Zane Tips

Not sure we’d tip even if this wasn’t free…

Free Developer Zane Innovations, zane-innovations.com Platform Universal Requirements iOS 8.0 or later

A tip calculator seems like a natural fit for an Apple Watch app, yet so many developers seem to get it wrong. Many have the right idea but fail at execution, such as presenting a keypad that’s far too tiny for even averagely sized fingers to press correct digits.

Zane Tips attempts to rectify this problem by using voice input by default for subtotal and tip percentage, while retaining the option for tap-based numeric input in two different sizes: regular and large. The app isn’t designed only for dining out in restaurants, but includes taxi, bags, and retail options as well.

It can also automatically record your current location from a comprehensive database of restaurants and other venues, and even monitors currencies from around the globe each day, so you have an idea of how much to tip (or not) if you’re abroad. However, that’s where the good news ends.

The iPhone app is a confusing mishmash of user interface concepts and styles, and the color schemes are quite an eyesore as well. It’s also riddled with in-app ads, although thankfully that doesn’t affect Apple Watch usage. The tip calculator in the universal app is downright ugly, so you probably won’t want to venture beyond watchOS anyway – and stay far, far away from the iPad version if you value your sanity.

One bright spot in the iPhone app is the handy satellite-based map view of nearby eateries, which works well when trying to find something nearby. But in general, this is an app with too many ideas, and few gel together the way we’d like.

the bottom line. Zane Tips makes a decent Apple Watch tip calculator, but the rest of the app is a mess.