Apple Watch

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The stock Apple Watch apps you will be able to use out of the box

Apple's big Watch event saw the arrival of a whole new MacBook as well as some Apple TV stuff and an entry into the world of medical research, but it's clear which of these everyone was the most interested in. Having announced the Apple Watch during the iPhone event late last year, yesterday was when we got our best look yet at what the Apple Watch will be able to do as well as how much it will cost. We also now know when we will be able to get our hands on one - it ships April 24th.

Even though the Apple Watch had been outed before though, the most interesting thing beyond the price as far as we are concerned was always going to be what the watch was actually capable of and whether there would be any cool apps to play with. Apple has shared a collection of the Apple Watch's built-in apps as well as some third-party offerings, and they look rather scrumptious.

Here's a rundown of what included first-party apps you can expect to be tapping away at come the end of April. We'll be covering third-party apps in a separate post.

Apple Watch: new details about battery life, apps, features and more emerge

Apple has managed to improve the battery life of the Apple Watch to support 5 hours of heavy application use, reports 9to5Mac. Ahead of Monday's event, the site has heard this and other previously unknown details from sources who have hands-on experience with the wearable.

The improvement in battery life should ensure that the Watch will last a full day with mixed heavy and passive use. However, the site makes it clear that users will still need to charge the device every night, as the battery is not strong enough to last a full second day without renewal.

Check out these interactive demos of Apple Watch apps

After months of anticipation, we are entering the home stretch in our wait for the Apple Watch launch. But for those of you who are having trouble dealing with the suspense, we believe we may have found something to tide you over.

Newly launched website WatchAware has put together a series of interactive demos, giving users a fairly good idea of how they'll interact with Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and various other popular apps on the upcoming Apple Watch. 

Launch lineup of Watch apps includes Salesforce, Panera Bread, hotel & fitness apps and more

As Apple is prepping to share more information about its upcoming wrist-worn device at the March 9 “Spring Forward” media event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, CEO Tim Cook just dropped a few interesting tidbits about the lineup of launch apps for the Watch.

He told employees of Apple's flagship retail store in Berlin that “a whole ton of announcements are coming shortly about all of the apps coming” for it.

The comment indicates that the upcoming media event will have a strong focus on third-party applications for the device. “Some of the best hotels in the world” will allow Watch owners to use the device to unlock room doors, he told employees, 9to5Mac learned.

Upcoming Pinner for Apple Watch to bring comprehensive bookmark discovery to your wrist

Following Apple’s announcement of the March 9 media event, UK-based developer Sam Oakley, the brains behind the Pinner for Pinboard iOS app, has shared a preview of his upcoming Apple Watch app.

Pinner for the iPhone and iPad is a delightful app for managing your Pinboard in bookmarks. Unlike many other Watch apps that only offer basic functionality of their iOS counterparts, Pinner for Apple Watch has a full-on set of easy to use features to help explore Pinterest bookmarks in compelling new ways.

New Watch apps previewed: MoneyWiz and MileWiz

Ahead of its wearable release in April, Apple invited select developers to submit their Watch apps for the inclusion in the App Store. We've already seen previews of Todoist, we know eBay is working on a bidding Watch app and Nimblebit even created a puzzle game for it.

And now, developer SilverWiz has posted a pair of previews of its two productivity apps for the device: the personal finance app MoneyWiz 2 and the automatic mileage tracking software MileWiz.

Todoist shows off its Apple Watch productivity app

When I think of it, the more it seems to me that the Apple Watch will be a boon to my productivity. For instance, the Watch will send me meeting reminders and calendar invitations, which beats having to pull an iPhone out of my pocket.

Todoist, a cloud-based task and project-management service, promises to do the same for to-do lists. Their Watch app is nearly finished and now developers have shared screenshots (via TechCrunch) and a video which demonstrates how Todoist will bring to-do lists and task management to the wrist.

Apple wants some Watch apps ready in two weeks

According to sources who spoke to MacRumors on condition of anonymity, Apple told certain developers to have their Watch apps ready by mid-February.

Ostensibly, among them is one of biggest Apple Pay partners who was reportedly asked to prepare an iOS app with WatchKit support and have it ready to launch in the App Store by February 12.

The wrist-worn gizmo is arriving in April, Apple CEO told investors on an earnings call earlier this week. Conventional wisdom says testing third-party apps ahead of the launch is necessary to ensure key Watch apps work properly and, more importantly, don't create a major drain on the battery.

Another possibility: carefully-selected developers get a chance to show off their apps at a launch event, assuming there's any. In addition to furthering the Watch narrative, featuring third-party apps in live demos at another event would go a great length toward explaining what the Watch is really for and maybe turn us all into believers.

Sounds plausible?

Instagram, Google Maps, Foursquare, Uber and other apps get conceptualized for Apple Watch

As noted by Fast Company, Digital agency Huge took it upon themselves to imagine what Apple Watch editions of popular apps would look like.

A batch of believable mockups envision apps like Fandango, Foursquare, Google Maps, Chase Bank and more running on the Watch. The authors also offered a few smart suggestions on how such applications might take advantage of the Watch's unique hardware and software features.

New report offers details on Apple Watch companion app

Yesterday we reported that Apple had released a new iOS 8.2 beta to developers, and that it enables pairing with the upcoming Apple Watch and its companion app. Today, 9to5Mac is out with a new report detailing that app and what it's capable of.

Citing a source familiar with the project, the outlet's Mark Gurman says that the "Companion" app has the ability to manage settings for Apple Watch apps, as well as settings for the wearable itself so users can customize how it interacts with iOS.

Design concept reimagines popular iOS apps for Apple Watch

When Apple launches the Apple Watch early next year, it will mark the beginning of a new platform for developers. Thanks to WatchKit, the device will support third party applications, including extensions for current iOS apps and new standalone software.

With this in mind, a couple of graphic artists have created a design concept that reimagines what popular iOS apps would look like with an Apple Watch-style interface. Posted to Behance, the images include concepts for Skype, Instagram, Twitter and more.

You will use a dedicated iPhone app to put apps on and manage your Apple Watch

Rather than browse an App Store for third-party Apple Watch software on the device's tiny Retina touchscreen, fans will be instead using a dedicated iPhone app to manage their Apple smartwatch and apps, Ariel Adams noted two days ago in his hands-on article on A Blog To Watch.

The iPhone app, he learned, will be used to download apps onto the Apple Watch, “as well as likely manage Apple Watch settings”.