The latest Apple Watch models ship with tons of useful apps built right in. These include apps geared toward health and fitness, safety, travel, note-taking, communication, and much more.
My favorite Apple Watch app, for instance, lets you track global tides and shoreline conditions right from your wrist. The best Apple Watches can even help you translate audio and messages in real time.
However, Apple’s home baked apps aren’t the only show in town. In fact, the Apple Watch App Store is absolutely brimming with options. Below, I’ve highlighted my seven favorite third-party apps for Apple Watch, including options for fitness tracking, entertainment, navigation, and more.
But first, here’s a quick refresher on downloading apps to your Apple Watch.
How to download apps to your Apple Watch
Tap the digital crown to enter your Apple Watch’s app view and select the App Store app (the icon is blue with a white 'A'). There, you can search for and download all of the third-party apps listed below, and many more.
My favorite third-party Apple Watch apps
Strava
You don’t need to be a paying Strava subscriber — I’m not — to make use of the app on your Apple Watch. Better yet, you can track a huge number of activities from it without ever needing to pick up your iPhone; the Strava app uses the watch’s onboard GPS for location data.
From skateboarding to windsurfing to backcountry skiing, Strava covers even the most nuanced outdoor activities. The app is also clean and easy to navigate. Post workout, all your data gets synced with your Strava account, allowing you to view the insights from your efforts on a larger screen.
Nike Run Club
You don’t need to own a pair of Nike sneakers to use the Nike Run Club app either. In fact, it’s completely free for all users, and a crowd favorite among the pavement pounders on our staff. Think of it as your personalized running coach, with stat tracking, training advice, and even motivational messaging.
It also works brilliantly with Apple’s own Fitness app, automatically syncing all of your running data. Plus, you can use it to record runs sans-smartphone; like Strava on Apple Watch, Nike Run Club uses the Apple Watch’s GPS for location data.
Pedometer++
One issue I have with the Apple Watch’s onboard fitness tracking app is that it doesn’t provide step count totals for individually tracked activities, like walks and hikes. Instead, users simply get a running step-count total for the day.
So, if you want to keep tabs on your steps, the best way to do it is using the free Pedometer++ app. Not only has it proven itself accurate in our testing, but it’s also dead-simple to navigate, and you can even add a step count complication to your watch face via Pedometer++.
AllTrails
AllTrails is the best hiking app I’ve ever used, and a great addition to your Apple Watch if you love the outdoors. Keep your smartphone in your pocket and navigate Mother Nature right from your wrist. The app supports offline navigational maps and can even be set up to alert you if you venture too far from your intended route.
While hiking, you can view your real-time metrics at a glance, including pace, speed, distance covered, and elevation. Post-hike, all of the tracking data recorded by the AllTrails app syncs seamlessly with the Apple Health app.
Calm
It’s a hectic world out there. Sometimes you simply need to take a few moments to focus on your breathing or take a short mindfulness walk to reset the nervous system. With the free Calm app, guided meditation sessions are only a few taps of your Apple Watch away.
These free sessions range in length from just five minutes up to thirty minutes, and feature topics like de-stressing, building focus, encouraging confidence, and more. However, while the app is free to download, you only get a limited number of on-the-house meditations per month unless you pony up some extra cash.
Spotify
Spotify is my go-to streaming platform on my iPhone, with more music on offer than I’ll ever be able to listen to in a lifetime. It also features weekly song recommendations based on your listening preferences, and an easy-to-navigate user interface.
Best of all, Spotify Premium subscribers — like myself — can download albums and playlists directly to their Apple Watch for offline listening. Even if you don’t pay for Premium, the Spotify Apple Watch app is a handy way to search and listen to tunes directly from your wrist.
Google Maps
Google Maps is my preferred app for navigation on the Apple Watch, but to use it, you’ll need to first punch in your destination and travel method (foot, bike, car, ect.) into the Google Maps app on your paired iPhone. Once navigation begins, your Apple Watch will automatically display the directions while providing haptic feedback whenever you need to make a turn.
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