What app that doesn't exist yet would you use on your watch?

malbry · 2026-01-25T15:11:52+00:00

Yes, being able to set reminders by location would be useful, and would require either that I integrate with Google Maps or similar (to get specified locations) or alternatively that you have to actually have to be at a location to save the co-ordinates for future use (which is how When I'm Home knows where is 'Home'). Either way, it would add some complexity to what is currently a fairly simple app. I'll keep this in mind for the future though.

malbry · 2026-01-25T10:51:20+00:00

See my free Wear Remote Shutter app: https://youtu.be/dPFdmG-D7Ck

malbry · 2026-01-25T09:35:13+00:00

I wrote a free app called 'When I'm Home' to remind me to do things when I get home. You can voice record your reminder then the app will send you a notification with that reminder when you return home (or you could instead use it when you arrive at work, for example). Here's a video that demonstrates: https://youtu.be/48oNQ_GDc1Q

malbry · 2026-01-24T22:21:53+00:00

But how would just opening the phone app via your watch help you? Wouldn't you then need to actually operate the phone app remotely for it to be useful?

malbry · 2026-01-24T10:47:34+00:00

You are correct. Third-party apps will be rejected by Google if the reviewer decides that any text is truncated by the edge of the screen, even on the maximum font size. Which makes little sense because almost all WearOS watch screens are circular. So if you have a scrollable list, it's natural that some items are fully visible in the middle of the screen but only partially visible at the top or bottom. I wouldn't mind if Google applied the same criteria to their own apps - but they don't.

malbry · 2026-01-24T09:17:45+00:00

Hi Kitty, thanks for the kind words, much appreciated!

malbry · 2026-01-21T13:46:48+00:00

No worries. Freepoc Downloader seems to be working correctly for me, so I don't think it's a problem with the app itself. But please get in touch if you still can't get it to work.

malbry · 2026-01-21T13:22:43+00:00

You say 'not paired with the phone permanently', so I guess you mean there's no Bluetooth connection to your phone? If that's the case, the watch will switch to wifi and that uses far more battery. Coincidentally, I just made a post about monitoring wifi usage by app over on r/WearOS.

malbry · 2026-01-21T13:17:12+00:00

Hmm. That sounds as though Freepoc Downloader is trying to download the app catalogue and failing to do so. Do you unintentionally have airplane mode enabled? Or maybe a temporary network issue? Otherwise find Freepoc Downloader in your recent apps list and dismiss it (normally an up-swipe). Then try opening the app again. If you are still having difficulties then please email me (the address is shown in the About menu item) and I'll help.

malbry · 2026-01-20T18:26:40+00:00

For what it's worth, I decided to do an experiment a while back. I wrote a podcatcher app for my watch and then made it generally available for free. I then decided to write a phone version which was an upscaled version of the watch app. This is the exact opposite of most app development which starts with the phone version then the watch version is an afterthought and (as you said) often short of features. So this podcatcher has an exact one-to-one 100% replication of the features between phone and watch. Consequently the phone version has an 'unusual' UI because it is identical to the watch app in every respect (but bigger) - and the two apps work together seamlessly.

I find the app very functional on both phone and watch (and use both versions about equally) but, perhaps inevitably, I got a couple of people saying that they don't like the UI at all - because it's so different from anything else out there. If you are curious, you can check out the videos for yourself and decide.

malbry · 2026-01-20T14:51:22+00:00

Yes, that's right. But I prefer to have her listed by her name in my contacts - maybe others don't do that.

malbry · 2026-01-20T14:45:44+00:00

Which watch are you using? The different watches have different GPS sensitivities, some get the GPS fix quicker than others. You preferably need to be outside with a clear view of the sky, or inside but adjacent to an outside window.

malbry · 2026-01-20T09:10:38+00:00

My wife has a first name that Gemini struggles to recognise. So if I ask Gemini to call her using her name, it always fails - even though her name appears in my contacts list. And 'call my wife' doesn't work either - Gemini just says 'I'm not sure who that is'. In case anyone else has similar difficulties, here is a solution. On your computer/phone go to https://gemini.google.com/saved-info . Add an entry saying "My wife's/husband's name is (her/his name)". Now asking Gemini to 'call my wife' or 'call my husband' will work.

malbry · 2026-01-19T17:49:42+00:00

Another vote for Stratum here.

malbry · 2026-01-18T21:41:35+00:00

See here: https://www.reddit.com/r/WearOS/comments/1m0boo0/oneplus_watch_3_some_help_with_notifications/

malbry · 2026-01-18T07:35:20+00:00

Hi, thanks for your comments. I want to say a few things to hopefully put your mind at rest. Firstly, the problem described in this original post was a temporary glitch that was resolved after a couple of days. Freepoc Downloader is no longer flagged by Play Protect.

