Main points
- AccuWeather is a simple weather app for Wear OS that provides hourly weather forecasts and precipitation details.
- bring! Grocery Shopping List helps you manage your shopping needs by creating shared lists.
- Facer provides Wear OS users with a large number of customizable watch faces and the ability to create their own designs.
Wear OS has come a long way since its early days. Now, with flagships like the Galaxy Watch 6 and Pixel Watch 2, Android fans have a lot of great options. However, hardware is only half the battle. If you can’t find good software, your smartwatch is just a nifty thing on your wrist that measures your fitness stats.
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Here are some great Wear OS apps you can download right now to improve your smartwatch experience. I’ve omitted some obvious choices like Google Maps, Spotify, WhatsApp, and similar apps because people often sign up for these services before buying their first Wear OS device and use them whether they get a recommendation or not. So, in addition to the obvious Wear OS apps, here are 10 worth trying.
accurate weather
1 accurate weather
A simple and effective solution
There are several great weather apps on Wear OS, but AccuWeather strikes the ideal balance between simplicity and functionality.When using the app you will first log in Now screen, as shown in the screenshot above. It displays the current temperature and detailed precipitation over the next hour in a bar chart-like format. The higher the bar, the more rain or snowfall. The app also includes six complications that you can add to your watch face.
Tap the screen to see the hourly weather forecast for the next 12 hours. A second click will display the daily weather forecast. Finally, a third click will send you to your Android phone for more detailed weather forecast information. Nothing fancy, just weather on your wrist. Those looking for a good alternative can try Yr by NRK, which is equally easy to use.
bring
Wear your list on your wrist
bring! Grocery Shopping List does exactly what its name suggests. You can create a shopping list through the app, take it to the store, and buy everything you need. With Wear OS support, you can access your lists on your smartwatch. After accessing any list, you can view the items you want and even add items if you forgot something. Additionally, the app will automatically update the share list.
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This app is perfect for all kinds of shopping needs. For example, you can maintain separate lists for regular household groceries and parties you’re hosting. It does take a minute to figure out the interface, but it’s one of the most full-featured shopping list apps on Google Play and works well with Wear OS.
amoled Dial
3 Complication Kit
Get the most out of your watch face
Complications Suite is a great Wear OS app that helps extend the functionality of watch faces. For the uninitiated, the term “complication” is used to describe screen elements that can be added to a watch face to quickly view or access information. Complications Suite adds some of these to your list of available options, giving you more flexibility in customizing your watch faces.
For the uninitiated, the term “complication” is used to describe screen elements that can be added to a watch face to quickly view or access information.
The app adds several options to your list of complications, including a world clock, a “week of the year” complication, moon phases, a Wear OS logo that launches any app you want, a Custom text for your content as well as a water intake tracker. You can also get the latest Bitcoin and Ethereum prices if that’s your thing. It should support all modern Wear OS smartwatches.
4 do it
Add more custom features to your smartwatch
Facer is one of the most commonly recommended apps by Wear OS users, and for good reason. It contains a truly vast collection of Wear OS watch faces created and customized by members of the Facer community. You just browse for what you need, apply it, and start your journey. The watch faces you download can also be slightly customized.
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In addition to a ton of options, Facer users can make their own watch faces from scratch and have them contain any design and information they want. Facer’s watch face editor takes some time to learn, but if you want, you can create some neat designs and submit them to a collection. Facer supports most Wear OS watches, so it should work with any watch you own.
5 G board
The best Wear OS keyboards
Most Wear OS smartwatches come with Gboard pre-installed, but if your watch doesn’t, you should download it. Gboard is arguably the best keyboard on the platform. It supports regular typing and sliding typing. You also get the usual stuff like emojis, autocorrect, and suggestions. In terms of functionality, there aren’t many keyboard apps that can compete with Gboard.
