AppAdvice's Top 5 Apple Watch Apps of 2019

Developer Will Bishop gets the Apple Watch. In 2018, the 17-year-old Australian released Chirp for Twitter and Nano for Reddit for the wearable device. And his third Apple Watch app arrived earlier this year.

As you could probably tell by the name, MiniWiki is all about the popular online encyclopedia.

After downloading the companion iPhone app, head to Apple Watch and select MiniWiki. You can search for a subject with voice dictation or scribble. The articles look great on the watch and you can scroll through the information by using the Digital Crown or swiping up or down on the screen.

Users can select the Nearby section to view any Wikipedia articles regarding your current location.

There is also quick access to view the most currently read articles on the site.

Speaking of Chirp, the app took a big step up in December with a 2.0 update that brought infinite scrolling and much more.

Especially with the larger screen of the Series 4 and Series 5 watch, there is much more room to interact with different apps. That makes something like Shift Keyboard a great experience.

The keys are laid out in alphabetical order, and what you are typing remains near the top. There are three different keyboard options – alphabetical, QWERTY, or AZERTY. Just Force Touch the screen to switch between the different options.

When you scroll down to reach more letters, the letter you’ve typed appears in the top left part of the screen for better accuracy. You can also see a number of auto-complete options. There is also a section for numbers, punctuation, and emoji.

Even though you’re still using a keyboard on a tiny screen, Shift Keyboard is still surprisingly useful as the keys are easy to select, even for someone like me with big fingers.

But there is one caveat to note. Instead of being a true keyboard replacement on Apple Watch, Shift Keyboard only works with Messages. After you finishing typing, hitting send will open up the Messages app. Select a recipient, and the text will be automatically added.

You can also select a complication for a watch face for quick, one-touch access to the keyboard.

Geneva Moon is simple and beautiful.

From David Smith, developer of great apps like Pedometer++ and Activity++, Geneva Moon was born out of a simple frustration on the Apple Watch.

You can select from a number of different complications for each watch face. As a nice touch, there are two different ways to display the moon – a more accurate version or a simplified outline.

Using the app, you can see the current location of the moon in both azimuth and elevation. Rotate the Digital Crown to shift back and forth through time.

Anyone with a Series 5 watch can also use the built-in compass to help show you where the moon is located.

Smith has had a busy 2019 and earned another spot on our list with CalZones.

Thanks to technology, the global workforce is becoming more interconnected. That leads to big problems when trying to coordinate meetings and more because of time zones. But CalZones wants to make that process much easier.

The iOS app is a calendar that takes into account time zones. After downloading, you’ll select the specific time zones you need to coordinate with. The app will automatically adjust to those selections

The Apple Watch app features a great timezone conversion tool. Just turn the Digital Crown to compare time in specific locations. When you’ve found the time you need, just tap the location to create an event at the time shown. You can also swipe right on the app to see a list of upcoming events.

Any good Apple Watch app needs complications. And CalZones doesn’t disappoint. On a watch face, you can see the current time, the daylight hours, the world day, or a Sun and Moon display. You can easily select which timezone is displayed using the Apple Watch app.

Kernel is a must-have companion for movie fans.

The iOS app is a perfect way to keep track of all the upcoming releases and more, One of the best features is the ability to create a watchlist of upcoming films you want to follow.

And on the Apple Watch app, you can access your watchlist and read more about each movie.

As a nice touch, you can see a countdown to a flick on a number of different complication options. Selecting the complication will automatically bring up the watch app.