The best Android Wear apps

If you’ve got an Android Wear smartwatch, then you’re already keen to get information from your phone to your wrist in the most efficient, fun way possible. There are plenty of decent Google apps that will do that, but there are also third-party apps that bring a solid user experience to the platform.

Here are our favourite Android Wear apps to download for your Android Wear smartwatch.

You can download Android Wear apps by first downloading them onto your Android phone. From there, Android Wear OS will help you download them to your watch.

Go to the Play Store app directly on your watch, then scroll down to the ‘Apps on your phone’ option. Tap, and then you can select which to install.

We also have a round up of the best Android Wear games right here.

Android Pay

As long as your Android Wear smartwatch has NFC (check) then one of the best apps is Android Pay. Much like you may have used your phone to pay using contactless tech, many Android Wear watches can do it too.

Download Android Pay, and add your bank card and away you go. It’s really convenient and even lazier than not wanting to get your wallet or phone out. But we love it.

Google Fit

It’ll probably come pre-installed, but Google Fit is the go-to Android Wear health tracking app. As Google’s own, you can easily sync your smartwatch with the Fit app on your phone for seamless health data collection.

There are other health apps available, but we prefer to stick with Google’s first party Android Wear apps where possible.

Google Keep

Even if you make notes on your phone with Keep, it’s worth downloading it onto your watch too. We find it really handy for bringing up a shopping list we’d composed on our phone so that you can have both hands free while occasionally checking if you remembered milk.

Google Translate

This has come in so handy on many a foreign trip. Sure, we’d all like to speak six European languages, but realistically, most of us at Tech Advisor are language-lazy Britons. So this watch app is awesome – it uses the mic to translate short phrases into the dialect of your choice.

Citymapper

As long as you live in a city that it covers, Citymapper is in many ways superior to Google Maps, with reliable live bus and train times. It’s great for Android Wear devices too, with turn by turn alerts like when to change trains or get off the bus. Handy if you want a bit of directional guidance but don’t want to stare at your phone like a massive tourist (as you may well be if you’re using Citymapper!)

Shazam

This one’s easy to recommend – the recently Apple-acquired Shazam is simple on a phone, and just as easy on Android Wear. Tap the app, and it’ll tell you what song, film or ad is playing using its familiar black magic.

Spotify

Bear in mind that the Spotify app is useful, but it is a companion app rather than a standalone streaming app. Your phone must be nearby, and it acts on your watch as a shortcut to your favourite and recently played playlists and albums.

Simplistic, but functional enough if you’re on a run.

Uber

You might not agree with its ethics but if you’re an Uber user, the Android Wear app is a handy companion. It’s more of a novelty app because you could probably just get your phone out, but the tech nerd within you will enjoy summoning a taxi with just your watch. It’s pretty futuristic.