Some practically useful early Apple Watch apps


I've been thinking of how the Apple Watch can transform how I do what I do. The big features I'm seeing in the early round of Apple Watch-enabled apps are apps that basically let you keep your phone in your pocket. That's attractive, and potentially powerful for certain uses, but feels gimmicky or not really an advantage over other smart watches.

So, here are some apps I've seen that I think will add unique functionality or is particularly helpful by keeping my iPhone in my pocket. There are only a couple so far for the iPhone launch, so I'll also add in built-in Apple Watch features I'm looking forward to using.

PowerPoint
Control your slide deck from your watch. This could be big, assuming it's responsive and reliable.

Keynote
Same as a PowerPoint, you can control your slide deck on your iOS device.

SPG/W Hotels
Really narrow scope here, but still nifty. You can use your Apple Watch to unlock your hotel room door.

Evernote
Dictate notes into Apple Watch and it will sync to Evernote. If I can quickly get into dictation mode, this could be really helpful for quickly making notes.

Shazam
The iOS app allows you to listen to music and identify a song, but to me that's kind of awkward. You'll be able to do the same from the Apple Watch, which seems more practical that digging out the phone.

Apple Pay
Once authenticated on your wrist, the Apple Watch won't require TouchID to issue payment. Should make a convenient payment system even better.

Maps
The iPhone will tap your wrist prompting you to turn. You can glance at your watch for directions or if you're familiar with the route you can just follow the street signs.