Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your New Apple Watch

For MacRumors readers who received an Apple Watch for the holidays, we've created a list of useful tips and tricks that you won't want to miss.

Apple Watch Basics

Are you new to the Apple watch? If you want to learn how to use your device, we have some how-tos that will show you how to use it.

Tips for New Apple Watch Owners

1. Track Your Sleep

If you wear your Apple Watch to bed, it will show you how long you've been asleep, how much sleep you've got left, and your heart rate.

Apple enhanced the sleep tracking feature on the Apple Watch so that it can tell you how much time you spent in REM, Core, or Deep sleep, as well as how often and when you were awake.

You can set up Sleep Mode in the Health app if you follow our instructions.

• How to Track Your Sleep With Apple Watch

You can tell your devices when you want to go to sleep and when you want to go to bed. You can change who can contact you in Sleep Mode using the Focus interface.

When you wake up in the morning, Apple will give you a summary of the notifications that you received, as well as the weather for the day.

The sleep data gathered by Apple Watch can be found in the Health app. How well you sleep one night compared to another night, and how consistent your sleep is from night to night will be provided by it.

If you wear your Apple Watch to bed, you can wake up with an alarm. If you sleep with a partner, you can use the Apple watch to wake you up.

2. Extend Your Battery Life With Low Power Mode

The Apple Watch lineup gained a low power mode that is similar to the low power mode on the phone. Shutting down power hungry features prolongs your battery life.

1. Swipe up on the watch face of your Apple Watch to bring up Control Center.
2. Tap the battery percentage button.

   

3. Tap the switch next to Low Power Mode.
4. After reading the on-screen prompt, scroll to the bottom and select from the following: Turn On, Turn On For..., and Dismiss.

   

5. If you tapped Turn On For..., select On for 1 Day, On for 2 Days, or On for 3 Days on the second screen.

There is a yellow circle icon at the top of the screen when the Apple Watch is in low power mode. The time in Nightstand mode, the charging animation, and the battery percentage button are all yellow.

If you want to work out for a long time without draining your battery, you can set your Apple Watch to enter Low Power Mode whenever you start. When using the workout app in low power mode, metrics such as heart rate and pace are still measured.

1. Launch the Settings app on your Apple Watch.
2. Scroll down, then tap Workout.
3. Tap the switch next to Low Power Mode to enable the automation.

When Low Power Mode is enabled and you open an app that requires a data connection, the wi-fi or cellular connection will restart so that the app can function properly, which can impact battery life.

The features that are disabled when Low Power Mode is enabled.

• Always On display
• Heart rate notifications for irregular rhythm, high heart rate, and low heart rate
• Background heart rate measurements
• Background blood oxygen measurements
• Start workout reminder
• Wi-Fi and cellular connections (when ‌iPhone‌ is not nearby)
• Incoming phone calls and notifications (when ‌iPhone‌ is not nearby)

The features are not completely disabled.

• Making a phone call can take longer
• Background app refresh happens less frequently
• Complications update less frequently
• Siri can take longer to process a request
• Some animations and scrolling might appear less smooth

Fall Detection is one of the safety functions that remain on while in low power mode.

3. Set a Photo as Your Watch Face

If you want to look at your favorite places, people, or pets whenever you go to check the time, you can set your own photo as your watch face. Setting a photo as a watch face is easy.

1. Open up the Watch app on ‌iPhone‌.
2. Tap on "Face Gallery."
3. Scroll down to "Photos" and tap it.
4. You can select an album of photos, such as your Favorites, or choose to select up to 24 individual photos from your Camera Roll. There's also an option for Dynamic, which uses photos from your Memories.
5. Tap on "Album" to choose an album, select "Choose ‌Photos‌..." to choose photos, or tap on "Dynamic" to have it pull from Memories.
6. If you want to add a tint to your photos, pick a color from the top bar.
7. Scroll down to "Time Position" and choose "Top" or "Bottom," and then select your Complications if you want to use them.
8. Scroll back up to see a preview of your watch face, and tap "Add" if it looks good.
9. Tap on the "My Watch" tab.
10. Tap on the "‌Photos‌" watch face that you created.
11. Choose "Set as Current Watch Face."

The Photos face is accompanied by a "Portraits" watch face. The Portraits face allows you to choose a photo that you've captured using Portrait mode and set it as a watch face. There's a sense of depth to the watch face with the data from the portrait photo. You can set it by following the steps above, but choose Portraits instead of Photos.

