Best Smartwatch Apps for 2024 January: the best wrist apps

make smartwatches more useful and give users easy access to information, productivity tools, tools for tracking health and fitness, entertainment, and more.

From my own experience, I’ve learned that the best smartwatch apps are the ones that are easy to use and work well with the watch itself. These apps can be made just for Wear OS or can be extensions of apps for smartphones. This makes them useful and easy to use every day. As smartwatches become more and more popular, these Wear OS apps are being used more and more.

In the years since, the quality of Apple Watch apps has only improved, and while the selection isn’t as extensive as the iPhone, it’s the healthiest app ecosystem for a wearable. Whether you’ve recently strapped on an Apple Watch 7 or are rocking an older Apple Watch, apps can help you get more out of it, and there’s plenty to choose from. We’ve made this choice easier as we’ve highlighted the very best Apple Watch options. Our favorite apps—the list of which keeps growing—exist because they’re useful, they’re fun, or they make your life a little bit better.

Understanding the Benefits of Smartwatch Apps

Smartwatch apps are becoming more and more popular. They are made to make these wearable devices more useful and easy to use. Here are some of the most important reasons to use smartwatch apps:

????️‍♂️ Health and Fitness Monitoring: Many smartwatches have built-in ways to track your health and fitness, and apps can make these features even better. These apps can track your steps, track your heart rate, measure how you sleep, and even guide you through workouts. They keep people motivated and help them live healthier lives.

???? Notifications and Communication: You can get notifications from your phone right on your wrist with a smartwatch. Apps can change these alerts so that you only get the ones that are important to you. Also, you can respond to messages, emails, and calls right from your wrist, which is helpful when you can’t get to your phone.

????️ Personal Organization: Reminders, calendar events, and to-do lists are all things that smartwatch apps can help you with. They make sure that you don’t forget important meetings, tasks, or appointments.

Best Smartwatch Apps Comparison Table

The table below compares the best smartwatch apps, showing their most important features, how well they work with different platforms, how users rate them, and how much they cost. It lets users compare the apps’ features, how easy they are to use, and how well they work overall, which helps them make the best choice for their smartwatch.

App NameFeaturesPlatformFocusOfficial Link
Google FitHealth and activity trackingMulti-platformOverall health and activityVisit Website
Runtastic PRORunning, FitnessMulti-platformRunning and FitnessVisit Website
IFTTTAutomation and IntegrationMulti-platformTask AutomationVisit Website
Tempo: Run & WalkFitness LogiOSRunning and WalkingVisit Website
Arm Speed AnalyzerSports AnalysisiOSArm Speed AnalysisVisit Website
Watch to 5KRunning TrainingiOSRunning TrainingVisit Website
MoodistoryEmotional Well-being TrackingiOS, AndroidMood TrackingVisit Website
StravaRun & Ride TrainingMulti-platformRunning and Cycling TrainingVisit Website
Hole19 Golf GPSGolf GPS & ScoringiOS, AndroidGolfVisit Website
Heart AnalyzerHeart Rate AnalysisiOSHeart Rate AnalysisVisit Website

Google Fit: Health and activity tracking

Best Smartwatch Apps

Features:

  • Health and activity tracking app
  • Tracks various activities like walking, running, cycling, and more
  • Integrates with other fitness apps and wearables
  • Offers goal setting and personalized recommendations

This app is your free personal fitness tracker for jogging, running and many other activities. The app is perfect for those who want to get involved and need to start using it to track their fitness activities such as running, jogging, GPS walking, cycling and more.

This app offers many features to improve health and fitness while ensuring an enjoyable workout. It is one of the best fitness apps for smartwatches and tracks fitness activities and provides tips for exercising better and leading a healthier life. Overall, this is one of the best smartwatch apps you can suggest your friends.

Pros

  • Comprehensive health and activity tracking.
  • Integration with other Google services.
  • User-friendly interface.

Cons

  • Limited customization options.
  • Some features may require additional devices or sensors.
  • Occasional syncing issues.

Runtastic PRO Running, Fitness

Best Smartwatch Apps

Features:

  • Running and fitness app.
  • Tracks running distance, speed, duration, and calories burned.
  • Provides training plans for different fitness goals.
  • Offers audio coaching and motivational features.
  • Includes integration with music apps and social sharing

This app is perfect for those who want to get involved and need to start using it to track their fitness activities such as distance, time, speed, calories burned, altitude and more. It tracks fitness activities such as running, jogging, GPS walking, cycling and more. This app offers many features to improve health and fitness while ensuring that you enjoy your workout. In addition, this app is part of the global fitness community for more motivation.