Gboard’s signature feature is gesture input. It’s easily the best one on the platform, allowing you to easily type letters on your watch. It’s not always perfect, but it’s pretty close to what you’ll get on a Wear OS smartwatch. Most people don’t need much of a keyboard on their watch, but for those who do, Gboard is the way to go.
6 Google Home Page
Control your smart home without your phone
Google Home is a great app for Wear OS users with smart home technology. Any device integrated with Google Home will be visible from the smartwatch interface, including lights, thermostats, and even security cameras, though you’ll need the Android app to view the video. Setup happens on the mobile app, so once you open it on your watch, you’re ready to go.
Once you set up the right shortcuts, you can adjust the thermostat or turn lights on or off from your wrist in seconds. When smartwatches first came out, there was talk about what people could do with them that were more convenient than their smartphones. Quick, small tweaks to smart home technology are one answer to this question.
7 Google reserves
Take your notes on the road
Another useful Wear OS app is Google Keep. As expected, it syncs content between your phone, watch, and web browser, so you can take notes, track them, and access them from anywhere. Google Keep allows for many types of notes, including lists that support images and audio. You can also color-code your notes for better organization.
On Wear OS, you’ll have most of the same features as the smartphone version of the app. This includes creating, editing, and viewing notes, as well as adding reminders, pinning notes for easy access, and archiving notes that are no longer needed.
8 google messages
The power of RCS
Sometimes, the name of the game is integration, so Google Messages is the best text messaging app you can download on Wear OS. It works seamlessly with the Android version, and you can do almost the same things on the watch app as you can on your phone.
In terms of functionality, you can’t go wrong with Google Messages. It works for both single chat and group chat. It also supports RCS, so you don’t lose the benefits of the messaging protocol. If you prefer, you can also use the keyboard or speak your message via the microphone button. It has very few issues, which is good since it’s a first-party app.
9 Notification Icon Complications
Add more features to your favorite watch faces
Notification Icon Complication is another app that can help you make your watch face more useful. The premise is simple. It lets you place icons on your watch face that display notification bubbles when you receive notifications from apps. While your watch may not be the best place to perform actions in every app, it’s helpful to take a quick look at how many notifications you have.
It wouldn’t be a shock if this were integrated into Wear OS one day, as it would make sense. You install the app, configure it however you want, and then add the complication to your watch face. You can also choose which apps show notifications and which don’t. Paired with other customization apps like Bubble Cloud Wear OS Launcher, you can make your watch feel completely different.
Todoist
10 Todoist
Take your to-do list with you
The last one on our list today is Todoist. It’s one of the most popular to-do list apps on the Google Play Store, and it happens to offer excellent Wear OS support. It works as you expect. You can add tasks as well as things like due dates and reminders. From there, the app will send notifications to your Wear OS watch, or you can check for tasks manually through the app itself.
Additionally, you can create and complete tasks. Todoist automatically organizes your tasks into categories that you can check through the Watch app. If you use your smartphone to do things like link your calendar and various other tools, you’ll also get some additional options. Todoist supports many different applications, which is why it is so powerful. If you want to use all the features, you’ll need to subscribe to the app, which costs $4 per month if you allow Todoist to charge you annually.
FAQ
Q: Will these apps work with my Wear OS watch?
Most likely, as long as your watch is running the latest version of Wear OS, Google switched from Android Wear to Wear OS in 2018, and things have been pretty stable ever since. As long as you’re using Wear OS, most of these apps should work fine. However, to ensure full compatibility, it’s best to have a watch running the latest version of Wear OS.
Q: How do I know if an app has a Wear OS version?
There are two good ways to see if an app supports Wear OS. The first is to use the Google Play Store on the watch itself. This version of Google Play only shows apps that are compatible with Wear OS, so there’s no ambiguity. It’s a bit slower and more bulky than the smartphone version, but it gets the job done.
Another method is to use the Google Play Store on your PC. When you find an app you like, you can click the “Install” button. Google Play will ask you which device you want to install the app on. If your watch shows up as an option, it’s a Wear OS app.