The Apple Watch can do a lot. It’s one of the most comprehensive smartwatches available. It measures your vitals, tracks sunlight exposure, and sends messages with a flick of your hand. If you want awatch that matches with Android devices, the Watch is a powerful accessory for your life. We have ways to make it even better for beginners!
If you’re getting a new Watch or use yours regularly, review our best Apple Watch tips to fix minor problems, add valuable features, and customize the Watch how you want it.
Pick your favorite watchOS face
Press theDigital Crown buttonuntil the Watch face appears, then swipe right to see the Add button. Select theAdd buttonand browse the Apple Watch face options using the Digital Crown. There are many choices, and you can set your Watch face as a photo using theFace Galleryoption on your Apple Watch app. You must have at least iOS 16 for the latest options.
Apple constantly adds new faces to watchOS, so there are always additional options to explore, including plenty with amusing, built-in animations or a minimalist look that spares more room for tiny widgets.
Apple Watch Series 9
The Apple Watch Series 9 offers new features and fitness tracking capabilities thanks to its improved S9 SiP and updated ultra wideband chip. The Watch Series 9 continues to provide excellent fitness tracking capabilities, access to tons of apps and features, and a new Double Tap function, which uses a gesture-like movement to interact with your device without touching it.
Cover to mute
Your Apple Watch chimes or vibrates to keep you updated on texts, notifications, phone calls, and more, along with associated icons. Even in quiet settings, this can become an annoyance in places like business meetings or theaters.
That’s why you should open theMy Watchapp, go toSounds & Haptics, and turn onCover to Mute. Then, when your Apple Watch starts acting up, cover it with your palm for a few seconds, and it shuts off.
Increase the text size
The Apple Watch display gets bigger by increments, but it’s still small. If you struggle to see the text and details on your Apple Watch, go toSettingsand tapBrightness & Text Size. Then, switch to a larger text, bold all text, and make the Watch immediately brighter to solve visual issues.
Set activity goals
you may optimize your Apple Watch by setting up Activity Goals, and it’s easy to get started. Visit the brightly-ringedActivityapp and set daily goals for your health, including calories burned through movement, time standing and moving around, and more.
If the Apple Watch bands are too loose for good fitness readouts, choose from many other bandson Amazonand similar sites.
Start tracking your sleep
Tracking sleep isn’t for everyone (you have to keep the Apple Watch on). If you want your sleep data, visit theHealthapp and turn onSleep Mode. That includes setting a goal for how much sleep you want and a rough bedtime and wake-up time to help the Watch.
The latest Apple Watch tracks restlessness, heart rate, and sleep cycles like REM. Plus, it acts as a quiet alarm when you need to get up at a certain time and are away from other alarms.
Save battery power the fast way
Battery life can be a concern for a small device like the Apple Watch, especially if you use it with AirPods or the always-on display. When your battery runs low, use a few tricks to improve it.
Swipe up on your Watch display and bring up the Control Panel, which is useful for quickly managing your connections. You’ll see a bubble in the control center with a percentage on it. This is your battery settings. Select the bubble, and it goes to a close-up view with an option to activate theLow Power Mode.
When you activate the Low Power Mode, you can either leave it on or turn it on for a certain amount of time, like a day or two. The Apple Watch limits the measurements it takes and how it uses apps to save as much power as possible.
Set a focus
If you don’t have an iPhone, you may not have set up Focus (and if you do, now is a good time). Swipe up on your Apple Watch and long press themoon iconto start with aFocus. You can choose options like focusing for one hour, until the evening, or until you leave your current location (like your work or a conference). When focused, your Watch limits notifications and sends automated messages that say you’re busy when people contact you.
If you have another Apple iOS or iPadOS device, you may customize your focus in different ways depending on the information you want to get through.
Sign in to your Apple Pay
Connect your Apple Pay account, if you have one, with the Apple Watch app and link to your important payment options and passes. The Apple Watch provides shortcuts when paying for something or working with compatible ticket and transportation systems, but you must connect everything.
