Finding the Best Smartwatch Apps for Android
Google’s pared-down version of Google Play is available right on your wrist, which makes it easy to discover new smartwatch apps for your Wear device. In the Wear version of Google Play, you’ll find a list of popular apps, a few handy categories, and even a list of apps on your phone that have smartwatch versions available. Since it can be tough to sift through the thousands of smartwatch app options on such a tiny screen, we assembled the 15 best Wear apps to help increase your productivity, access important information, and stay entertained when you’re away from your phone. The version of Google Keep for your smartwatch lets you access your notes on the go and jot down notes wherever you are. Notes created on your watch are synced to the cloud, so you can access them from your other devices later. Since Wear Casts doesn’t require a constant Bluetooth connection to your phone, it’s easier on your batteries than other apps. The downside is that it’s only available in a limited number of cities, and it’s useless if you don’t live in any of them and don’t plan on visiting. Sleep as Android includes a ton of features, some of which aren’t available from dedicated fitness devices. For example, the lucid dreaming mode can determine when you enter rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and it provides an auditory cue to help you realize you’re asleep without fully waking up. The only downside to Sleep as Android is that the smartwatch app doesn’t work independently from your phone. So you have to make sure your phone is charged up, paired to your watch, and nearby when you go to sleep. The only downside is that it relies on your phone to work, so it can’t act as a backup for the authenticator on your phone. If your local course is included in the more than 40,000 courses that Hole19 covers, you can use both the smartphone and smartwatch app for free. There is a paid version, but it primarily provides high-resolution graphics rather than unlocking additional course information. It’s easy to pick up, and it’s basic compared to the great smartphone games out there, but it is a nice little time-waster that you can play without pulling out your phone. Water Drink Reminder is designed to remind you to drink at regular intervals so that you take in an optimal amount of water, based on your height and weight. It runs on both your phone and smartwatch, so there’s less of a chance of missing a reminder.