This effect only works with photos of people and not pets or objects.

4. Set Up Express Transit

In select cities with robust transit options, there's a nifty Express Transit feature that allows you to pass through a transaction with just a tap of your Apple Watch.

Whether you live in a city with the feature or are visiting, Express transit is easy to use. We have a how-to with full instructions for setting up the feature through the wallet app. All you have to do is use your credit or debit card linked to Apple Pay, and you're good to go.

• How to Set Up Express Transit With Apple Pay on iPhone and Apple Watch

In the US, Express transit is available in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Washington D.C.

If you're in an area that accepts Express transit, it's worth setting it up. If you want to get on the subway in New York, you just need to tap your wrist. You don't have to interact with the charge on your Apple Pay card. You do not need a Metrocard.

To add a card to your wallet in San Francisco, you have to open the wallet app, tap the "+" button, and choose the card for the city you're in. You can use the ExpressFunctionality after this.

As with Apple Pay, it's most convenient to use the Apple Watch since it's on the wrist.

5. Track Your Temperature

There is a built in temperature sensor in the Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch Ultra. If you're getting sick, this function can be used by anyone and can be an indicator.

If you have sleep tracking enabled on your Apple Watch, you can get nightly updates on temperature. You can see the temperature readings on your device in the health app.

1. On your ‌iPhone‌, open the Health app.
2. Tap Browse, then tap Body Measurements.
3. Tap Wrist Temperature.

If you see "Needs More Data" at the top of the chart, your baseline temperature has not yet been established and you will need to wear your Apple watch for more nights. Below the chart, the number of nights required will be shown.

Apple warns that the Apple Watch temperature sensor is not intended for medical use as it is not as accurate as other temperature sensor methods.

6. Control Your Apple TV With Your Watch

If you have an Apple TV set-top box, you can use the Remote app on your Apple watch to control it.

1. Press on the Digital Crown to get to your App List or App Grid, depending on your App View.
2. Find the "Remote" app, which is labeled as Remote and has a blue icon with a triangle in the center.
3. Tap it.
4. Wait a moment as the watch syncs to the ‌Apple TV‌ sets in your home.
5. Select the ‌Apple TV‌ you want to control.

If you tap on the little TV icon in the bottom left of the display, you will be able to turn on the Apple TV. Just tap to launch an app.

If you want to add an Apple TV that isn't linked to your watch, you need to go to settings > General > Remotes on the Apple TV set. The third- generation Apple TV can be used with the remote feature.

7. Get Help in an Emergency

If you want to be able to get help quickly in an emergency, you can use an Apple Watch feature that calls emergency services with the press of a button.

1. Open up the Settings app on the Apple Watch.
2. Scroll down to "SOS."
3. Enable "Hold Side Button."

If you hold down the side button, the Apple Watch will start calling emergency services in the country where you are located. The side button has a rounded shape.

You will have a time limit to stop the call if it is accidentally activated.

If you want the Apple Watch to call emergency services if you take a hard fall, make sure Crash Detection is turned on. If you have an accident on a bike, skateboard, car or other mode of transportation, your Apple watch can help you.

8. Remove Apps From Your Apple Watch

There are a lot of apps on the Apple Watch that you don't need.

1. Unlock your Apple Watch and go to the App View.
2. Long press on the Apple Watch display.
3. Tap on "Edit Apps."
4. Scroll through the list or swipe through the grid (depending on your view choice) to locate apps you don't want.
5. Tap on the small "x" on the app to delete an app or swipe to get to the delete interface if you use the List view.
6. Confirm that you want to delete the app.

There are core apps that can't be removed from the Apple Watch, but there are some that can be.

You can uninstall Alarms, ECG, Blood Oxygen, Memoji, Find items, and other similar apps. Redownload them from the App Store if you want them back later.

You can send photos from your wrist without having to open your phone. You can send an image to someone else from your wrist if you come across it on your watch.

1. Open up the ‌Photos‌ app on the Apple Watch.
2. Select a photo that you want to share and tap it.
3. Tap on the small share icon on the bottom right of the photo.
4. Apple will offer your most recent contacts to send it to, or you can scroll down and send it to anyone using Messages or Mail.
5. Select a contact, and then write a message if you want to add one.

One album from your photos can be seen in the Photos app on Apple watch. To change it, open up the Watch app on iPhone, scroll down and select Photos, and tap on "sync album" to choose an album to sync to your Apple Watch.

