The Apple Watch has finally arrived, at least onto the wrists of those lucky enough to place early preorders. Since the device's launch, we've spent as much time as possible putting as many of the 3,000-plus available apps through their paces as we could. The result is a list of 20 that we consider to have successfully lived up to the potential of the watch, ranging from financial and search apps to keeping a journal, buying gas, dining out, viewing Instagram photos, keeping up to date with news, being productive, and even one app that goes beyond Apple's built-in activity skills. If you have an Apple Watch, don't miss out on these 20 extremely useful Apple Watch apps! (Remember, to use these apps, you must download them on iPhone, then have them sync to your Apple Watch.)

Evernote
Evernote (free) is one of those services you can count on being there for every new device, and Apple Watch is no exception. With the wearable version, Evernote brings the note-taking and to-do list functionality more front and center, with the ability to create reminders and get notified about items due today. Users can also dictate notes into the Watch and have then transcribed and synced to Evernote, but also makes it easy to find what you're looking for with voice search or the ability to view recently created, updated, and viewed notes in just a few taps. It's really the best bits of Evernote shrunk down into a more digestible format on the Watch.

iTranslate
Language translation would seem like a natural skill for Apple Watch to tackle, and we're happy to say iTranslate (free) is not only up to the task, but delivers more than 90 languages onto your wrist with a lot of style. Speak into the Watch in your native language, and iTranslate magically translate words, phrases, or text into the language of your choice. It's a great way to communicate for business or travel, but we're looking forward to developer Sonico delivering Apple Watch support for its companion iTranslate Voice app, which offers voice translation both ways, rather than simply converting your spoken words into text displayed on the Watch screen.

Knock
If you own a Mac, chances are you've probably heard of Knock ($4.99), a convenient little utility app that allows users to unlock their computer by knocking twice on the iPhone — even when it's inside your pocket. As handy as that is, it pales in comparison to the latest version, which performs the same trick from an Apple Watch, unlocking or locking a Mac with a tap on the screen. It was always a seriously cool trick, but this has become our hands-down favorite and really makes Apple Watch feel like we're living in the future. The latest update also adds a Touch to Unlock option for extra security, requiring Touch ID to login when using a compatible iPhone.

Wallaby
Credit card rewards programs are a great way to rack up free money for nothing, but with more than a few cards, it becomes a headache to track them all. Wallaby (free) is a shopper's best friend, using geolocation to show which of your cards will cough up the most points no matter where you happen to be. Naturally, it's a perfect fit for Apple Watch — shoppers no longer have to pull their iPhone out of a pocket or purse and fumble around looking for the best card, because it's right there on their wrist. The app also displays recent reward earnings and even a glimpse at credit utilization, so you don't spend your way into a ding on the next credit report.

TipTipTip
Dining out at your favorite restaurant is another occasion when Apple Watch really shines. The iPhone has always made a great companion for calculating tips, but why pull out the smartphone when you can do it from your wrist? A new app called TipTipTip (free) has become our favorite way to do just that, mainly because it has a slicker UI than competing apps. Featuring convenient low, medium, and high tipping rate presets that can be customized to the user's personal preferences, the app also looks great on your Watch, and the price is certainly right.

Twitterific
We were pretty bummed to discover that our favorite third-party Twitter client, Tweetbot, chose to sit out the Apple Watch launch. Thankfully, our second favorite, Twitterrific (free) was not only present and accounted for, but found some very cool ways to become the de facto Twitter app for your wrist. Featuring a Glance that offers real-time statistics and an insanely rich notification experience, Twitterrific displays the actual name and avatar for new followers and even allows users to compose new tweets using Siri dictation. There's also the ability to reply to mentions and direct messages the same way, and incoming tweet notifications can be acted upon without ever touching your iPhone. (Note: You'll need the $1.99 Push Notifications in-app purchase for most of this functionality, but it's well worth the investment.)

Primary for Instagram
Instagram on your wrist? It's a reality, but we'd advise skipping the official app and going straight to Primary for Instagram (free), which features a great way to filter unwanted noise out of your feed and a far richer UI than Instagram's own. Like the full iOS app, Primary users can tap to like photos from Apple Watch, view like counts and comments, hide posts, and toggle captions on or off as needed. You'll need to pay $3.99 via in-app purchase to unlock all features, but for Instagram junkies, that's a worthy investment.

Gas Guru
We were pretty stoked to discover our favorite app for finding the cheapest gas around is already Apple Watch ready. With just a tap on your wrist, Gas Guru (free) uses GPS to determine which stations have the best prices nearby, with details color-coded by Good or Best and sorted by distance. Like the full app, a tap on the map icon switches to the built-in Maps app on your Watch, ready to route drivers straight to the best bargain when it's time for the next fill-up. Ingenious, and yet another great use of Apple's wearable technology, although it is currently missing a Glance option.

Day One!
"Wow!" That was our reaction while playing with the Apple Watch version of Day One ($4.99), which was already an excellent app for keeping a journal or diary of life events. New entries can be dictated right to the Watch with your current location and weather data automatically noted, and users can even attach photos from your iPhone library in just a few taps. The app even thoughtfully includes shortcuts for common entries like "Working" and "Eating lunch" to create quick entries that can be fleshed out further at a later date. Day One really shows off the potential of Apple Watch and comes highly recommended.