Apple Watch Ultra 2
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 takes an already fantastic smartwatch and dials everything up to eleven. The display can reach a cornea-searing 3,000 nits, and the new S9 SiP SoC means that it can last longer than ever before. All of this great hardware comes at a price, though, and whether the slew of fitness features and pro-grade specs are worth it to you will depend on a lot of factors.
Set Apple Watch widgets with Smart Stack
One of the newest features to come to watchOS (now on version 10) is the Smart Stack customization. To access Smart Stack, go to the Watch face and twist the Digital Crown down to scroll through the active widgets. These widgets are mini-apps that give you quick updates about weather, activity, messages, music, and lots more. you may leave your most important widgets up to keep an eye on them or cycle through them to get a collection of updates.
Every Apple Watch has a default Smart Stack. Long press the Smart Stack menu to add or remove widgets. Use this option to create a Smart Stack for your interests and life to save time.
Use the double tap feature (or activate AssistiveTouch)
With the release of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, Apple added a fun and interesting new ability with the deceptive name double tap. The double tap gesture does not involve tapping the Apple Watch. Instead, while wearing one of the compatible Watch models, tap your index finger and thumb together twice. The Watch’s sensors are advanced enough to recognize this gesture and automatically do something.
You can customize this double tap option on the Apple Watch app in theGesturessection to complete all kinds of tasks. You can stop a phone call, snooze an alarm, view a new message, control a timer, replay with a set automated message, and more. Take a few minutes to set up the double tap feature, and you’ll feel more sci-fi than ever.
The 2023 and later Apple Watches don’t have this feature. Since the Series 4, Apple Watches have hadAssistiveTouch, which helps those who struggle with hand functions. It’s an early version of the same thing double tap does, and anyone can use it. To try it out, use your Apple Watch to go toSettings>Accessibility>AssistiveTouchand turn it on. Then visitHand Gesturesto set up different gestures and what they do. Experiment with the features to create a variety of hands-free responses to common Watch situations.
Control your Apple TV
The Apple Watch can be a remote for your Apple TV. Your Apple TV and Apple Watch must be on the same Wi-Fi network. When using both simultaneously, find theRemoteapp on your Apple Watch and select the Remote feature in your Apple TVSettings. Pair the two with a passcode to access the basic Apple TV remote functions on your Watch with a tap.
This trick works with any device compatible with the built-in remote app, including a nearby iPad you can’t reach.
Monitor your daylight exposure
The Apple Watch Series 6 and later models have sensors powerful enough to measure ambient daylight. With the latest watchOS additions, a new Health app feature may be worth a look for anyone who wants to get more sunlight, suffers from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), or wants to limit their time in the sun.
To turn on this feature, visit theHealth appon your iPhone, selectBrowse>Other Data, and turn onTime in Daylight. Your Apple Watch syncs and measures the time you spend in natural light and adds that time to your Health app for review.
What about Android functionality?
The Apple Watch doesn’t work with Android phones the way it does with iPhones. Hidden features can’t change that. Keep an iPad, Mac, or other Apple device around so that you can adjust the Watch app and track important details. If you want to go further, we have a guide onhow to add an Apple Watch to Android, but it requires a previous iPhone and results in lost functionality. It’s not a good choice for everyone.
For the most part, pairing an Apple Watch with an Android isn’t a great idea. If you use an Android phone, plenty of incredible Wear OS smartwatches are available. TheGoogle Pixel Watchis a solid choice for most people, and Samsung’s lineup of smartwatches is incredible.
Keep an eye on new Apple Watch features
If you’re an Apple user but haven’t jumped on the smartwatch bandwagon, you may want to wait until we know more details about theupcoming Apple Watch Series 9. Rumors are that it tracks blood sugar along with other impressive new capabilities.
If you want to save money without losing too much functionality, look for an earlier Apple Watch Series or the Apple Watch SE models. On the other hand, upgrading to an Apple Watch Ultra could add more possibilities. Make sure you update to the latest watchOS to get all the available features.