The number of photos you choose affects the amount of storage space on your Apple Watch. You can sync memories and feature photos in the watch app. The selection in the Photos app will change daily with these options enabled.

10. Make Apple Watch Text Larger

Text on the smaller Apple Watches can be very small. It can be made bigger by following these steps.

1. Open up the Settings app on Apple Watch.
2. Scroll down to "Display & Brightness" and tap it.
3. Tap on "Text Size."
4. Tap on the "Aa" on the right side of the display to make the text bigger, and tap on the "Aa" icon on the left side to make it smaller again.

Any app that supports DynamicType will show your preferred text size when you adjust the text size. You can make text even more visible by using the "Bold Text" option.

11. Get Even More Battery Life on Apple Watch Ultra

It is possible to get up to 60 hours of battery life with the Apple Watch Ultra.

Low Power Mode and additional battery saving settings are used to enable this function. Only the Apple Watch Ultra has 60 hour battery life, and other models are limited to 36 hours maximum with low power mode.

Apple Watch Ultra models need to have workout settings that allow for less heart rate and gps readings.

1. Launch the Settings app on your ‌Apple Watch Ultra‌.
2. Scroll to the bottom and tap Workout.
3. Toggle on the switch next to Low Power Mode.
4. Below "During Low Power Mode," toggle on the switch next to Fewer GPS and Heart Rate Readings.

These settings are available on the Apple Watch Series 8 and second-generation Apple Watch SE, but Apple has not stated that they will extend battery life beyond 36 hours.

With Low Power Mode turned on, the Apple Watch Ultra is able to preserve battery life for walking, running, and hiking by cutting down on the frequencies of heart rate and gps readings.

12. Use Night Mode on Apple Watch Ultra

Night Mode on the Apple Watch Ultra makes it easier to see when the lighting is bad. If you look at your watch in the dark, you won't be blinded if you look at it in the red light.

Night Mode can be turned on.

1. If it isn't already active, swipe to the new Wayfinder watch face, which is specially made for ‌Apple Watch Ultra‌.
2. Turn the Digital Crown to engage ‌Night Mode‌.
3. To turn it off, rotate the Digital Crown in the opposite direction.

Night Mode only works when the Wayfinder watch face is being used, and can't be used with any other watch face.

13. Customize the Action Button on Apple Watch Ultra

The Apple Watch Ultra has an action button that is not found on any other Apple Watch model, and it can be set to do whatever you want. It can start a workout, set a waypoint in the compass app, start a dive, or even start a shortcut.

Depending on the assignment, there are even deeper functions available. You can choose a specific workout if you have the action button set to start a workout. In the middle of a compatible workout, it can mark segments or laps in a track workout.

You can change the function of your Action Button after setting it up.

1. On ‌Apple Watch Ultra‌, launch the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap Action Button.
3. Tap the menu under "Action" and select one of the following options: Workout, Stopwatch, Waypoint, Backtrack, Dive, Flashlight, and Shortcut.

   

4. Tap the arrow in the left-hand corner to go back to Action Button settings.
5. Tap the menu under "App" if it appears, then select an app to perform the action. Some actions, such as Flashlight, don't show the App option.
6. Tap the arrow to go back.
7. Tap the menu under "First Press" if it appears, then select an action. Some features allow different actions to happen on the first and second press of the button.

Under "Gestures" there are tips that explain how the action button works with the settings you have assigned to it.

The Action Button can be configured on the Apple watch app.

1. Launch the Watch app on your ‌iPhone‌.
2. Tap the My Watch tab if it's not already selected.
3. Tap Action Button.
4. Under "Action," tap the currently selected action to change it.
5. Select from one of the following options: Workout, Stopwatch, Waypoint, Backtrack, Dive, Flashlight, and Shortcut.
6. Tap Action Button to go back to the previous menu.
7. Tap the menu under "App" if it appears, then select an app to perform the action. Some actions, such as Flashlight, don't show the App option.
8. Tap the arrow to go back.
9. Tap the menu under "First Press" if it appears, then select an action. Some features allow different actions to happen on the first and second press of the button.

Learn More About Your Watch

The Apple Watch Series 8, the Apple Watch Ultra, and the Apple Watch SE all have a complete overview of the different features available with them. The newest features of the Apple Watch can be found in our watchOS 9 overview.