With the Apple Watch set to wrap its sleek self around the wrists of early-adopters nationwide in the coming weeks, it’s time we all got to grips with what this audacious time-piece is all about. Sure, there are the doubters who argue that this is just the latest in a long line of cynical ploys by Apple to persuade consumers that they need another near identical Apple product, no different in terms of usability than all of its predecessors and whilst this opinion might not be isolated nor is it without its sound reasoning, Apple has never released a Watch like this before. A product of such power and ubiquity has never been available to purchase and place on an individual’s person, in quite this way in the past. That’s what makes this product special. Diverse, dynamic technology which can revolutionise our lives can now be displayed causally on our wrists, waiting for us to use it to decide how to map our routes homes, find the nearest bar, or simply check the weather forecast.
To fully understand the capabilities of this device, consumers need to explore some of the apps on offer. Currently, the app store shows 3,000 apps available for the wearable gadget, that’s a lot to digest and enjoy. Granted iPhone users will already have a number of apps on their smartphones with watch extensions ready to install, but there is still plenty out there to get to grips with.
Here’s a look at some of the best apps on offer for the Apple Watch:
Tune In
TuneIn collates traditional radio stations and podcasts and pulls them together under one central controller. The Apple Watch becomes a remote control for skipping, pausing and moving between a selection of stations of your choice.
TuneIn provides users with a bespoke radio station comprised of all their favourite stations and podcasts. You can glance at the screen to easily view which artist is currently playing and skip between songs. You can easily pause, rewind or fast forward, plus if you feel like you want to listen to something new, you just hit the “jump” button to play something related to the current artist or broadcaster, all without ever having to take your phone out of your pocket.
CityMapper
A long standing favourite with iPhone users, the public transport app allows urban dwellers to plan their commutes to perfection. By entering your journey details into the app, it quickly returns results based on the quickest ways for you to get from A to B, factoring in all possible types of transport. On the Apple Watch you can dip in and check live bus times, get notifications on when your train is arriving and it even lets you know when its times to alight from your bus, so you don’t have to look up additional maps or satellite navigation systems.
Deliveries
This app could be utilised by small eCommerce store owners, who could integrate it into the every day running of their sites. Deliveries enables you to keep track of all your packages. It allows you to see with just one glance what you need to send out and what is due to arrive. It could easily be used for the operations side of your small business. You could track return items and schedule send-outs. The functionality allows you to glance at your notifications to stay seamlessly in control.
Circle Back
Feel like your digital address book is spread out untidily over many different devices? No problem. This app is here to solve your organisational headaches. You probably want to keep up to date with what your contacts are doing in real-time, whilst perhaps separating your personal and professional contacts. CircleBack can do all this by automating your contacts plus updating and managing them. It not only omits duplicate contacts, but syncs them across all your Mac and iOS devices. The cherry on the cake is the fact that the app will monitor your contact’s social media feeds, delivering you regular updates about their lives.
Skin
Here’s one for all you health freaks. Skin lets you scan any part of your body with your iPhone camera and see a preview of the results on your Watch. The app analyses the quality of your skin, reporting on any redness, dryness or abnormalities. Results are displayed quickly and directly on to your wrist. It may not diagnose anything serious, but it will let you know if you need to slap on some moisturiser or drink a bit more water.
Contrary to some opinions, the Apple Watch has a lot of unique features on offer. With over 3,000 apps on the market, it is sure to enhance the lives of just about everyone. The icing on the cake is that all of the information garnered is displayed on the user’s wrist, for ultimate convenience.
