Five essential must-have apps for Android Wear
The whole smartwatch shebang is still a rather confusing mini-mess, where manufacturers are not very certain on how to position their gizmos, while users are not entirely sure that a glorified timepiece with the ability to vibrate when you get an email is worth shelling out $300 for. Well, at least that was the case until the recent few months, when smartdevice makers realised that people wouldn't mind paying a premium price for a watch, as long as it doesn't look like a fitness tracker with a glowing screen, but actually resembles a timepiece you wouldn't mind being seen in public with. Nowadays, we have the Moto 360 (which still doesn't appeal to many, due to simple looks and the infamous cut-off at the bottom of its circular screen), the Asus ZenWatch, and the upcoming LG Watch Urbane, which will surely attract more eyes to the wearable tech market (and we are not even mentioning the amount of traction the Apple Watch will bring along as well).
So, now that developers have had the time to play with Android Wear for a while – there certainly are quite a few useful apps out there for early adopters to enjoy. In fact, if you wish to explore a wide variety of apps to use with your Wear device – check out this recent article for our pick of best apps out there, which includes weather apps, sleep trackers, et cetera.
Now, if you merely wish to use your smartwatch “bare” – the way it ships, with only Android Wear's functionality on it, you may still find that you are missing a few things to make your experience with the gizmo a bit better. So, let's take a look at 5 essential solutions, which will not enhance the watches functionality too much, but will add just a few tweaks here and there to save you some headaches.
Launching any app on a Wear device is an odd ordeal – you either have to speak into the watch, or you have to tap on the screen and swipe down to whatever you wish to run, which works rather awkwardly on the small screen. So, a launcher is probably one of the few things you'd want to add to your smartwatch if you are the minimalist kind, so here's a couple of choices!
Wear Mini Launcher is accessed by swiping in from the top-left of the wearable's screen. This will display a list of launchable apps. Another swipe from the same spot will give you a set of quick controls – similar to what we see on Swipify, and another brightness slider.
Due to a lack of system notifications on Android-powered smartwatches, it's not very easy to see when an app has installed, updated, or been removed from your Wear device. Apps Tracker will display a notification card on your smartwatch every time an app changes, which will leave a lot of guesswork out of the picture.
If you are a new smartwatch owner, you'd be quite curious about how the battery performs and what the overall usage graph of the gadget is. Wear Battery Stats will give you just that and will also add a notification for when your percentage drops beneath a user-set threshold.
Out of the few calendar apps that are available out there for Wear, this one is probably the most useful one at the moment. However, to unlock its agenda and detailed view features, you'd need to pay up $1.99 for premium unlock. The free version still works as a great at-a-glance calendar, though.
Not an app that you would use on your phone per se, but still a Wear essential – this app will filter offerings from the Play Store and display to you only the apps that are made for or compatible with Android Wear.
Now, if you merely wish to use your smartwatch “bare” – the way it ships, with only Android Wear's functionality on it, you may still find that you are missing a few things to make your experience with the gizmo a bit better. So, let's take a look at 5 essential solutions, which will not enhance the watches functionality too much, but will add just a few tweaks here and there to save you some headaches.
1. Swipify / Wear Mini Launcher
Launching any app on a Wear device is an odd ordeal – you either have to speak into the watch, or you have to tap on the screen and swipe down to whatever you wish to run, which works rather awkwardly on the small screen. So, a launcher is probably one of the few things you'd want to add to your smartwatch if you are the minimalist kind, so here's a couple of choices!
Swipify can be accessed by swiping in from the left of the smartwatches display. It then displays the launchable apps in a carousel, as long as the user keeps their finger on the screen. To launch an app, drag your touch to its icon and release. The launcher adds a quick settings menu, which allows you to toggle the paired smartphone's Wi-Fi, playback, media volume, ringer, cause it to ring, and fine tune the watches brightness (something that is also not easily accessible in stock). Additionally, Swipify adds a recent apps screen – it is also in a circular form and is accessed by swiping in from the right. If you are not very partial to the carousels – the launcher has a list mode as well.
2. Wear Apps Tracker
Due to a lack of system notifications on Android-powered smartwatches, it's not very easy to see when an app has installed, updated, or been removed from your Wear device. Apps Tracker will display a notification card on your smartwatch every time an app changes, which will leave a lot of guesswork out of the picture.
3. Wear Battery Stats
If you are a new smartwatch owner, you'd be quite curious about how the battery performs and what the overall usage graph of the gadget is. Wear Battery Stats will give you just that and will also add a notification for when your percentage drops beneath a user-set threshold.
4. Calendar for Android Wear
Out of the few calendar apps that are available out there for Wear, this one is probably the most useful one at the moment. However, to unlock its agenda and detailed view features, you'd need to pay up $1.99 for premium unlock. The free version still works as a great at-a-glance calendar, though.
5. Store for Android Wear
Not an app that you would use on your phone per se, but still a Wear essential – this app will filter offerings from the Play Store and display to you only the apps that are made for or compatible with Android Wear.
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