Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
I trust lists to keep life going: grocery lists, package lists, home improvement checklists, birthday gift ideas for my 19 nieces and nephews, and ongoing logs of thank you messages to gifts for my own boy.
My note -holding apps are not just productivity tools; They are the spine in my reason. So when Apple announced that the Notes app is coming to Apple Smartwatches Via Watchos 26my ears perked up.
Do you use note apps on SmartWatch?
168 votes
Part of this job means bouncing between ecosystems to test devices and their competitors. When I use Apple’s platform, I make thoughts in the Notes app. It allows me to access and update information from my iPad, MacBook and iPhone about each other, and passively-aggressively share work lists with my partner so he can see everything I have crossed. The idea of expanding the convenience of Apple Watch is truly appealing and honestly overdue. When I read that the Watchos version would support checklists, plus the Siri voice commands, I was even more fascinated.
I am especially excited about the ability to make and mark checklists using Siri.
The ability to add a note or update a list by talking, without reaching a phone or groove with a touch screen, is the type of thoughtful features that make portable technology feel meaningful. The next time I juggle a grocery basket in one hand and a gallon milk in the other (because I will never learn to just take a wagon), being able to check from “chili powder” via Siri can save me from dropping both.
Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
What is surprising is that this functionality is not already available elsewhere. Google Keep has long supported checklists and is still a staple on smart watches on Wear OS. As a notes, I use it to maintain a certain sense of the organization. But voice interaction is still limited, which is a confusing failure, especially with regard to Keep and Assistant is both core Google Services. At this point, that integration should be seamless.
Wear OS has come a long way in recent years and now offers a really strong experience. But this is a reminder that Polish often appears in the smallest features. Apple’s incoming update may seem less, but for listed users it is a meaningful.
This is not about platform loyalty. It’s about smart features that make a smartwatch feel smarter. And in this case, Apple got it right. Here Google hopes to be aware.