With my aforementioned goal to ditch my phone when outside the house and use the watch for as much as possible, I am compiling a list of all of the Apps that I’m using that meet my current needs, and noting gaps where they exist. The configuration I use is a 42mm Stainless Steel Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE enabled and AirPods connected.
Criteria for an Apps usability is based on three criteria:
- (Create) Can create items on Watch
- (Modify) Can modify (including delete) items on Watch
- (Sync) Can sync new/changed items to Cloud via LTE
In addition on the Watch there are three primary methods of data input:
- (Siri) Siri voice dictation (speech-to-text)
- (Num) Numeric Keypad (where applicable)
- (Scr) Scribble finger drawn letters, one by one, on the watch screen
The following table list listed in order of Apple native apps first (denoted with an asterisk *), followed by installed third party apps, followed by notification-initiated interactions with apps not physically installed on the watch.
| Function | App | Create | Modify | Sync | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mail* | Y | Y | Sometimes | Exchange/GMail (non-Apple) EMail generally works but not consistently. Read items don’t reliably sync their read marker status with the Cloud. Moved my work EMail across until Outlook gets LTE capability. | |
| Music | Music* | N | N | N | Synced playlist music only, with streaming (coming in watchOS 4.1). Possible to add music to a playlist via the iPhone. |
| Locating | Find My Friends* | N | N | N/A | Shows map, photos, names, distances but the map sometimes doesn’t load. Huge update and pleasantly surprised how well it works |
| Messaging | iMessage* | Y | N | Y | Emotional reactions, replies, scribble, Siri dictation |
| Navigation | Maps* | Y | N/A | N/A | Siri can create new navigation requests, provides Turn-by-Turn Steps, Location on Map. No Live Map Navigation, but this is an understandable restriction given GPS and screen power drain. |
| Digital Wallet | Apple Pay* | Y | N/A | N/A | Per Series 0, 1 and 2 it works without any wireless connectivity by design |
| Appointments | Calendar* | Y (Siri) | Y (Delete only) | Y | Previously used Fantastical due to its configurability however creating Reminders/Events via Fantastical (Siri only) didn’t work over LTE. Can’t use Scribble to create appointments. Can’t modify appointment times on Watch, though can delete. |
| Calls | Phone* | Y (Siri/Num) | N/A | N/A | Works via Speaker or either/both AirPods. Possible to pick up calls with AirPods even if they aren’t in your ear when the call comes in. |
| Weather | Weather* | N | N | N/A | Locations have to be configured on iPhone first. Previous favourite apps were BeWeather, Rain Parrot, and Weather AU but none work on LTE. Still no app that shows the radar map on the watch that works in Australia. Dark Sky doesn’t work here. Alas. |
| Reminders | Reminders* | Y (Siri) | N | Y | Can only create using Siri not via app. Can not modify anything once created and always put in Default reminder list. |
| Web Search | Siri* | N | N | N/A | Only basic Siri answers are possible via the Watch. As there is no browser on the watch, there’s no mechanism to get detailed search results returned to the Watch, and you’re directed to the iPhone. On-watch functionality works over LTE (setting timers, music playback etc) |
| Calculator | PCalc | Y | Y | N/A | Never required iPhone other than to configure. |
| Podcasts | WatchPlayer | N | Y (Delete) | N | Sometimes loses its place between listens, Syncing episodes is annoying. Previously used Overcast but for the moment the Watch playback functionality is being worked on by its developer. |
| Passwords | 1Password | N | N | N/A | Doesn’t use data connection. Can’t create logins on the Watch, not sure I want to anyway. Need to set up on the phone first |
| Digital Wallet | Stocard | N | N | N/A | Doesn’t use data connection. Can’t create cards on the Watch though could be a useful feature provided no photo is needed. Need to set up on the phone first. |
| Sleep Tracking | Autosleep | N | N | N/A | Provides basic report of sleep duration, but requires iPhone to perform sleep analysis. Limited to showing last night, as well as 7 day average. |
| Notetaking | Drafts | Y (Siri/Scr) | Y (Siri/Scr) | N | Syncs to iPhone only when in range, however there is no other note-taking app on the Watch as a first-party app and Drafts works well in that respect, except for Cloud sync. |
| Voice Recording | Just Press Record | Y | Y (Delete) | N/A | Records audio notes quickly and easily and allows playback via the speaker or AirPods. Only syncs with iPhone when in range. |
| What’s The Song? | Shazam | Y | N | N | Can’t ask Siri to identify what song is playing on the Watch, but Shazam works perfectly and more discretely. Syncs the list of Shazam’d songs when iPhone is in range. |
| Tweetbot (Not On Watch) | N/A | N/A | N/A | Notifications from Tweetbot allow basic reactions like Favouriting and Retweeting. |
Biggest misses for me at the moment:
- Reminders isn’t a good To Do app, and I can’t wait for Things (or similar) to support could sync but knowing they rolled their own Cloud sync this may not happen for a while (if ever)
- Inability to modify anything about a Reminder or Calendar appointment
- Composing a basic tweet, mention or direct message not possible (same for Mastodon)
- Notes absent; even a stripped down text-only version would be fine
With time, developers will update their apps to use direct data interaction with servers rather than via the paired iPhone so the list of third-party apps should get much longer in due course. I’ll endeavour to update this list every few weeks or if a major app update is released.