Many of the Apple Watch users in the world, including myself, know that Apple forgot a key piece to their operating system when they developed the Apple Watch. That key piece is a web browser. Apple has created the ability to brow a website that is sent to you in an email. You can click on a link in an email to view the website, but that is about it. In an effort to fill that void, a number of developers have created web browser apps for the Apple Watch. If you have ever searched for an app in the App Store, you know there are all kinds of options available to you. In an effort to make your selection process easier for you, I have provided some information about the available options.
Related: Samsung Galaxy 3 vs. Apple Watch Series 5 | Best Smartwatch for iPhone Users | Ticwatch C2 vs Apple Watch Series 5 | Apple Watch | Apple Pay | Apple Watch Bands | Ticwatch S2 vs Apple Watch Series 5 | Ticwatch E2 vs Apple Watch Series 5 | Garmin Fenix 6 vs Apple Watch Series 5 | Samsung Galaxy Watch/Active 2 vs Apple Watch Series 5 | Apple Watch Series 5 vs Polar Vantage V | Apple Watch Series 5 vs. Fossil Sport Smartwatch | Apple Watch Series 5 vs Fitbit Versa 2 | Apple Watch Series 5 vs TicWatch Pro | Apple Watch Series 5 vs Fossil Gen 5 Carlyle | Apple Watch Series 5 Review | Apple Watch Series 6 Review | Keyboard Apps for Apple Smartwatches | Samsung Galaxy Active2 vs. Apple Watch Series 5 | Apple Watch Series 2 vs. Samsung Gear S3 | Apple Watch Series 2 Review
FYI, thanks to AI imagery software, we’re able to create very specific fashion and hairstyle examples to illustrate the points being made. In some cases, imagery is exaggerated to hammer home the point.
Free Web Browser Apps for Apple Watch
Parrity
This highly rated and free web browser for Apple Watch uses your iPhone that is paired with your watch to render the content from the web and then stream it directly to your watch. Once it goes to your watch, you can visit the website then or cache it to view later. When the pages are cached, you can toggle between any pages you have not closed, even if your phone is not in range.
It is a mini version of a web browser that is familiar to you. You do not have to get used to using a completely different browser. You can search the web and this browser supports common search engines like google, amazon, wikipedia, and many more. You can go directly to sites using Siri or share sites from Safari. You can tap the face of your watch to click on links. It has its own watch face complication.
This app does not have nested or horizontal scrolling. It does not allow you to enter text as there is not text input field. Sometimes when you tap on your watch face, the app does not respond that way you expect it to. You may have to tap more than once for it to respond.
Click here to download Parrity from the App Store. You must download the app from your watch or iPhone. You will not be able to download it from your computer.
Webabit
Webabit is another free web browser for Apple Watch. This app offers limited access to websites on your watch. The name of the app tells it all, it is only a bit of the web. It is easy to access from your watch. You can also access it from your iPhone notification center. Once you bookmark the site in Safari, you can then access it from your watch. All you have to do is pull down the website and you are able to browse. This app does allow unrestricted access to web browsing, even if there are any parental controls in place.
Click here to download Webabit from the App Store. You must download the app from your watch or iPhone. You will not be able to download it from your computer.
Squint Browser
Squint Browser is a free app that allows you to view any webpage in any language on your Apple Watch. Squint browser has its own complication. This app can be used on your watch, iPhone and iPad. You can create favorites on your phone and hand it off to your watch. You can also create and edit keywords. You can easily access websites through this browser by tapping a link or a favorite on your watch screen. This app allows you easy access to websites by swiping left or right. Anything you do on your iPhone through this browser is mirrored on your watch.
You can use the microphone on your watch to use your voice to browse websites. This app is compatible with AirPods and other data-scayt-word=”bluetooth” data-wsc-lang=”en_US” data-wsc-id=”k5rnci0ait31ms809″>bluetooth enabled speakers. This app uses voice commands to read to you. All you have to do is say ‘Read Everything’ and it does. You can also use a command such as ‘Read Article’. You have the ability to pause and play the reading of the website. You can also say a keyword, such as ‘coffee’ and it reads everything pertaining to coffee.
You can easily expand and collapse all the results for the quick summary for every webpage. It has its own navigation bar to move through your history and favorites. You do not need to create an account to use this browser. It also works with all common search engines, such as google and yahoo. You will find a menu with extra features so you can share screenshots, links, or other items with contacts. They provide technical support for any problems you may find.
Click here to download Squint Browser from the App Store. You must download the app from your watch or iPhone. You will not be able to download it from your computer.
Paid Web Browser Apps for Apple Watch
iBrowseWeb
This app is on the pricey side coming in at $19.99. Even though this app packs a hefty price tag, it may not meet all of your needs. iBrowseWeb is the way to browse and search the internet on your Apple Watch. With this app, you are able to have a fully working keyboard to browse the internet. This is a feature that you are not likely to find with a free web browser for your Apple Watch. You can also create tabs, save any website you wish, and view all of the latest updates, directly from your watch.
You are able to follow any links on various webpages from your watch. It does not matter if the links are internal to the website, or take you to a different one, your watch allows you to view them all. You are able to view the entire website, with all of its images. This web browser does not cut out any content. You can also zoom in and out on at any point while you are browsing.
iBrowseWeb has a full support staff for any problems you encounter. They completely stand behind their software and allow you to submit tickets to resolve any issues you have. They are also open to suggestions about how to improve their app and functionality that they can update in future releases.
Click here to download iBrowseWeb from the App Store. You must download the app from your watch or iPhone. You will not be able to download it from your computer.
WristWeb
WristWeb is a simple to use app that allows you to browse the web from your Apple Watch. It has a middle of the road cost of $9.99. This app was specifically designed to allow you to browse the web on your watch. You are able to search for a website by voice. What is unique about this app is that it uses artificial intelligence to simplify the view of the website. It then provides a summary of the website on the screen of your Apple Watch.
This app has a built in search history so that you can easily and quickly search for the same websites at a later time. You can also maintain bookmarks through your watch. You can also use force touch for additional access commands. There are three modes in which you can view a webpage. The simplified version gives you a clean version of the website that has a large font version of webpages that are easy for you to read on your Apple Watch. The summarized version uses an algorithm to condense the information on the webpage to just a few sentences. It determines what is most important about the article and gives you just that information. This is a great way to peruse a long article on your watch.
The third mode that you can also a webpage is the full page version. This shows you the entire website with all the graphics. You can see all of the links on the webpage and click on them to go to other places inside and out of the website. You can easily switch between any of the viewing modes while browsing a website. You can force touch your watch screen while browsing a website and you can select the viewing mode from there. You can easily pass along a webpage you are viewing on your watch to your iPhone. If you decide that you want to look at it on a bigger screen, simply unlock your phone and the webpage is automatically handed off to your iPhone browser.
Every site you browse is private. There are no third parties involved to process the websites. Navigation through the browser is easy, as you can swipe right to go back a page and force touch for a menu of available options.
Click here to download WristWeb from the App Store. You must download the app from your watch or iPhone. You will not be able to download it from your computer.
Conclusion
Of all the web browsers that are available for my Apple Watch, I prefer the WristWeb app. While it does come at a cost, I believe that it is worth it. The fact that the app uses artificial intelligence to determine the key pieces of a website is priceless. From there, I can determine if I need to see the entire site and if I need a bigger screen, I can hand it off to my phone. It does not give me a keyboard to type, but I can use voice commands to look for a website. I have found that using voice commands works better than typing on my watch. For all of those reasons, I don not mind paying $9.99 for a browser that works on my watch.