Now that the Gear S3 has arrived, what are you actually going to do with it? Yes you can make calls, keep up with the diary, and hey, maybe even just check the time once in a while – but you want some apps to play with too, right?
Luckily there are a few good ones to stick on Samsung’s new duo of smartwatches, some of which have carried over from the Gear S2 era. We’re still waiting on a few, with Spotify (we’re told it’s on its way), WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger notably absent, but there are a handful of worthy contenders to download.
Read next: Top Samsung Gear S3 tips and tricks
You can read our full Samsung Gear S3 review right here, but we’ve broken out a roundup of the apps we think all S3 owners should have on their wrist. Without further ado, here’s our pick of the bunch.
Contents
Uber
You know how it works by now, but the good news is that the S3’s version of the cab-hailing app doesn’t skimp on the features. The screen is big enough that dragging the marker to your chosen pickup location is easy, while the rotating bezel lets you zoom in and out of the map, and scroll through your choice of ride, be it a Pool, SUV or just a regular Uber X. It’s the same deal as the S2 version – our favourite Uber smartwatch app around.
Find My Car
You’ve taken the kids out to a theme park for the day. You left the car in car lot K, zone 4… you think. But it’s dark now, the kids are cranky from their sugar comedown and you could spend days in this concrete hell. That is, unless you’ve used the Find my Car app, which marked the location when you arrived. You can also leave yourself a voice memo to remind yourself “Car is parked by red bollard” or “Never let the kids eat ice cream again”.
Flipboard News briefing
One of our recommended Gear S2 apps makes a return as a pre-installed app on the S3, and again, it’s a bit of a surprise hit. You might not think watches were made for reading news, but Flipboard makes it work well, distilling stories down to the need-to-know facts. You can then tap a button to open the full story on your phone should you want to dig into the meat of it.
Glympse
Glympse’s function is simple: let people know where you are. Say you’re meeting friends in an unknown part of town, simply send them your GPS location through the app and they’ll be able to get to you. The Gear app simply lets you do it faster. You can also request a friend’s location by tapping a different icon. We likey.
Fruit Ninja
Not the official version, but this replica is a surprisingly good fit on Samsung’s watch, which despite having a significantly smaller screen, lets you command with a lot of precision. It can get a bit juddery now and then, but nothing that will spoil the endless fun of carving airborne watermelons. And it’s free – fruity bonus.
Gear for Nest
With the rotating bezel, the Gear S3 mimics the a thermostat dial, meaning the Gear for Nest app is a perfect fit. Note that this isn’t an official app from the company, but it still does the job of letting you control your Nest thermostat right from your wrist, which, let’s face it, is pretty cool.
Pear
Sadly, the Nike+ app isn’t available on the Gear S3 right now, and the selection of other running apps to choose from is woeful. Samsung’s S Health isn’t terrible, but if you want another option, Pear is free and works without your phone, offering audio coaching and tracking heart rate, distance and calories. We’d like something more comprehensive, but until MapMyFitness and its likes make their way over, it will have to do.
White Light
The simplest app on our list, but quite a useful one. White Light turns your S3 into a mini torch by turning the display white and upping the brightness to max. Useful in a moment where you need some light and don’t want to fish out your phone. Unless you’re someone who sensibly carries a torch with them. Weirdo.
Camera Gear
Turn your S3 into a remote photo and video shooter. The app streams the image from either your phone’s front or rear camera to your wrist, where you can remotely capture or set a timer. It also supports a flash mode.
Here WeGo
If you’re going to download a maps app on your S3, we recommend this one as we find Google Maps a bit too fiddly on the watch. You can set a route and have it cache to your watch, so you can continue to use it without your phone later on. Handy. This one’s free, but if it’s navigation you’re looking for, Mobiteka’s paid Gear Navigator Standalone app may also be up your street. Get it?
[Source:-Wareable]
