Take Your Apple Watch to the Next Level with These 7 Hidden App Store Gems
Commentary: Download these third-party apps to make the already-capable Apple Watch even more fun and useful.
The Habbie app on the Apple Watch allows you to care for a virtual pet as you care for yourself.
I'm a month into wearing an Apple Watch for the first time and have had so much fun experimenting with everything it can do out of the box: calling, texting, accessing my cards with Apple Pay, tracking my workouts and sleep… The list goes on. It's impressive what you can do with your watch's native apps.
But downloading third-party applications allows your Apple Watch to do even more, like surfing the web and caring for a virtual pet.
In fact, I've gathered an entire list of hidden App Store gems that will take your watch to the next level. Here are seven of my favorite lesser-known Apple Watch apps.
Surf the web with Parrity
Apple has made visiting a website on your Apple Watch nearly impossible, and the Parrity app aims to fix that. Once the app is open, tap the magnifying glass at the top of the screen and from there, you can enter a site and start browsing. How great does CNET look on an Apple Watch in the picture below?
Reading a CNET article on my Apple Watch thanks to the Parrity app.
Surfing the web like this is laggier than using your iPhone's Safari app. And Parrity often interrupts your browsing experience to resize the page so it fits better into the watch's square screen.
But this app is helpful for moments when your phone is in your backpack or purse and you want to look something up without rummaging through your bag. Your Apple Watch needs to be connected to your iPhone to search for something new. So you can't Google stuff on the go unless you have your iPhone with you, even if you're on a cellular watch.
However, the pages you look at do get cached. So you could load an article while you're near your iPhone to read later, when you're away from your phone.
Parrity is free and runs on WatchOS 4.0 or later.
Care for a virtual pet with Habbie
I didn't hit my daily step count goal the day before, so my Habbie cat pooped on my Apple Watch.
The Habbie app gives me Tamagotchi vibes in the best way. You take care of a cute little cat by hitting your daily step count goal. It defaults to 10,000 steps but can be changed on the iPhone app. When you meet your goal, you get a gift to feed your cat. And when you don't reach your goal, your cat goes to the bathroom on your watch (to put it politely). But you can clean it up by meeting your goal the next day.
There's also a Habbie watch face complication so you can see your cat and step count every time you check your watch. I love this app because while I had so much fun taking care of my Tamagotchi back in the day, now that I have less free time, it's nice that I can care for this virtual pet as I care for myself. If you read my last story on my first week with the Series 9, you know I've been using my watch to help me prioritize self-care, and apps like this make doing that even more fun.
Habbie is $5 and runs on WatchOS 9.1 or later.
Get words of encouragement with I Am
See positive affirmations on your Apple Watch face with the I Am app.
While we're on the topic of self-care, when life feels overwhelming, it can be helpful to get some words of encouragement. The I Am app sends notifications with affirmations to your Apple Watch throughout your day. There's also a complication so you can see a positive message whenever you look at your watch. And if you open the app, you can tap through even more affirmations.
I've had the iPhone version of this app for a while, and it's very comforting to see positive messages amid emails, texts and other notifications that may be stressing me out. So I'm happy it's available on the Apple Watch too. The free version sends you general positive affirmations, which I like. But I tried the subscription and I love that it allows me to choose more specific affirmations, so you may find it worthwhile too. But give the free trial a spin first.
The I Am app is free but does require a paid subscription to unlock all features: $5 per month, $30 per year or $100 for lifetime access. I Am runs on WatchOS 8.0 or later.
Access AI with Genie
You can choose one of the suggested prompts or ask your own question.
AI is the buzzword in tech right now. So unsurprisingly, there's no shortage of apps that allow you to ask ChatGPT questions on your Apple Watch. I use Genie because I like that it offers suggested prompts and has a box for you to enter your own prompts.
My only gripe is that you can't scroll through the (often detailed) results it provides with the Apple Watch's crown. You have to use your finger, which is tedious. Being able to use the crown would take this app from a 9 to a perfect 10 out of 10 for me. But it's still pretty good and fun to use.
Chatbot AI Assistant Genie is free and runs on WatchOS 9.1 or later.
Write yourself notes with 2Doodle
Display drawings on your Apple Watch face with the 2Doodle app.
The 2Doodle app is my new favorite way to display reminders on my Apple Watch face and give it a little more personality. Set 2Doodle as a complication and when you draw something in the app, it'll immediately appear on your watch face.
Drawing in the 2Doodle app.
Doodling on that tiny screen does take some getting used to and your notes can't be long. But I do enjoy using this app for short messages.
2Doodle is free and runs on WatchOS 7.0 or later.
Embrace the nostalgia with Birdie and Snake.io
It's giving Flappy Bird vibes.
These last two apps aren't for productivity or utility. They're just for fun, and they both make me feel nostalgic. The first one is called Birdie. You move the bird with the crown and try to fly it between the green tubes. I love this one because it's inspired by the iconic 2013 iPhone app Flappy Bird.
Playing Snake.io on the Apple Watch.
Next is Snake.io and this one reminds me of the Snake game on Nokia phones. You use the crown to move the snake and try to get the little circles while avoiding the other snakes.
Birdie is free and runs on WatchOS 2.0 or later. Snake.io is also free and runs on WatchOS 3.0 or later.
Final thoughts
I found these apps because I was curious about how much more this already capable device could do. And I'm glad I did. These applications make the Apple Watch even more useful and personal.
