The Apple Watch goes on sale in less than a month. It’s easily the most high profile wearable to date and looks all set to be the smartwatch to really kick-start a new mobile computing revolution.
Like the iPhones and iPads that have come before it, the Apple Watch’s success will be down to the variety of apps on offer. Sure, the Cupertino company will stock the tech-timepiece full of features that it thinks will change your life for the better but a lot of the innovation and game-changing functions will inevitably arrive from third party developers.
So, with that in mind, here’s our pick of the eight most anticipated Apple Watch apps.
The Usual Suspects
Here are six familiar faces, all be it now in watch form…
With its 140 character limit, individual tweets look swell on the Apple Watch’s Retina display and, yes, you can dictate your own tweets using voice input should you be strong enough mentally to break the social acceptance that talking into your wrist makes you a lunatic.
Of course, notifications will be on board, so your ego can also get a nice little stroke everytime someone mentions or retweets you.
Hailo
Taxi apps – think Uber, Addison Lee and the like – are going to be big business on the Apple Watch – nobody wants to have their smartphone in hand standing outside a bar in a questionable neighbourhood while waiting for their booked car to turn up.
The Hailo app will let you book a cab discreetly as well as allowing you to easily check where it is and when you can expect it. “We’re impressed with the brilliantly casual way the Apple Watch amplifies simplicity and eliminates the smallest little daily frictions,” said Hailo CMO, Gary Bramall. “The device gives us an exciting opportunity to streamline our UI and make hailing a taxi so good there’s almost no interface at all.”
Nike+ Running
It’s a shame the Apple Watch lacks the GPS smarts (although we’re sure the second-gen model won’t) to really make the most of the comprehensive looking Nike+ app, an app that offers distance, duration and pace right on your wrist.
The app also brings in the social aspects from the massively successful Nike running platform – along with virtual cheers – and the ability to add music to the mix with your Bluetooth headphones.
Apple hasn’t ‘done a Samsung’ and botched a crappy camera into its smartwatch, thankfully, but popular imagery apps will still play a big part.
With the Instagram app you can keep up to date with your feed, comment on photos (with emojis, natch) and give people’s photo efforts the thumbs up if you like them.
Citymapper
The British start-up success story takes to the small screen, sucking in a wealth of info such as bus arrival times, the quickest routes to your desired location and vibration reminders telling you to get off your public transport method of choice.
“Our routing is good because we focused on the urban experience,” explains Citymapper founder Azmat Yusuf. “London was great for building a transport app and for mobile because it’s a megacity and it’s complicated.” It’s not just London though; the app is expected to work in more than 15 cities worldwide.
Todoist
One of the best organisational apps available on desktop and smartphones, Todoist’s jump to the Apple Watch is an obvious move given that many people will rely on their smartwatch for day-to-day reminders.
As well as scrolling through what’s on the agenda for their day, a wearer will be able to tick off completed tasks, schedule new ones, and get overviews of all the projects that they’re involved in.
The Newcomers
Many of the big names above started out as indie developers with big ideas. Here’s a couple of the top newbie Apple Watch apps we’re expecting.
Prompt
Prompt is a presentation-based app, designed to make slideshows a little bit less awkward on the tech front, as well as a little less dull. Its creator got the idea after sitting through one too many boring boardroom decks.
"You set out sections and durations in the iOS app, and then start the presentation on your Apple Watch. It lets you know what you should be talking about, along with the time left for that section," developer Gary Riches recently told Wareable.
Feed Wrangler
For most people, a smartwatch is a device where glances are the norm, rather than long periods of reading on screen text and that’s where Feed Wrangler comes in.
"The goal is to provide a quick mechanism to check the current news," creator David Smith explained to Wareable. "You can skim through, mark items as read, or send them to a read-later service. The app also puts the current article in your handoff queue, so you can continue reading it on your iPhone, iPad or Mac."
