Yelp comes to Apple Watch in latest app update, brings nearby business discovery, search, ratings, m

Posted:
in Apple Watch edited April 2015
In the buildup to Apple Watch's debut next week, Yelp on Thursday updated its app with support for the wearable, bringing direct wrist access to tentpole features like nearby businesses, reviews, address lookups and more.




Yelp version 9.7.1 appears to be a special update dedicated to adding support for Apple Watch, a device primed for use with retail discovery and navigation services.

With Apple Watch compatibility, Yelp helps users find nearby hotspots like restaurants, bars, coffee shops and other businesses without having to pull out their iPhone. In addition, a search feature can locate specific businesses, complete with vital information like phone numbers, hours and even maps.

The usual customer reviews and ratings are included as scrollable onscreen text, though the font looks to be quite small. Users can rely on Handoff to jump on iPhone to add reviews, take photos or make a call. Checking in to a business also requires an iPhone.

Yelp is a free 45.1MB download from the iOS App Store.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    nolamacguynolamacguy Posts: 4,758member
    until the watch is stand-alone I dont think there's much point in apps like these, when the phone in pocket is a superior UX. I think we'll learn over time that the AW is best for authenticating and doing certain mini-tasks, not interacting with detailed apps.
  • Reply 2 of 9
    rmb0037rmb0037 Posts: 142member
    nolamacguy wrote: »
    until the watch is stand-alone I dont think there's much point in apps like these, when the phone in pocket is a superior UX. I think we'll learn over time that the AW is best for authenticating and doing certain mini-tasks, not interacting with detailed apps.

    Well, you're not wrong. This is absolutely a mini-task. Makes it quite convenient actually.
  • Reply 3 of 9
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member
    A quick nearby snack search? Totally mini and on a city street a watch is a lot easier to deal with than dragging out a phone.
  • Reply 4 of 9
    ecatsecats Posts: 272member
    Like another commenter alluded to - yelp shouldn't be treating the watch as a mini-iphone.

    The screenshots provided show quite a bit of redundant information which is cluttering and distracting. I'm not seeing value in using this app on the watch versus the iphone.

    Instead they should complement the Yelp app, for example. After leaving a venue the watch could ask for a simple 1-5 star rating (and nothing more.) This could help provide more balanced reviews instead of the human tendency to mostly comment when angry/disappointed.

    Or some intelligence could be involved - an "I'm bored" button could allow the app to notify the user when events that align with their interests are nearby.
  • Reply 5 of 9
    Yelp abuses it's power and boosts negative reviews until the business in question buys ad space. I won't use them.
  • Reply 6 of 9
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,462member
    Funny thing about most of Yelp's AppStore reviews is that they're not about the app at all. The users have somehow managed to express their shopping experiences there instead.

    "Horrible vacuum was terrible..."

    "Don't ever do business with this guy..."

    Take a look, it's freaking hilarious!!
  • Reply 7 of 9
    nolamacguynolamacguy Posts: 4,758member
    rmb0037 wrote: »
    Well, you're not wrong. This is absolutely a mini-task. Makes it quite convenient actually.

    not really. apple's guidelines suggest apps complete their user task in only a few seconds. searching for a business, reviewing results, selecting one result, then drilling deeper into it all takes far more than a few seconds. not to mention reading (often lengthy) reviews on a very small screen on your wrist is asinine.

    lm one of the biggest watch proponents here, but by the screenshots, this app is doing it wrong.
  • Reply 8 of 9
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    nolamacguy wrote: »
    not really. apple's guidelines suggest apps complete their user task in only a few seconds. searching for a business, reviewing results, selecting one result, then drilling deeper into it all takes far more than a few seconds. not to mention reading (often lengthy) reviews on a very small screen on your wrist is asinine.

    lm one of the biggest watch proponents here, but by the screenshots, this app is doing it wrong.

    But Apple approved the app. Are they perhaps approving everything and anything so they can announce a big number at WWDC?
  • Reply 9 of 9
    nolamacguynolamacguy Posts: 4,758member
    rogifan wrote: »
    But Apple approved the app. Are they perhaps approving everything and anything so they can announce a big number at WWDC?

    They've also approved a ton of iphone apps that are not good - their guidelines serve to empower devs to make successful apps, but being a good app isn't mandatory.
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