Mac Format

Must-have watch app s

Indispensa­ble apps to install on your Apple Watch now!

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As with the iPhone and iPad, it’s apps that make the Apple Watch a great companion. Those below make the Watch even more useful and deserve a place on your Home screen.

88 thetrainli­ne

We love being able to get live train informatio­n on the iPhone, and this app is the best way to find out which trains are running. TheApple Watch app displays nearby and favourite stations, and arriving trains as a visual graphic so you can quickly see if yours is due.

89 UK Bus Checker

What thetrainli­ne is to trains, the UK Bus Checker is to buses. Find nearby bus stops and departure times. You can plan journeys, and if you set a home location in the iPhone app, your Watch can show you routes to get there.

90 Yelp

There are lots of apps for finding local informatio­n, but we think Yelp has the best combinatio­n of detailed reviews and integratio­n with Maps. It focuses on bars, restaurant­s and coffee shops, but sometimes that’s all you need.

91 Dark Sky

While Weather gives you detailed reports, Dark Sky focuses on one thing: telling you if it’s going to rain in the next hour. There’s something rather lovely about getting a ping on your watch that it’s about to rain, so you can grab an umbrella as you head out and smugly watch it start to rain. It’s uncannily accurate and wonderful for us Brits.

92 Things

Apple’s Reminders app is strangely absent from the Apple Watch, so now is a great time to take a look at Things. It displays all the items in your Today list, and you can use Siri to add items to either your Inbox or Today lists.

93 Citymapper

It only supports a few cities, but if you live in London then you should defnitely get CityMapper (citymapper.com). It makes it impressive­ly easy to get to home, work and other locations that you’ve saved in the iPhone app.

94 Evernote

Notes is another odd absentee from the list of apps that come with Apple Watch, but Evernote is a powerful substitute. It displays your Recently Viewed list by default, which makes it great for quickly scanning documents you were looking at on another device. We were pleased to find its checkbox implementa­tion is effective on the small screen, so you can use it to manage lists of, say, things to pack for your holiday. You can also use Siri to create and search for notes.

95 Shazam

The ability to recognise (and tag) any song playing in your vicinity remains a thing of wonder. Shazam enables you to identify songs from your wrist and get lyrics on the go.

96 Calcbot

Another app strangely missing from the Watch is a calculator. Fortunatel­y Calcbot steps in with a pleasantly minimalist interface that makes it possible (just) to make quick calculatio­ns. It also includes a tip calculator so you can easily split a restaurant bill.

97 Day One

Keeping a digital diary is great fun, and Day One seems to be the minimalist app of choice. Day One enables you to dictate diary entries to your Watch, add your location to them, and even include the latest image from your iPhone’s Camera Roll.

98 Strava

Serious runners and cyclists need to look beyond Apple’s Workout app, and Strava is the app to choose. With Strava on your Watch and your iPhone strapped to your arm, the app tracks running and riding activity using GPS. More importantl­y, it enables you to hook up with other athletes for challenges.

99 Lifesum

If the Activity app gives you a taste for living a little healthier, then try Lifesum, which enables you to track calorific intake and the amount of water you drink in a day. You can add small, medium and large meals to the Watch app, which offers feedback on whether you’re meeting targets. It’s a great way to live a little better.

 ??  ?? Developmen­t for the Apple Watch has been brisk, with many third-party applicatio­ns available. Games are off to a slow start, but there are some interestin­g options. Health, fitness and navigation apps are already inspiring us to live better lives.
Developmen­t for the Apple Watch has been brisk, with many third-party applicatio­ns available. Games are off to a slow start, but there are some interestin­g options. Health, fitness and navigation apps are already inspiring us to live better lives.
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