Your Apple Watch has lots of secret features you might have never even heard of, and we are here to teach you how to use them! Plus, we will tell you how to optimize all your Apple Watch settings to significantly improve your everyday experience, whether you’re 19 or 90.
New Year, new watch settings, new YOU
Apple Watches are surprisingly customizable, so if you have any Apple Watch frustrations, there might be a super simple fix right in your device’s settings. That way, you can start the New Year with a watch that feels brand new!
Make app navigation easier
If you struggle to navigate through all your watch apps, you can switch from having tiny icons in a grid view to a neat list in alphabetical order. The alphabetical list includes larger icons with visible app names that you can scroll through by swiping or using the Digital Crown. On the other hand, the grid does let you drag and drop the apps into your preferred order, with 17 icons on display for less scrolling! I recommend trying both to see what works best for you.
Stop arguing with Siri
If you struggle with selecting the icons in either grid view or the alphabetical list, I recommend using Siri to open them by voice. My preferred way to activate Siri on my watch is to Press the Digital Crown. I like to toggle off Raise to Speak to save battery life. I leave “Hey Siri” to my other Apple devices; that way my watch never starts talking to me unexpectedly!
Get control over your Control Center
Another way to personalize how you navigate your Apple Watch is to reorganize the Control Center and remove any features you don’t use.
Tailor Apple Watch faces for every occasion
Don’t forget that you can create several Apple Watch faces and switch between them by swiping. I like to have a simple watch face that matches my outfit when I’m at a formal event; a watch face full of fitness-tracking complications, including step count, for my workouts; and a professional watch face that keeps all my productivity apps front and center. You can even set a different watch face for each Focus mode!
Kiss battery drain goodbye!
If your Apple Watch is running out of battery faster than it used to, you may be able to fix it with a few simple steps. First, restart your watch and make sure it is running the latest software. After that, try our 11 steps that could add hours or even days (if you have an Ultra) to your battery life! A huge battery hog is Listen for “Hey Siri." This setting means your Apple Watch will be actively listening for you to activate Siri whenever your watch face is on. Toggle it off! Another is Environmental Noise Monitoring—a great feature if you’re often in loud environments and are concerned about your hearing health—mine only goes off in the shower or when my dog is barking, which isn’t helpful.
Never lose any device ever again
If you’re prone to leaving your phone, watch, or AirPods behind, you’re not alone! But did you know there are simple ways your Apple Watch can help you keep track of everything? I explain Left Behind alerts in the Reader Question section below. But I also recommend making sure you have Find My enabled on your Apple Watch as well as all your other Apple devices. This is an amazing feature, but the only catch is you need to have it set up before you lose your device. So, if you haven’t already, do it now! Plus, you can ping your iPhone from your Apple Watch to find it if it’s nearby. A lesser-known feature is that you can also ping your Apple Watch from your iPhone! If your home is full of HomePods, like mine is, you can even yell out, “Hey, Siri, where’s my Apple Watch?” and have Find My’s lost device sound play on the missing device until you find it.
These are some of my favorite tips, because you can’t make the most of your Apple Watch if you can’t find it!
Which of the features I mentioned is your favorite? Email OntheWatch@iphonelife.com and let me know!
