If you recently got an Apple Watch or know someone who did, there are a lot of useful hidden little tips and tricks to take advantage of. We’ve rounded up 20 helpful tips that new Apple Watch owners should be aware of, and there may even be some tips and tricks seasoned Apple Watch owners don’t know.
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- Rearrange Apps – In the main app grid, if you press and hold on an app, you can move it around to create a new app grid design. You can also rearrange apps in the Watch app on iPhone by going to App View > Arrangement.
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- Use List View – Hate the grid view? Open up the Watch app on iPhone, tap “App View” and then choose List View to see all of your apps in a list when you press the Apple Watch Digital Crown.
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- Delete Apps – When your watch is in List View, swipe from right to left to delete an app. This works for third-party apps. You can also do this by holding down on an icon in the grid view.
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- Quickly Access Favorite Apps – The side button on the watch opens up recent apps by default, but if you go to the Watch app on iPhone and tap “Dock,” you can change it to show a selection of favorite apps instead.
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- Use Tapback for Messages – When you get a message, a Tapback is a quick and useful way to reply. Just press on any incoming message and you can select a response like like, dislike, laugh, and more.
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- Take Advantage of Smart Replies – Smart Replies are also useful for responding to messages on Apple Watch. In the Apple Watch iPhone app under Messages, tap on Default Replies. Tap on any item in the list to customize it, and then when you get a message, swipe down to get to your reply options.
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- Silence a Phone Call – You can silence an incoming call by placing a hand over the Apple Watch’s display. This will make the ringing stop, but the call won’t be declined.
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- Clear Notifications – Swipe down on the Apple Watch display to get to notifications, and then scroll all the way up through the list and you’ll see a Clear All option to get rid of all of your notifications at once.
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- Jump Back to the Top of an App – If you’re using an app and need to get back to the top quickly after scrolling down, just tap on the time in the right corner.
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- See Battery Life in Nightstand Mode – When your Apple Watch is charging in Nightstand Mode, tap on the battery icon. Make sure Nightstand Mode is on by opening up the Apple Watch app on iPhone, tapping “General” and then toggling on Nightstand Mode.
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- Swap Between Apps Quickly – Want to get back to the last app you used? Just double press on the Digital Crown.
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- Access Control Center – There are lots of quick tap controls on the Apple Watch in the Control Center. Swipe up from the bottom of the Apple Watch display to get to it. If you’re inside an app, press and hold for a second or two and then swipe up.
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- Ping a Lost iPhone – Open up Control Center and then tap the little phone icon to ping your connected iPhone. It’s a useful way to find an iPhone you’ve misplaced. When it’s pinging, hold down on the phone icon if you also want to make the camera flash.
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- Skip the Workout Countdown – There’s a three second countdown when launching a Workout. To skip it, tap on the display.
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- Pause a Workout – You can quickly pause a workout by pressing the Digital Crown and the Side button together. Press them again to unpause.
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- Mark Workout Segments – In some workouts, it’s useful to mark segments. To do so, double tap on the Apple Watch’s display during a workout.
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- Make the Mickey Face Tell the Time – If you’re using the Mickey or Minnie Apple Watch faces, you can tap on the characters to have them read the time. Note that your sound needs to be on for this to work.
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- Have Siri Read the Time – With any watch face, tap and then hold with two fingers on the display and Siri will read the time. Sound needs to be on.
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- Make a Memoji – The Memoji app on Apple Watch, which looks like a little cartoon face, can be used to create Memoji characters right on the watch. Memoji can be set as watch faces.
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- Control AirPods – You can use Siri to control your AirPods, skipping songs and adjusting volume. If you have AirPods Max or AirPods Pro, Siri can also toggle on Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode.
Have other useful Apple Watch tips that we didn’t mention here? Let us know in the comments.