In this app, you can create, search and discover routes around the world and save them to your smart device; the app also has a function to challenge a run. This allows you to compete against yourself by challenging past activities, and the app provides audio feedback based on personal preferences. It is one of the best fitness apps for smartwatches and tracks fitness activities and provides tips for exercising better and leading a healthier life.

Pros

  • Extensive running and fitness tracking features.
  • Audio coaching and training plans.
  • Social features to connect with other users

Cons

  • Paid app with limited free features.
  • Occasional GPS inaccuracies.
  • Some users report battery drain while using the app

IFTTT

Best Smartwatch Apps

Features:

  • Stands for “If This, Then That.”
  • Automates tasks and connects various apps and devices.
  • Allows users to create custom “applets” for specific actions.
  • Enables cross-platform integration and synchronization.
  • Offers a wide range of supported services and devices

This is a great app that brings together your favorite services to create new experiences. More than 600 apps work with this app, including Twitter, Google Drive, Telegram, Twitch, Weather, Instagram, Gmail, and many devices such as Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Phillips Hue, Nest, and even Android. This app controls everything around you using only your voice, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. It keeps you up to date on what is happening from publications such as the Newyork Times and ProPublica.

This app also keeps you prepared for all weather conditions with personalized daily forecast notifications and notifies roommates when you are near the local grocery store. And this app also alerts you when there is a new listing on Craigslist that matches your search and protects you with its automatic, smart home safety alerts. This app optimizes social media and has many other features. If you want best smartwatch apps, we highly recommend this one.

Pros

  • Automates tasks and connects smart devices.
  • Wide range of app and device integrations.
  • Customizable and user-friendly.

Cons

  • Requires some technical knowledge for advanced setups.
  • Occasional inconsistencies in execution.
  • Relies on stable internet connectivity.

Tempo: Run & Walk Fitness Log

Best Smartwatch Apps

Features:

  • Running and walking tracker app.
  • Records and analyzes running and walking activities.
  • Provides real-time pace, distance, and route tracking.
  • Includes voice feedback and audio cues.
  • Offers goal setting and progress tracking features

This app is your free personal fitness tracker for jogging, running and many other activities. The app is perfect for those who want to get involved and need to start using it to track their fitness activities such as running, jogging, GPS walking, cycling and more. This app offers many features to improve health and fitness while ensuring an enjoyable workout. It is one of the best fitness apps for smartwatches and tracks fitness activities and provides tips for exercising better and leading a healthier life.

Pros

  • Simple and intuitive fitness tracking for running and walking.
  • Real-time pace and distance tracking.
  • Customizable goals and reminders.

Cons

  • Limited features compared to other fitness apps.
  • No social or community features.
  • Occasional syncing issues.

Arm Speed Analyzer

Best Smartwatch Apps

Features:

  • App for analyzing arm speed in sports like baseball or golf.
  • Measures and evaluates arm speed and acceleration.
  • Provides feedback on technique and performance.
  • Offers visual graphs and charts for analysis.
  • Helps athletes improve their arm speed and power

How fast is your arm If you play ball or racket sports, if you are a golfer, Frisbee player, or field hockey player, the Arm Speed Analyzer can tell you how fast you can move and how fast you accelerate. This means that you can use it for golf swings and tennis serves, baseball or cricket throws, Frisbee tosses, field hockey stick swings, or anything else that involves fast throws, swings, sweeps, or strikes. Arm Speed Analyzer claims to be the most accurate speed detection application.

Using the application is quick and easy. It displays four key pieces of information: real-time speed and acceleration, last speed and acceleration, personal maximum speed, and maximum speed from the previous session. The application also keeps track of your history, so you can go back and see how much you have improved over time and how constant your speeds have become. If you want to know more about this app, you can visit on official website.

Pros

  • Analyzes and tracks arm speed in sports like baseball or golf.
  • Provides data and feedback for improving performance.
  • User-friendly interface.

