Best Wear OS Apps 2023

By Andrew Myrick
Contributions from
Chris Wedel
 published

Make your favorite smartwatch even more useful with apps.

Running ChatGPT on a Google Pixel Watch with the WearGPT app
(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)

One of the things that makes Wear OS watches some of the best Android smartwatches is the wide range of apps available, and with so many out there, we've rounded up the best Wear OS apps for you. Regardless of whether you like using your smartwatch to keep track of your fitness goals, another way of keeping up with your notifications, or just a fun way to know what time it is, there's likely more than one app to help you out. Here are some of the best Wear OS apps currently available.

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Facer

There are a lot of watch faces for Wear OS, and Facer does a fantastic job putting many of them into a single app to browse through. You'll be able to find unique custom designs ranging from fashion to modern and traditional to funny. Not to mention you can even make your own.

Download at: Google Play Store (opens in new tab)

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Spotify

Spotify is one of the best audio streaming services out there, and you can have access to your playlists and control the music all from your wrist. While there isn't offline music support yet, you can add songs to your playlists and DJ your Spotify tunes without ever touching your phone.

Download at: Google Play Store (opens in new tab)

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Todoist

Todoist is one of the best productivity apps out there, so we were excited to see the Wear OS revamped alongside the Wear OS 3 release. Now you can add reminders, view what's coming up, and more, without taking out your phone.

Download at: Google Play Store (opens in new tab)

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Wear Casts

If you're a big fan of listening to podcasts, then you'll love Wear Casts. Just pair your favorite Bluetooth earbuds to your Wear OS smartwatch, download Wear Casts, and start listening.

Download at: Google Play Store (opens in new tab)

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Google Fit

Google Fit has been getting some great improvements recently and has become a go-to for many Android users. So, connecting it all with your smartwatch makes sense. If you use a Wear OS watch with a heart rate sensor, then this will help keep all of your fitness metrics in one place for reaching your goals even easier.

Download at: Google Play Store (opens in new tab)

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Sleep as Android

Though many wearables and fitness trackers have sleep tracking built-in, there are a few Wear OS watches that don't, so Sleep as Android fills that gap and does a fantastic job of it. There are a lot of unique features in the app that can track many different metrics, then can sync all of that to the cloud as well as Google Fit.

Download at: Google Play Store (opens in new tab)

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Our Groceries Shopping List

I've been using the Our Groceries app for years and love it. Being able to create categories of different store items to make the shopping trip more efficient is wonderful. My wife and I use it to add items to our lists independently, then we can easily see the singular list while at the store. With integration for Google Assistant and Wear OS, I can't imagine using anything else.

Download at: Google Play Store (opens in new tab)

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Google Messages

One of Wear OS's best features is how it handles notifications, and adding in the Messages app from Google gives you even more control over your text conversations. You can respond via voice-to-text, keyboard, emoji, or the helpful contextual quick-reply feature. No more grabbing your phone when it's time to respond to a message, just use your watch.

Download at: Google Play Store (opens in new tab)

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Strava

Strava is one of the most widely used fitness apps available, and aside from being an excellent platform for tracking your exercises, it also has a great social aspect to it. Pairing all of this with your Wear OS watch helps make the most of every workout then when you are done with your sweat, share it with fellow Strava users.

Download at: Google Play Store (opens in new tab)

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Google Maps

Google Maps is fantastic on our phones, and that same excellent functionality carries over very well to the smartwatch. Being able to leave your phone put away while wandering around unfamiliar areas is great for keeping you on the right path while letting you enjoy your surroundings hands-free.

Download at: Google Play Store (opens in new tab)

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Google Home

We have been waiting forever to have Google Home on Wear OS, and it's finally here. The app is beautifully designed and makes it easy to control your smart home devices from your wrist. 

Download at: Google Play Store (opens in new tab)

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Google Keep

Keeping a list of to-do's, groceries, or anything else you want to track, is so simple with Google Keep. Syncing all of your lists makes this that much easier when you can do it from your phone, computer, Google Assistant, and your wrist. No more pieces of paper to carry around, just open it on your watch, and off you go.

Download at: Google Play Store (opens in new tab)

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AccuWeather

I really like using AccuWeather on my phone as it does a great job of being well accurate. Of course, you still get the current temperature and a RealFeel temperature in the app, but the MinuteCast feature is my favorite. It forecasts precipitation for the next 60 minutes, and having that same info at a glance from my wrist is super helpful.

Download at: Google Play Store (opens in new tab)

So many choices

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Google Pixel Watch, TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra, Amazfit GTS 4, Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic

(Image credit: Chris Wedel/Android Central)

There are many choices out there when it comes to Wear OS watches, and it doesn't matter if you have one of the best Android smartwatches or the most expensive, you still get access to apps on the Google Play Store. Being able to find an app for almost anything you could want on your Wear OS smartwatch is awesome, and there are a lot of them out there.

One of the best things about Wear OS is the customization options when it comes to personalizing your watch face, and Facer (opens in new tab) is the best for that. You can build a watch face that perfectly suits your style or needs. However, if creating one isn't your forte, then there are thousands of choices available that you can get to fit your need. Options like replicas of some of the most well-known traditional watch brands to unique custom-created designs spanning all tastes to let anyone get the perfect look for their watch.

Another stand-out feature of Wear OS is notifications. These smartwatches can show nearly every notification arriving on your phone on your wrist, and it's actionable even if you don't have that specific app on your smartwatch. However, for things like texts, it opens up how you can respond when you have the proper app for it. For texting on Android, one of the best messaging apps available is Google Messages. When you have it on your watch, you get all of its excellent features, including quick replies. So for your Wear OS watch, no matter how you like to use it, there's an app for you.

Andrew Myrick
Andrew Myrick
Senior Editor - Chromebooks, tablets, and wearables

Andrew Myrick is a Senior Editor at Android Central. He enjoys everything to do with technology, including tablets, smartphones, and everything in between. Perhaps his favorite past-time is collecting different headphones, even if they all end up in the same drawer.

With contributions from