Making Apple Watch tick for you

AAt its recent annual developer conference, Apple made a move to jump-start the production of apps for the Apple Watch by announcing a software tool kit that will enable developers to create more advanced programs for the new device.

But while we wait - this software upgrade isn’t set to arrive until this fall - the Apple Watch has around 3,500 apps that users can experiment with. Many of the apps showcase the capabilities of the device, such as displaying notifications and augmenting the abilities of a smartphone app. While these apps have not turned the Apple Watch into a must-have device for all users, I tested programs that were great at monitoring fitness and the weather, and one that was even useful for booking a hotel room, among others.

One of these memorable Watch apps is Carrot Fit, a seven-minute workout app that encourages you to repeatedly jump, crunch and do other exercises by mixing sarcasm, humour, jesting insults and cartoon graphics.

Instead of having to glance at your smartphone screen to know how long to repeat a particular exercise and which one to do next, you can see this information on your wrist with Carrot’s app. The app uses a clearly visible timer disc and gives an animated view of the movements you are doing. You can start and pause workouts and get feedback on your performance. This $3 (Rs 190) fitness app is less boring than its rivals, and more motivating.

Notifying users of approaching bad weather is another task perfectly fit for the Apple Watch. Dark Sky is an example of this type of app, which features graphics and one useful trick: It can alert you if rain or snow is imminent where you are.

Weather alerts may also be more noticeable on the Apple Watch than on a smartphone because of the attention-grabbing buzz on your wrist. Dark Sky for the watch shows a basic breakdown of the day’s weather forecast - which is shown with clear numbers, text and simple graphics - as well as the forecast for the next five days. The app costs $4 (Rs 253) and works only in the United States, Britain and Ireland.

Clear is a popular to-do list app that makes planning fun, thanks to its slick gesture-based interface and appealing graphics. On the Apple Watch version of Clear, which costs $5 (Rs 317), some of this finesse is lost because of the small screen, but much of the app’s power and ease of use remain intact.

You can view all of your to-do lists, easily mark items as “done” with a tap (great for shopping), sort your list entries and add entries via speech recognition. You can also add alerts, which will then buzz your wrist according to when they are scheduled. These reminders can be seen in the watch’s Glances page for easy viewing.

Using Shazam, a free music discovery app, on your phone to recognize a piece of music you are listening to has always felt high-tech. But previously you would have needed to take your phone out, unlock it and open Shazam - running the risk that the tune you are listening to will end.

Shazam on the Apple Watch will start when you tap the app on the watch face. The app, which is free, processes the sounds around you and identifies music automatically. If the album art is available, you can see it on the watch screen, and track the song name and artist name, as well as the lyrics in some cases.

Hotel Tonight for the watch, much like its phone-based counterpart, provides a list of nearby hotels that have rooms available that night. The watch app will list the same nearby hotels and will show you the hotel’s price, luxury level, distance from your location and a small photo. Tapping on an entry reveals more information, including a location on a map. With the app, which is free, you can book a room right from your wrist.

Try Trivia Crack and Camera Plus on Apple Watch. Trivia Crack, which costs $3 (Rs 190), lets you play a general-knowledge quiz game on your wrist. While its interface is fiddly, it provides essentially the same fun experience as the full phone app.

Camera Plus is a neat app that allows you to see your phone’s camera view on your watch screen, and then snap a photo or take a video via the front or back cameras of your phone. It is great for taking selfies, but you need to run Camera Plus on your phone at the same time. The app costs $2 (Rs 126).