What are the best new experiences available on the Apple Watch?
With the Apple Watch launching on 24 April, some have celebrated it as a new dawn for the world’s most valuable company, while others are denouncing it as an overpriced gimmick.
Many commentators have queried the lack of a ‘killer app’ for the device, and only time will tell whether the available applications will be enough to convince consumers that the Apple Watch is worth its hefty price tag.
Below is a summary of some of the best new experiences that the Apple Watch will offer at launch, making Apple’s ‘most personal device yet’ arguably also its most exciting.
Language
Babbel have taken the personal nature of Apple’s device and applied it somewhere new – language learning. Instead of learning a language in isolation, the Babbel app takes location into account when teaching its user new vocabulary.
The Apple Watch app lets users learn foreign vocabulary in real situational contexts by detecting their location and providing the appropriate words related to the surroundings.
If users are in an airport, for example, they might find translations for words like "departure" or "luggage." If they're in a cafe, they'll learn words to easily order a drink.
The service is currently available in 14 languages.
Security
Alarm.com is a subscription-based security and smart home service that has an innovative app that enables homeowners to control everything from locks and lights to security systems and thermostats.
The app works like a virtual key allowing users to unlock their front door or open their garage to allow a friend or relative feed their pets when they're on holiday.
Trading
IG’s development team started to plan out how to make their awarding-winning platform available on Apple Watch the moment that the device was announced by Apple. The IG Apple Watch trading app is what they came up with – a distilled version of the existing iPhone app that allows investors to find, edit and open trades from their wrists.
Something that just a few years ago required a desktop computer – or had to be done over a landline – can now be taken care of on a watch. With just a few taps, traders can make new trades, edit or close existing positions, or check what events are coming up that day. The markets have never been so accessible. Traders can even use Siri’s voice detection to state the level of stocks they’d like to trade.
Motoring
This is an app that has only been made as a prototype by software company ELEKS, but the Tesla remote control is a great example of what can be done with Apple’s new tech.
Users can check up on their Tesla Model S from their wrists, in one of the first James Bond-level pieces of gadgetry revealed for the device. They can also find out where the car is or how much further it can go without a charge, open the sunroof and even beep the horn to scare passers-by.
Travel
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Apple Watch app lets ‘Starwood Preferred Guests’ open their hotel room door with the flick of an Apple Watch.
The keyless entry function is rolling out across the globe, and currently available at about 150 hotels equipped with the technology, including many (though not all) Aloft, Element and W Hotels.
The app also works for reviewing reservation details, finding directions to a hotel and checking in without ever printing a reservation or waiting in line at the front desk – talk about stress-free travel!
Find out more about all the apps mentioned above on Apple’s website: http://www.apple.com/watch/app-store-apps/