8 watchOS apps that make your Apple Watch more useful

People often use the Apple Watch as an extension to their iPhone, as it can provide easy-to-read notifications and health tracking. For many, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 gets its best features from its standalone third-party apps, which extend its functionality when they're not using their iPhone.

 

Battery Grapher

See the story of the power of Apple Watch

 

On Apple Watch, Battery Grapher is an easily accessible widget that shows you the estimated hours of battery life left. With just a tap, you can see historical battery data, usage patterns, and more. In addition to Apple Watch and iPhone, the app is also available on iPad.

Just Press Record

When inspiration strikes, your wrist is ready.

 

Just Press Record is one of the easiest apps to use, but also one of the most powerful. It lets you record conversations with family, friends, and sources, making it easy to review those recordings whenever you need to. The app is available for Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Oura

The smart ring's close companion on your hand

On the Apple Watch, the Oura app provides easy, real-time access to key metrics from your smart ring , including your readiness level, sleep performance, and activity score. While Oura's iPhone app is much more useful and provides more information, the Apple Watch app is useful when you just want to glance at your metrics.

Hello Weather

Beautiful, useful forecasts

 

The iPhone's favorite weather app, Hello Weather, looks beautiful and useful on the Apple Watch. It uses bright colors and easy-to-read text to display forecast data, which looks great on the Apple Watch's sharp display. From here, you can see the "Right Now" forecast, along with what's coming in the next few hours in your area. There's also weather information for the next 7 days.

Proton Authenticator

Privacy-first 2FA security on your wrist

Introduced earlier this year, Proton Authenticator is the latest addition to Proton's growing family of apps. The free app offers two-factor authentication (2FA) tools to protect your accounts with an extra layer of security.

On Apple Watch, you can quickly display codes for any logins that have been set up with the Proton Authenticator app on iPhone.

Gentler Streak

 

The Apple Watch app of the year for 2022, Gentler Streak, is a core health and fitness app that some people have used for years. It's still one of the best fitness apps for locking down your health circle on your Apple Watch. The app tracks your daily physical activity while also providing motivational support through personalized workout recommendations that match your current fitness level, rather than forcing you to maintain extreme fitness goals.

AutoSleep

One of the first third-party apps for the Apple Watch, AutoSleep is for anyone who wants to know how their current sleep habits are going and get suggestions for improvement when things aren't going well. It detects when you go to bed and wake up, then estimates your daily sleep quality. It's easily the best sleep tracking app for the Apple Watch.

While AutoSleep is designed to work without an Apple Watch, it's much more effective when worn on your wrist.

Audible

Stream stories directly from Apple Watch

What makes Audible great on the Apple Watch is that you can download books and leave your iPhone at home. If you have a cellular-enabled Apple Watch, you can also stream books on the go. You can listen to audiobooks using speakers, headphones, or Bluetooth earbuds. You can also use the Audible app to listen to podcasts .