Cons

  • Limited to specific sports and arm movements.
  • May require additional accessories or sensors.
  • Not suitable for general fitness tracking

Watch to 5K

Best Smartwatch Apps

Features:

  • Running app designed for beginners.
  • Guides users through a training program to gradually increase running distance.
  • Provides audio coaching and prompts during workouts.
  • Tracks progress and offers personalized training plans.
  • Helps users build endurance and prepare for a 5K race

If fitness is your thought during isolation, Couch to 5K is a great way to get in shape, and if you are thinking about Couch to 5K, Watch to 5K is a great way to keep track of it. Aimed at absolute beginners who want to achieve a 5K run over 9 weeks, the app creates a training plan of 3 runs per week for 9 weeks.

The schedule is different for each week, and if you complete all nine weeks you should be able to reach 5k in less than 30 minutes. The app can also run on its own, which is one of the reasons its creator developed it: he was fed up with 5K training apps that required him to carry his iPhone along for the run. So he wrote one that didn’t. It offers key metrics such as distance traveled, average pace, calories burned, and heart rate.

Time to Walk is a new and rather inspired idea for Apple Fitness Plus subscribers: it allows you to take a long walk while listening to a notable personality tell his or her story. As Apple says, “Each episode of Time to Walk is shaped by the personal moments that define the guest’s life and includes lessons learned, meaningful memories, reflections on intention and gratitude, quiet moments, and other inspiring themes that emerge while walking outdoors or in public places.”

Pros

  • Designed for beginners to gradually build up to running a 5K.
  • Structured training program and audio coaching.
  • Tracks distance, pace, and calories burned.

Cons

  • Limited features beyond the 5K training program.
  • Not suitable for advanced runners.
  • Some users report occasional bugs or crashes

Moodistory

Best Smartwatch Apps

Features:

  • Mood tracking and journaling app.
  • Allows users to log and track their moods and emotions.
  • Provides insights and trends on emotional well-being.
  • Offers customizable mood tags and notes.
  • Helps users identify patterns and manage their mental health.

Most Apple Watch apps in the health and fitness category are trackers of some kind: step trackers, calorie trackers, cycle trackers, and so on. Moodistory is also a tracker, but it is more interested in your mental state than your physical performance. Thanks to the new Apple Watch Companion app, it’s one of the fastest ways to record your mood and give it context, and it’s built for pure typing speed-if you want to leave detailed notes, it’s best left to the iPhone app. On the watch, just tap and go.

Mood tracking can be very useful for people whose mental state is subject to ups and downs, or for those who want to understand the patterns that can affect their mood. By charting how you feel over a period of time, you can begin to see if there are certain trends, and if you also include contextual information, this can help identify the triggers that cause us to go down or up.

Pros

  • Tracks and analyzes mood patterns.
  • Provides insights and suggestions for mental well-being.
  • Journaling and note-taking features.

Cons

  • Limited customization options.
  • Requires regular input and participation.
  • Privacy concerns regarding sensitive data.

Strava: Run & Ride Training

Best Smartwatch Apps

Features:

  • Popular app for tracking and analyzing running and cycling activities.
  • Records and maps routes, distance, speed, and elevation.
  • Offers social features to connect with friends and join challenges.
  • Provides training plans and performance analysis tools.
  • Integrates with various fitness devices and apps

Strava needs no introduction for fitness enthusiasts: it is one of the world’s best fitness apps for runners, cyclists and swimmers, as well as those who frequent gyms, kayaks and yoga. The latest version has decent support for the Apple Watch, which allows you to synchronize your workouts and activities recorded with Apple’s Workout app with the Strava app and its online tracking to get a better overall picture of your fitness activities.

Strava undergoes a constant cycle of updates: a few days after the release of synchronization with the Apple Watch, another update arrived with improved stroke analysis for swimmers and improved cadence analysis for runners; two weeks earlier, new features were introduced for skiing and activity sharing, as well as a series of interactive 3D maps. The great strength of Strava is the social aspect, which sets it apart from other GPS-enabled fitness apps: you can compare your performance not only with yourself but also with other users; you can compete to become the king or queen of specific geographic rankings.

Pros

  • Extensive tracking and analysis for running and cycling.
  • Social features for sharing activities and competing with others.
  • Challenges and goal-setting options.

Cons

  • Some features are limited to the premium subscription.
  • Occasional GPS inaccuracies.
  • Privacy concerns related to location data.

Hole19 Golf GPS & Scoring

Best Smartwatch Apps

Features:

  • Golf GPS and scoring app.
  • Provides accurate distances to hazards, greens, and fairways.
  • Offers shot tracking and scorecard features.
  • Includes a digital scorecard with stats and analytics.
  • Helps golfers improve their game and manage their scores.