Calcbot
Although Tweetbot was MIA for the Apple Watch launch, developer Tapbots made up for its absence with an update to Calcbot (free), a slick "intelligent calculator" and unit converter. The Apple Watch app actually adds a third mode to calculate tips and split a check among multiple people, which is pretty darned convenient. The unit converter also includes basic functionality available via Force Touch, including USD-EUR for currency, and pounds-kilograms, miles-kilometers, and fahrenheit-celsius, with the option to customize which conversion options show up from the iPhone. Pro tip: A tap on the result will delete one number at a time.

Yum-Yum!
Here's another impressive use for Apple Watch: Displaying step-by-step instructions for cooking more than 1,000 recipes, all developed by real chefs. Yum-Yum! (free) allows culinary lovers to first shop for ingredients with the list on your Watch, then guides users step-by-step through the entire cooking process. When it comes time to actually cook, the Apple Watch app switches gears into timer mode, so there won't be any question when it's time to take it off the stove or out of the oven. There are plenty of in-app purchases available for additional recipes, but the app includes a wide variety of free recipes from a full range of categories.

Where To?
Another veteran iOS app making the leap to Apple Watch last week is Where To? ($2.99), which places the ability to browse favorite places nearby right onto your wrist. With more than 700 categories to choose from, it's easy to find details for any prospective restaurant, retail store, or other business, then navigate there in a few taps. Best of all, you can seamlessly switch from iPhone to Watch using the included Glance and Handoff support. Naturally, there are plenty of reviews available to read before making the journey as well.

News Republic
While most of the news heavyweights have their own Apple Watch apps ready at launch, we decided to go with a more robust, customizable option. News Republic (free) sniffs out news from more than 1,110 licensed news sources, presenting them in a more personalized, visual way, complete with full text, photos, and videos. On Apple Watch, News Republic strips out the noise by offering Alerts, Headlines, and Glances for the most important stories, using Handoff to make switching over to the iPhone a seamless experience. It's also a great way to save articles for reading at a later time through the Force Touch menu.

Heyday
We've sung the praises of Heyday (free) here on MacLife.com many times before, and the latest update makes the automatic journal app even more useful for Apple Watch owners. In addition to being able to see the last day you were at a particular location from a Glance, Heyday also enabled actionable notifications for the Watch, and the ability to browse anniversaries right from the app. As awesome as all of that is, the ability to dictate notes without having to pull out the iPhone has to be the icing on the cake for us.

Cue by Humana
Apple Watch offers a lot of healthy encouragement all on its own, which is why we mostly avoided that category for this roundup. But one app caught our eye and immediately made an impression. Perfect for those of us who sit at a desk all day, Cue by Humana (free) expands on the Watch's built-in reminders to get up from that chair every hour with cues to drink water, stretch, breathe, straighten up, and even go outside once in a while, all while keeping tabs on how much (or how little you're moving). Cue options can be toggled on or off from the iPhone, while a Glance helps keep track of your current streaks at any time. We feel healthier already!

Instapaper
Our favorite "read later" app has always been Instapaper (free), although we've never had much use for the text-to-speech option introduced last summer. With the introduction of an Apple Watch-capable update last week, we now get it. Rather than trying to read saved articles on a cramped wearable display, Instapaper can be used to trigger text-to-speech mode right from the Watch, and when you're finished, use Force Touch to pull up a menu to like, archive, organize, or delete the article without ever taking the iPhone out of your pocket. It makes an already great app even cooler, and now we're getting hooked on having stories read to us instead.

Glide
Now we're venturing into some serious Dick Tracy stuff! Glide (free) extends its live video messaging and chat expertise to the Apple Watch, and while you can't broadcast from the wearable since it has no camera, you can most definitely sit back and watch a live video feed from your wrist, as well as receive chat notifications. Thanks to the built-in dictation feature, Glide users can even respond to these incoming messages using the sound of their voice, all without the need for a keyboard. It's the next best thing to actually being there, but be careful how much live video you take in from that tiny Watch screen, it's probably bad for your eyes.

Clear
When it comes to making to-do lists, Realmac's Clear ($4.99) is a more robust solution than the built-in Reminders app that keeps us coming back. You'll be happy to know that the app has been updated for Apple Watch support at launch, allowing users to create tasks and reminders from your wrist, with a Glance that shows the next upcoming reminder with just a swipe. Installing on your Watch will also unlock a new Edition theme, although we do have one complaint: The Watch app doesn't display existing lists unless they actually have at least one active item inside, which cuts down on the utility a bit when adding new items. Thankfully, Handoff support more than makes up for that loss, although we're hoping the developers show all our lists (even the empty ones) with a future update.

Yelp
We're going to round out our Apple Watch gallery with another veteran app, this time Yelp (free), which has delivered all of the basic functionality of the iPhone app onto your wrist. Naturally, you'll find local restaurants, bars, coffee & tea, and other businesses in just a few taps, but the Hot & New category will give you a few new choices worthy of consideration that you might not have been aware of. The usual complement of reviews, price levels, and hours are also here, along with maps to get you to the destination quickly. What can we say? It's everything you already like about Yelp, but on a Watch.

Workflow
If you thought having Automator-style actions on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad was already pretty cool, wait until you get a load of Workflow ($4.99) on your Apple Watch! Using this app from your wrist is a pretty wonderful way to initiate one of the workflows on your iPhone or even add new ones from the gallery. For those who haven't used the app, Workflow offers more than 200 actions that connect with your favorite apps and services, allowing Apple Watch to do a whole bunch of neat tricks you probably never thought were possible before. We're still waiting for the ability to sync workflows between devices, but in the meantime, Workflow is 40 percent off (only $2.99) for a limited time as an Apple Watch launch special.