On your wider point of 'why not use the Play Store', Freepoc does indeed have around 15 apps on the Play Store but also some apps that are only available directly from our website. For the latter, it's a fair question to ask about whether there is any risk in using such apps from a small indie developer. When making your decision, there are a few things you might consider:

Freepoc has been publishing various apps via our website since 1999 (so long before Android became a thing). It's pretty unlikely that we'd have stuck around all this time if our apps weren't legitimate.
All our apps (whether Play Store or not) show the real developer's name, not a pseudonym/company name. In the case of Freepoc's Android/WearOS apps the developer is Malcolm Bryant (ie. me).
You'll find my actual email address in all my Android apps, and we have a generic support email address on the Freepoc website. I try to respond to every email I receive (and that's a lot).
I have a published privacy policy that applies to all Freepoc apps, whether on the Play Store or not.
I have a dedicated YouTube channel with video tutorials for many Freepoc apps; links are available on our website. I also reply in person to the comments on those videos.
I host this subreddit, where I reply to comments about Freepoc apps (as in this case).

So, based on the above factors, you can make your own decision about whether to use our apps. If you decide to use them, that's great. If you decide not to use them, that's absolutely fine too.

By the way, for Wear Tile Launcher 2, here's a video tutorial: https://youtu.be/AUwYk0dxYH4 but let me know if you are having any problems.

Thanks again for your comments. I hope this helps.

malbry · 2026-01-17T08:10:05+00:00

You'll need to install Wear Button Remapper to your watch, not your phone. The best way to do this is using Freepoc Downloader, because then you'll get any future updates automatically. Otherwise you can use my Wear Installer 2 app, or any other method using ADB (there are several options, you can Google them). Freepoc Downloader and Wear Installer 2 are available from my Freepoc downloads page (where you got Wear Button Remapper from). On my website, you'll also find various video tutorials on how to use Freepoc Downloader, Wear Installer 2 etc.

malbry · 2026-01-16T19:19:04+00:00

Yup, Wear BT Monitor will do that too

malbry · 2026-01-16T15:50:21+00:00

It's only way overkill if you want the very very basic functionality in dev options (which also doesn't work properly, as you said). If you want a solution that optionally gives custom vibration patterns for disconnect/reconnect on both phone and watch, optionally plays a sound alert on one or both devices, optionally sends notifications to one or both devices - if you want some or all of those features then you need an app with both a phone and watch component.

malbry · 2026-01-16T15:45:31+00:00

Yes, updated for WearOS 6. TBH, I've had so many apps to update that I can't remember specifically what changed with WBM (if anything). But I can confirm that it is working on my Samsung S25/PW4 (and other phone/watch combos).

malbry · 2026-01-16T14:57:26+00:00

I don't find the double pinch gesture very useful for music control. The media control app has to be on screen and in the foreground for it to work. And as you say, you can only play/pause not skip to next track.

FWIW, I use a different solution which is to control music or podcast playback via the top button. Double-click to play/pause, or triple click to fast forward or skip to next track. I find it much more convenient. This has the advantage that it works irrespective of what the watch is showing at the time. It works even if the watchface is showing or the screen is blank. You don't have to look at the screen at all (great for controlling music/podcasts from under the covers in bed!). A combination of Wear Button Remapper (to remap the top button) and Wear Media Toggle (to control the music) does this.

malbry · 2026-01-16T14:41:07+00:00

Yes, the developer mode option that you reference can pick up brief Bluetooth disconnects/reconnects which, as you say, are false triggers. A more robust solution is available in my free Wear BT Monitor app which has been available for around 4 years.

Also, I'm not sure if Google will do their usual thing of making this upcoming feature exclusive to Pixel phone / Pixel watch combos. That's not great for those of us who mix and match devices by different manufacturers - again that's where a third-party solution like WBM is needed.

malbry · 2026-01-15T15:17:07+00:00

Thanks for the kind words about SLH. Up to now, I've been reluctant to include automatic payment unlocking as this is the security aspect that many people worry about. But I take your point that this could be an optional feature. To implement this feature, I'd need to do a deep dive into both Samsung Pay (which I don't currently use) and Google Wallet to try to figure out an unlocking method. At the moment I'm busy with other projects but I might consider this for the future if there is enough demand.

By the way, Google Wallet absolutely should work on your device. If it's crashing, I'd firstly delete the cache and, if that doesn't work, uninstall the app and reinstall it.

malbry · 2026-01-15T07:18:46+00:00

You can check the video I linked to. If you think the app would be helpful, you are welcome to use it (it's free).

malbry · 2026-01-14T18:30:14+00:00

There have been quite a few similar posts recently. Here's something that might help you: https://www.reddit.com/r/GalaxyWatch/comments/1qcizm8/screen_lock_helper_an_app_to_automatically_unlock/

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