ETA App for iPhone & Apple Watch: Reviewed

We all have core places we go each week—home, work, church, our favorite coffee shop, wherever. We know how to get these places without directions, but the time of day, accidents and weather dramatically affect how long it will take to get to them. This is where ETA comes in.

Purpose & Functionality

ETA estimates the time you will arrive at places you frequent. The concept is simple. Add the places you regularly go and quickly access how long it will take you to arrive. You can find your ETA in the app, in Today View or on your Apple Watch. As you're making plans to meet your friend at Starbucks or getting ready for work, glance at ETA and see how long it will take to get there with current driving conditions.

ETA App Screenshots

When you first open the app, no locations will be present on the home screen. You simply tap the plus, select a location (center), and name it. Enable the widget, and your ETAs will show up in your iPhone's Today View (right).

ETA App Watch App

For those of you with an Apple Watch, ETA provides the same basic functionality there, but I find that I pretty much only use the glance on my watch (above & below bottom right).

ETA App Screenshots

The settings are somewhat limited but useful. You can easily set ETA to display trip duration or arrival time (left), edit the layout (left) and select which navigation app you'd like to use (middle).

Rating: simplicity, usefulness, beauty and necessity

  • Simplicity. (9/10) ETA makes it easier than ever to find our ETA , no matter where we are.
  • Usefulness. (9/10) I use ETA twice every day. While I'm getting ready in the morning and when I'm preparing to leave work.
  • Beauty. (7/10) ETA looks good overall. Not much is unique about its design, but I do like the loading animation.
  • Necessity. (7/10) There are other ways to find out how long it will take to get home, but ETA is typically the most convenient. I say "typically" because sometimes it will take frustratingly long to load the trip duration. This hasn't been frequent enough to be a deal breaker.
  • Stickiness. (6/10) I really like ETA, but I wouldn't be surprised if the major mapping apps (Google Maps, Apple Maps, Waze, etc.) add this functionality for your favorite locations. Once they do, there will be no need for ETA.

Alternatives

ETA was released in early June of this year, and at the time it had no competition. Time Check was released almost exactly one month later, July 7. Over the next year, we'll see several more competitors pop up.

Download ETA for iPhone from the iOS App Store.

ReviewsTimothy BuckGeneral