers free sessions and the premium subscription grants access to hundreds of sessions even SOS sessions for anxiety in stressful moments. 

Download Headspace for Apple Watch

5. Calm

Calm is also a dynamic guided meditation app ideal for both beginners and mediation veterans from 3-minute sessions to all the way up to 25 minutes. These sessions cover topics such as building focus, de-stressing, calming down anxiety, self-esteem and helping you get a good night's sleep. 

The free tier of the app has limited features, but the premium subscription ($14.99 a month) unlocks masterclasses, sleep aids, mediations, Exclusive meditations, and music tracks. Kaiser Permanente, a healthcare provider, also offers free Calm classes to its 12.4 million members.

Download Calm for Apple Watch

6. AutoSleep

Sleeping is as important as physical activity and meditation and if you want to figure out your sleep quality, AutoSleep is one of the best sleep tracking apps for an Apple Watch. It automatically identifies when you fall asleep and when you wake up. The app then provides a complete analysis of your sleep based on movement during sleep, heart rate, and time spent in bed. 

The app also works if you don’t wear your Apple Watch while sleeping but the sleep analysis is less detailed because it cannot track your heart rate and movement while you are sleeping. 

Download AutoSleep for Apple Watch

7. Audible

The current version of the Apple Watch’s software, watchOS 7, supports streaming audio over LTE, standard wireless broadband communication. This means Apple Watch users can use Audible to stream audiobooks! You can transfer audiobooks to your Apple Watch from your iPhone for offline listening, making it one of the best apps for the Apple Watch. 

When you transfer an audiobook to your Watch, it will sync up with the iPhone app and start right where you left off without missing a beat. Listeners have to pay for credits to listen to audiobooks, so you can’t download free unlimited audiobooks. 

Download Audible for Apple Watch

8. Just Press Record

Apple Watch doesn’t have a native notes app and Just Press Record fills the void by keeping track of your lists, ideas, and messages from your wrist. Its easy-to-use interface offers a one-tap recording for you to begin dictating and remember it for later use. 

Just Press Record also offers iCloud syncing with all your Apple devices. With this, you can edit your audio and the transcriptions of your audio inside the app. You can use Siri if you want to start a new and hand-free recording. 

Download Just Press Record for Apple Watch

9. Todoist

Todoist is one of the most famous to-do list apps as it makes it easy to keep tabs on your daily tasks on your iPhone, Mac, or your Apple Watch. It is easy to add tasks using voice dictations, the app reminds you about your deadlines, and you can check finished tasks. 

The to-do list you make can be synced up with all your Apple devices so you don't have to use your phone or MacBook to track your calendar. 

Download Todoist for Apple Watch

10. iTranslate Converse

With iTranslate Converse, you can transform your Apple Watch into an international translator as it supports 38 different languages. With this app, you can brush up on a language or use it to communicate with someone who doesn’t speak your language. The app lets you manually select a language for translation or it can automatically detect a language for you. 

Even in noisy environments, this app can translate instantaneously. Later, you can export transcripts of the audio, which is helpful while traveling.

Download iTranslate Converse for Apple Watch

11. Snappy Word

Snappy Word is one of the best apps for an Apple Watch to help you exercise your mind. This app tests how many words you can form with a string of random letters. You can get featured on the leaderboard if you score high enough and even play a game or two with your friends. 

Download Snappy Word for Apple Watch

Final Thoughts

Apps whether on the phone or a Watch exist to make life easier, but sometimes these apps crash and do the opposite. The App Store has hundreds of apps for the iPhone and the Apple Watch but the apps mentioned in this article are some of the best apps for an Apple Watch. These apps range from fitness apps, mental health apps all the way to sleep tracking and translation apps trying to make your life easier. 

Best Apps for Apple Watch FAQs