Hole19 claims to be the most widely used golf GPS rangefinder in the UK, with over 10 million rounds recorded, and claims to be as accurate as a real caddy, although it does not specify which one. As usual for sports apps, most of the work is done by the iPhone app, while the companion for Apple Watch provides only the essential functions and information you need while on the green.

The main app offers two basic tools: GPS distance measurement, which allows you to see how far you are from your destination and any hazards, and a digital scorecard to monitor statistics over time. The distance to the front, middle, and back of the green is shown on the watch; swiping your finger takes you to a screen to monitor your performance. The whole thing is very simple and straightforward, allowing you to keep track of your game without getting too distracted.

Pros

  • Accurate GPS measurements for golf courses.
  • Score tracking and statistics.
  • Distance and shot tracking.

Cons

  • Some features require in-app purchases.
  • Occasional course mapping errors.
  • Battery drain while using GPS.

Heart Analyzer

Best Smartwatch Apps

Features:

  • Heart rate analysis app.
  • Syncs with Apple Health to analyze heart rate data.
  • Provides detailed insights on heart rate variability and recovery.
  • Offers personalized heart rate zones and training recommendations.
  • Helps users understand their heart health and optimize their workouts

Unfortunately, the Apple Watch’s display is rather limited compared to that of the phone, but even though the watch component is not as nice as the new iPhone app, it is still very effective and makes good use of the available space. The Heart Analyzer v8 on the wrist has improved customizable complications for infographic dials, so you have the heart rate graph right in front of you. The Watch app offers real-time heart rate monitoring and trending graphs, weekly readings and workout views, as well as recording calories burned and distance traveled.

Things are even more impressive on the iPhone, where you can view custom metrics such as day/night resting heart rates, average heart rates, and years of historical data. The new user interface makes everything much clearer and strikes the difficult balance of providing lots of data without being overwhelming. Currently, this is one of the best smartwatch apps.

Pros

  • Analyzes heart rate data and provides insights.
  • Customizable heart rate zones and alerts.
  • User-friendly interface.

Cons

  • Limited to heart rate analysis.
  • May require compatible heart rate sensors.
  • Some users report occasional syncing issues.

How to Choose the Best Smartwatch Apps for Your Needs?

Getting the most out of your smartwatch can be greatly improved by choosing the best apps for your needs. The steps below can help you find and choose the right apps for your Apple Watch, Samsung Galaxy Watch, Wear OS device, or any other smartwatch:

???? Figure Out What You Need: First, you should think about what you want your smartwatch to do. Do you want to track your fitness, get more done, keep an eye on your health, or have fun? If you know what’s most important to you, you’ll be able to choose fewer apps.

???? Look in the App Store: Visit the app store for your smartwatch’s operating system, such as the Apple App Store, the Galaxy Store, or the Google Play Store for Wear OS. You can look through different categories, such as health and fitness, getting things done, music, communication, and games.

Read Ratings and Reviews: Look for apps that have a lot of positive reviews and high ratings. This will let you know how well the app works, what features it has, and if there could be any problems.

???? Think about compatibility: Make sure the app you choose works with the model and operating system of your smartwatch. Some apps may only work on certain platforms or devices, or they may only have a few features on those platforms.

????️ Focus on Apps That Are Easy to Use: A well-designed user interface is important for a smartwatch to work well. Choose apps that are easy to navigate and use, especially on a small screen.

FAQs

Can I use another app for my smartwatch?

You can add apps to your watch. You can get many different apps for your watch from the Google Play Store. Some apps work with a matching app on your phone, which is connected to your watch. Tip: To search for and download apps, make sure your watch is connected to Wi-Fi or LTE.

Do all smart watches require an app?

For smartwatches to be able to send notifications, they need to be paired with a smartphone. It’s important to know that not every smartwatch will work with every phone. Most smartwatches work with Android or iOS devices, and in some cases, they work with both.

Kevin Hawk
Kevin Hawk
Specializing in crafting captivating list-based articles, Kevin dives into the world of software, tools, and apps, offering readers expert insights and recommendations. His keen interest in technology is matched only by his love for travel, which fuels his creativity and adds a unique perspective to his writing. With a finger on the pulse of the tech landscape, Kevin Hawk continues to be a valuable asset to Bollyinside's content team, providing a blend of expertise, passion, and wanderlust.

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