For anyone who is new to the Apple Watch and is overwhelmed with how it works, follow our list of tips and tricks to become better acquainted with your Apple smartwatch.
Using the Digital Crown
The Digital Crown is like the “home button” on the iPhone. Press it once to return to the home screen, or press and hold it to activate siri. If you want to quickly return to the last app double tap the Crown button and the last app that was being used will open automatically.
There are other ways to navigate around the Apple Watch, depending on your preference. For example, pressing the app on the Watch face is a quick and easy way to open the app, although some have found it to be inaccurate; sometimes you press the app to the left or right of the one you wanted to open. To more accurately open the correct app, use your finger to move and center the desired app, then use the crown to zoom in and open the app.
2. Customize the Watch Face
The dock is the simplest way to open up your most commonly used apps. Any app can live in the dock, regardless of whether it is preinstalled or came from a third-party app. You can choose up to 10 faces to place in your dock. To adjust your faces, open the Watch app on your iPhone, then tap through My Faces to change or select new favorites. To change a preselected face from the watch, swipe left or right from the dock screen. Like the iPhone, swiping up on the watch face will reveal the control center. In there you can see how much battery is left, activate airplane, Do Not Disturb or silent mode, and use airplay for listening to music from a Bluetooth speaker or headphones.
3. Use your Watch to reach your fitness goals
The Activity app, as the name suggests is there to track your physical activity. As you move around, your Watch will detect your movement and heart rate, which will lead you closer to your daily goals. If you are finding it hard to reach your target goal, use the Activity app on your watch to adjust your move goal. In the app, press and hold on the screen, until you see an option to change the goal. Another goal motivator is to enable Activity-sharing, which allows you to see your friends daily progress in meeting their activity goals. You can also send positive messages to encourage friends or if you’re feeling competitive. To enable Activity-sharing, go to the Activity app on your iOS device and wait for your friends to accept you.
4. Use the Apple Watch to Ping your iPhone
If you’re at home and can’t find your iPhone anywhere simply scroll up to the control center on your Watch, to access the ‘Pinging iPhone’ command. Simply press the Ping iPhone icon, like in the picture above, to send a ‘pinging’ noise to your iPhone, making it easier for you to find it. If you still can’t locate your phone, press and hold the Ping iPhone icon to activate the camera LED flash, which will help give you a better idea as to where it is.
5. Answering Calls on the Apple Watch
Every Time you get a phone call, your watch will alert you with a subtle vibration and/or ringtone (if you haven’t set the device on silent). Instead of simply pressing the green to answer or the red to decline, there are some other options to choose as well. For instance, if you prefer to answer the call on your phone, you can scroll up and tap the ‘Answer on iPhone’ button, which will put the call on hold to give you enough time to grab your iPhone. Although if you do decide to answer on your watch, the built-in microphone will allow you to chat without having to take your phone out of your bag or pocket. To mute an incoming call on the watch, simply place your hand over the watch screen so that it comes in contact with the face to instantly silence the call on both your Apple Watch and iPhone.
6. How to enable “Nightstand Mode” to use as a bedside clock
If you’re not a fan of wearing your Apple Watch at night, you have the option of using it as a bedside clock. To activate this, place your Apple Watch on the charger and prop it on its side, with the navigator crown facing up. Your watch should display the time in large green digits, along with the day and date. To enable, go to the Apple Watch app on your iOS and tap general> Nightstand Mode.
7. Setting up Apple Watch Pay
Like the iPhone, you can use your watch to pay, making it easier for cyclists, runners, or people on the go, who don’t want to spend time taking their wallet out of their pocket. You’d be surprised to know that the iPhone and Watch use individual, unlinked passbook apps, which means you can use two separate cards. It also means you can use your Watch to pay even when you don’t have your phone with you.
The process to enable Apple Watch pay is similar to the iPhone. In the Apple watch app (on your iPhone) head to the ‘Wallet & Apple Pay’. Tap Add Credit or Debit Card, which will bring you to set up a passcode for your watch. Once you’ve set up your Watch’s passcode, you can now add a card to your Watch. To do so, you can use your camera to scan your card, or input the cards information manually. Once you finish, you will be sent either an email or a SMS verification code, which you will need to enter into the phone. Once verified, you will receive a notification that your card is all set to be used on your Watch.
Once the card is all set up, using it is simple. All you have to do is double tap the side button on the watch and swipe left to select which card you want to use. From there, hold your wrist up to the card reader at the store until you hear a tone or a vibration.
8. How to add Apple Music to Apple Watch
Any Apple Watch can play music without your phone, which is especially useful for outdoor workouts, but you’ll have to set up what music you want to play ahead of time. The music needs to be downloaded in Apple music before adding it to your watch. From there, place your watch on the charging dock, then on your iPhone, go to the Apple Watch app. In the app, scroll down to ‘Music’ and tap ‘Add Music’ to sync your already created playlist, album or artist. Once the songs are synced you can use them to listen from your Bluetooth headphones or speakers wherever and whenever.
