Some of the best smartwatches use Wear OS. This operating system, previously known as Android Wear, has a lot of applications to exploit the possibilities of our smart watch . Today, we review some of the most interesting and essential ones.
Apps to control our physical activity and health, to organize, communicate and even to entertain ourselves for a while. Installing applications for Wear OS is very simple: we can use the Play Store itself that is installed on the watch, or access the Play Store from the browser and when downloading an app we simply choose the smartwatch as the destination device . Of course, some of these applications still depend on a “sister app” installed on the mobile, but others already work completely independently. And best of all, many of these applications have received notable improvements with the release of Wear OS 3.5 . Which is appreciated.
best apps for your Android Wear OS smartwatch
The best applications for your Android smartwatch in 2023
Unlike what we could see at the beginning, smartwatch apps have long been no longer limited to showing us a few notifications on the screen. Now things have evolved a lot, and we can find little gems like these.
Google Pay
Payments from the smartwatch? Correct! Google Pay also has a version compatible with smart watches. It allows you to make payments using NFC and is also used to store tickets and transport tickets. An essential application if you are already used to paying with your mobile phone and want to go to the next step.
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Google Wallet
Developer: Google LLC
Price: Free
Glide
If you have ever dreamed of making futuristic video calls from your smartwatch , you have to try Glide. We have to pair it with the mobile app, but once they are synchronized, we can receive and view video messages directly on the watch.
If our smartwatch has a microphone or camera, we can also make audio recordings or video conferences from our wrist.
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Glide – Video chat messenger
Developer: Endless Technologies Ltd.
Price: Free
Microsoft Outlook
The Outlook app for smart watches has everything you can expect from a simplified email client: you can access your emails, calendar, or task list really easily. You will also receive notifications when a new email arrives or there is an appointment on your calendar. If you need to have constant access to your email, this is a good app to always be connected wherever you are.
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Microsoft Outlook
Developer: Microsoft Corporation
Price: Free
7 minute workouts
“7 minute workaouts” is an app for exercising at home and it works completely from the smartwatch, which is much more practical than doing it with your phone in front of you. It has a clean interface adapted to the small screen of the watch from where we can choose various types of training, and an accompanying app for the smartphone from where we can keep track of all the activity.
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7 Minute Workouts
Developer: Hitbytes Technologies
Price: Free
Wear Audio Recorder
We go from video to audio. If you have ever needed to record a conversation or take quick mental notes, this is the app we need. Fully compatible with Wear OS, Wear Audio Recorder allows us to make audio recordings directly from our Android smartwatch .
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Wear Audio Recorder
Developer: Svet Kuz
Price: Free
Telegram
And what about messaging ? Here giants like WhatsApp should learn from other companies like Telegram. This allows you to send instant messages, stickers, review your chat history, create groups, and more. What more can we ask for? In addition, Telegram has an updated version for Android Wear 3.0.
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Telegram
Developer: Telegram FZ-LLC
Price: Free
Wear Store for Wear Apps
Another application that cannot be missing from our device is this one. If we have a smartwatch we will see that it is difficult to navigate the Wear OS app store with certain functionality. Wear Store is a third-party app that allows us to download apps much more easily. The only downside is that it is not yet in Spanish, but it is ideal for staying up to date and discovering new apps for our smart watch.
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Wear Store for Wear Apps
Developer: GoKo
Price: Free
Youtube music
The YouTube music app debuts with version 3.0 of Wear OS, so now we can also use the app to listen to music directly from our wrist on our smart watch. It has an adapted interface and fairly intuitive navigation, although for now it is not yet available on all smartwatches on the market (only Samsung, you can try to install it by searching for the app in the Play Store).
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Youtube music
Developer: Google LLC
Price: Free
Strava
Strava is an interesting alternative to Google Fit that has more than 10 million downloads and an incredible 4.5 star rating in the Play Store. It works as an independent app on Android Wear 3.0 and helps us keep track of our sports activity (running, cycling, etc.) on the smartwatch.
The best thing if what we want is to go out and do some sports and we are tired of carrying our cell phone with us to be able to collect activity records.
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Strava: run, pedal, walk
Developer: Strava Inc.
Price: Free
Google Assistant
The Google Assistant on your wrist? The truth is that having an application like this “on hand” is great to help us make queries, answer questions, set alarms, create reminders and many other things. All this through voice conversations, which is super practical.
The only drawback is that right now this version of the Google Assistant for Wear OS is only available in some countries such as the United States. Of course, if you have the option to install it, don’t hesitate to take a look.
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Assistant
Developer: Google LLC
Price: To be announced
Infinity Loop
If you have already tried Infinity Loop in its mobile version, you have to take a look at this addictive logic puzzle on Android Wear. Some smartwatch games suffer from a lack of space on the device’s face, but Infinity Loop fits the bill perfectly. Great to test our mind during downtime.
The app was not found in the store.
Go to store Google web search
Lifesum
Lifesum is a health and well-being app that helps us control the food and water we eat throughout the day . We just have to set our goals and Lifesum will help us keep track of the kcal we consume. It also includes some tips and exercises for everyday life.
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Lifesum: Healthy Eating
Developer: Lifesum
Price: Free
IFTTT
The name of the app comes from the English “If This Then That” (IFTTT), and means something like “If this happens, then do that.” Basically it is a programming tool that allows us to configure certain conditions or scheduled tasks on our smartwatch.
For example, we can tell it that whenever we take a photo from the watch camera, send a copy to the mobile (or vice versa). In short, an automation app from which we can take great advantage if we know what we are looking for. Compatible with more than 600 apps for Android, Google Home and Alexa.
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IFTTT
Developer: IFTTT, Inc
Price: Free
Google Keep
Keep is one of the best apps for taking notes. Once we synchronize it with our Google account, we can access all those lists and reminders directly from our watch. Perfect for making the shopping list and not having to constantly take out your cell phone or notebook in the supermarket every now and then.
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Google Keep: notes and lists
Developer: Google LLC
Price: Free
Google Maps
We cannot close this top without mentioning one of the most popular and practical mobile applications of all time. With Maps we will have access from the watch to maps, real-time GPS location, routes and all kinds of information to move from one location to another.
The application asks for quite a few permissions, although it is very light – it barely weighs 27MB – and comes from a trusted source, which should be more than enough to give it a try and update our smartwatch with an app of such caliber.
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Google Maps
Developer: Google LLC
Price: Free
Finally, I would like to mention that there are also Android Wear versions of other really well-known apps, such as Uber, Tinder, Shazam, Sleep as Android, Google Slides (for making presentations) and many others. Which one do you prefer?
