Here Are the First 24 Apple Watch Apps Apple has started approving third-party apps for its smartwatch. Twitter made the first cut. Facebook did not.

Pre-orders for the Apple Watch don't begin for another two weeks and sales don't begin for four, but the App Store team has already approved two dozen third-party apps for the new device.

The list below, scraped from the App Store by9to5Mac's Zac Hall, was presumably curated by Apple with a purpose. Initial impressions are critical for a device whose utility is still an open question.

These apps — and any others approved before April 10 — are the ones staffers will be showing customers in Apple Store test-drives. They will shape the initial impressions in the first wave of Apple Watch reviews. They will also get a huge leg up — a first-mover advantage — on the competition.

It's an interesting list. All 24 are updates of existing iOS apps. Some are there to show off functions — as hotel keys, credit cards, airline boarding passes. Others target narrow interests — cricket, baseball, fantasy football. Some — like WeChat and AliPay — are pitched to the Asian market. Some, like SkyGuide, are probably there because they're just so cool.

Two notable omissions: Google and Facebook.

• Air Canada: Gate, boarding time and boarding pass
• AliPay: China's Apple Pay (300 million users)
• Babbel: Learn languages by talking to your watch
• Dark Sky: Everybody's favorite weather app
• ECB Cricket: Up-to-date cricket scores
• Evernote: Note-taking on steroids
• Expedia: A travel agent on your wrist
• Kitchen Stories: Weekly recipes and how-to videos
• Line: Free chat, voice, video calls (600 million users)
• MLB.com At Bat: Pitch-by-pitch live baseball
• Procreate Pocket: Sketch on your wrist, AirDrop to iPad
• Qantas Airways: Gate, boarding time, boarding pass
• Redfin: Shop for a home in 8 hot real estate markets
• Runtastic Six Pack: Spring is here; start working those abs
• Sky Guide: Hold it to the sky and it will name the stars
• Starwood Hotels: Check in, open room without passing reception
• The New York Times: All the news that's fit to print
• Target: Shopping and identity theft made easier
• Things: To-do list manager
• TransitApp: Real-time bus and subway info in 75 cities
• The Wall Street Journal: The crown jewel of Rupert Murdoch's empire
• Twitter: The world in 140 characters (500 million users)
• WeChat: China's favorite chat app (438 million users)
• Yahoo Tourney Pick'Em: Fantasy football, baseball, basketball, hockey

Most of the images in Apple's TV ad, below, were generated by home-grown apps.