Chances are that if you landed here you already own an Apple Watch and we, just like you, know that it is an amazing device and when used properly, can give you many advantages and make things easier in your daily life. The best thing about the Apple Watch is that it is so much more than a watch, its a computer on your wrist and it can do so much that wasn’t possible even two decades ago. So without further ado, here are our 6 awesome Apple Watch tips and tricks!
1. Sending your location to family and friends
This is especially useful when you’re driving to somewhere and might be running a bit late (happens to the best of us!). Keeping safety of driving in mind, we will never tell you to take your phone out while driving and send your live location to someone.
Instead, we’d tell you to utilize your Apple watch! Here’s how you can do that :
- In your messages, go to the contact you want to send location to
- Use Force Touch to let the watch know you’re doing something
- Simply choose ‘Send location’
Do keep safety of others in mind and make sure you do this when no other cars are near you. If needed, slow down and park to do this.
2. Using list view for apps
While this may be down to personal preference, having apps appear in a list is better on a small screen. For some, it may take a while to adjust to this but it felt much better for us. This mode also allows apps to be organized in alphabetical order which means you won’t have to remember where each app is in grid view. This can be a problem if you use many different devices.
Follow these steps to do this:
- Navigate to the digital crown and press it
- Use Force Touch
- Look for ‘List View’
The same process can be used to switch back. If you feel list view doesn’t work for you, simply reverse it.
3. Unlock your Mac
This is one of our favorite Apple watch tips and tricks and specially because it really makes you feel like you’re living in the future. This feature allows your Mac to unlock when the machine can sense the watch is nearby. To set it up, do the following:
- Make sure your Mac and Apple Watch both meet system requirements
- Your Mac should have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled
- Both your Mac and Apple Watch are signed into iCloud with the same ID
- Your Apple ID is using two-step authentication
- Your Apple Watch is set up to use a passcode
- On your Mac, got to Apple menu and then to System Preferences. Choose Security and Privacy. Select ‘Use Apple Watch to unlock your apps and Mac’ (it could also be labeled as ‘Allow your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac’
The steps a re a bit long, but it should work flawlessly. If you have any trouble figuring it out, do hit us up!
4. Using the Flashlight
Sometimes you may not have your phone around or might need both your hands to accomplish something. The illumination from the Apple Watch can help you accomplish that easily.
To turn on the flash light:
- Touch and hold the bottom of the screen
- Swipe up to open Control Center
- Press Flash Light icon
- To choose the mode, swipe left and choose between Red, Steady white, and Flashing white.
The light can turned off quickly by pressing the side button or the Digital Crown. You could also swipe down from the top of the Apple Watch face.
5. Adjusting quick replies
Quick replies are again very beneficial when you need to contact but your phone is inaccessible. For us, this usually happens while driving. When do you prefer to use quick replies? Mention it in the comments!
To adjust your quick replies for the Apple Watch, go to the Apple Watch setting on your iPhone and:
- Open Messages app
- Open Default Replies
- Scroll to the end and choose ‘Add reply’
- Enter your message and don’t forget to save!
Now you can use your Apple Watch to send quick replies to anyone, anywhere!
6. Turn off display being always on
While this may not have a significant impact on battery life, it can still be a bit annoying always having your display on. It mostly boils down to preferences but that is what technology is now. Every device is curated to being a personal device and customization is getting more intense.
To turn it off:
- Go to your Apple Watch’s settings
- Select ‘Display and Brightness’
- Press ‘Always on’
By now you might’ve guessed that to reverse it, you just have to follow the above steps again.
That’s it, those were some of our Apple watch tips and tricks and we will keep updating the list as we found more of them. Do you have anymore to share? Please share them in the comments below and we will add them to our list.
Meanwhile, if you are interested in other Apple devices too, be sure to check out the the features the new Apple iPad Pro that was recently released.
I love understanding how different technologies work and explaining them to people. From tech guides to opinions, everything is interesting to me. Other than that, I enjoy writing about various science-related topics and conversing with people.