7 Best-Hidden Apps for Your Apple Watch

I’m a first time Apple Watch user and I’m excited to get everything it can do straight out of the box: make calls, send messages, store my credit cards, record data about my performance and sleep — and that just scratches the surface of what I love about it. I am very impressed with the functionality provided by the old apps on my watch.

But with third-party apps, you can do even more with your Apple Watch, like browse the web and take care of your pet.

In fact, I’ve put together a whole list of hidden App Store gems that will take your watch to the next level. Here are seven of my favorite little-known Apple Watch accessories.

Search the web by Parrity

Apple has made browsing the web on the 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 load the site and start reading. How cool does CNET look on the Apple Watch in the image below?

Browsing the web this way is more complicated than using your iPhone’s Safari app. And Parrity often interrupts your browsing process to resize the page to better fit the watch’s square screen.

But this app is useful for those times when your phone is in your bag or purse and you want to look at something without rummaging through your bag. Your Apple Watch needs to be paired with your iPhone to search for a new item. So you won’t be able to use Google on the go unless you have your iPhone, even if you’re on a cellular watch.

However, the pages you view are saved. So you can upload an article when you’re close to your iPhone to read it later, when you’re away from your phone.

Parrity is free and works on WatchOS 4.0 or later.

Take care of a real pet with Habbie

Habbie’s kit gives me Tamagotchi vibes in the best possible way. You take care of a cute little cat by hitting your daily goal. It adjusts to 10,000 steps but can be adjusted in the iPhone app. When you reach your goal, you get a gift to feed your cat. And if you don’t meet your goal, your cat goes to the bathroom on your watch (to put it politely). But you can clean it up by achieving your goal the next day.

There is also a Habbie watch face problem so you can see your cat and step count every time you look at your watch. I love this app because even though I really enjoyed taking care of my Tamagotchi back in the day, now that I have more free time, it’s nice to be able to take care of this pet while taking care of myself. If you read my last story on my first week with Series 9, you know that I’ve been using my watch to help me prioritize, and tools like this make it fun and more than.

Habbie is $5 and works on WatchOS 9.1 or later.

Receive words of encouragement from Me

While we are on the subject of self-care, when life feels difficult, it can be good to find words of encouragement. The I Am app sends push notifications to your Apple Watch throughout the day. There is also a complication so you can see a nice message whenever you look at your watch. And if you open the app, you can see even more confirmations.

I’ve had the iPhone version of this app for a while, and it’s very comforting to see good messages in the midst of emails, texts, and other notifications that might overwhelm me. So I’m glad it’s available again on the Apple Watch. The free version sends you good generalizations, which I like. But I tried the subscription and I like that it allows me to choose more specific guarantees, so you might find it useful too. But give a free trial first.

The I Am app is free but requires a paid subscription to unlock all features: $5 per month, $30 per year or $100 for lifetime access. I’m running on WatchOS 8.0 or later.

Discover AI with Genie

AI is a buzzword in technology right now. So it’s no surprise, there’s no shortage of apps that let you ask ChatGPT questions on your Apple Watch. I use Genie because I like that it gives suggested suggestions and has a box for you to make your own suggestions.

My only gripe is that you can’t read the results (mostly detailed) that it provides with the Apple Watch crown. You have to use your finger, which is annoying. Being able to use the crown would take this device from a 9 to a perfect 10 out of 10 for me. But it’s still beautiful and fun to use.

Chatbot AI Assistant Genie is free and works on WatchOS 9.1 or later.

Take notes with 2Doodle

The 2Doodle app is my new favorite way to add reminders to my Apple Watch face and give it more personality. Set 2Doodle as a distraction, and when you draw something in the app, it will instantly appear on your watch face.

Dooding on a small screen takes practice and your notes may not take long. But I enjoy using this tool for short messages.

2Doodle is free and works on WatchOS 7.0 or later.

Embrace the confusion with Birdie and Snake.io

These last two tools are not for production or consumption. They’re just for fun, and they both make me feel sad. The first one is called Birdie. You move the bird through the crown and try to fly it between the green tubes. I like this one because it was inspired by the 2013 iPhone app Flappy Bird.

Next is Snake.io and this reminds me of Snake game on Nokia phones. You use the crown to move the snake and try to get small circles while avoiding other snakes.

Birdie is free and works on WatchOS 2.0 or later. Snake.io is also free and works on WatchOS 3.0 or later.

Final thoughts

I found these tools because I was curious about what this already capable tool could do. And I’m glad I did. These accessories make the Apple Watch even more valuable and personal.