Watch Orientation

Most people wear a watch on the left wrist, with the crown facing the hand. But the Apple Watch is ambidextrous—you can wear it on either wrist, or in a different orientation on the same wrist.

On your Watch, go to Settings > General > Orientation (Figure 175). Or, on the iPhone in the Watch app, go to General > Watch Orientation.

Choose to wear the watch on your left or right wrist, and then choose whether the Digital Crown is on the left or right.

Wake Screen Options

When you raise your wrist, the watch face appears; in the case of the Series 5 and later, the always-on face switches to the active version. To change this behavior in the Watch app on the iPhone, go to Display & Brightness (Figure 176). Or, on the watch itself, go to Settings > Display & Brightness.

Under the Wake heading, choose from these options:

• Wake on Wrist Raise: With this on, your watch wakes whenever you raise your wrist to look at it.

• Wake on Crown Rotation: With this option on, turn the Digital Crown to wake the display and increase its brightness.

• Wake Duration: Choose how long the screen remains active after you tap to wake it up (15 or 70 seconds).

Another option that affects the screen is how long to display an app after it’s opened. In the Watch app on the iPhone, go to General > Return to Clock, or on the watch go to Settings > General > Return to Clock, for the following settings:

• Return to Clock: Set the time period after opening an app when the watch switches back to the Clock face: always, after 2 minutes, or after 1 hour. Pressing the Digital Crown will always return to the Clock face.

• App-specific settings: The Return to Clock duration can be different for every app, or follow the default setting.

  Also, after you launch some apps, they can remain frontmost when you wake the watch and they’re currently “in session.” The Workout app, for example, is considered in session when you’ve started exercising. Tap an app’s name and enable the Return to App setting under When in Session.

Adjust Appearance

As I suggested in Set the Appearance and Feedback, making the watch more readable improves the experience for some people. In the Watch app on the iPhone, go to Display & Brightness. On the watch, go to Settings > Display & Brightness to change the following aspects of the watch experience:

• Brightness offers three levels of illumination; tap the brightness buttons, or turn the Digital Crown, to increase or decrease it (Figure 177). On Series 5 and later models, the Always On setting appears here, too.

  

• Text Size makes text larger or smaller in apps that support it.

• Bold Text increases the weight of text in general (Figure 178).

Sounds and Haptics

If you’re missing taps or notifications, try making the audio louder or increase the strength of the haptic feedback. On the iPhone, open the Watch app and go to Sounds & Haptics. Or, on the Apple Watch, go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics (Figure 179).

Adjust the following settings to your liking:

• Alert Volume: Adjust the level of audible alerts.

• Silent Mode: Turn off your watch’s audio completely.

• Headphone Safety: Tap this option to view two things. The watch monitors headphone volume levels and alerts you if the volume level exceeds a 7-day limit (Figure 180).

  

  A field tells you how many such notifications have been sent in the last six months. (Tap that field to learn more about the seven-day limit.) Keep the upper volume of audio through headphones in check by turning on Reduce Loud Sounds. See Monitor Your Hearing.

• Haptic Alerts: When this option is turned on, the watch taps your wrist for alerts such as notifications or messages. If the default feedback is too soft, turn on the Prominent option, which plays a long, rolling pulse before an alert’s tap.

• Crown Haptics: As you rotate the Digital Crown, the watch performs little nudges.

• System Haptics: Turn on or off haptics for interactions with system controls.

• Cover to Mute: Did an alarm or timer go off during a meeting or while watching a movie? With this option on, quickly rest your palm on the screen for 3 seconds to mute alerts and notifications.

Rename Your Watch

Your watch is part of you, so in the Watch app on the iPhone go to General > About > Name and give the watch a name. This name appears when you view your devices in the Settings area of your iCloud.com account.

Nightstand Mode

This clever setting turns your charging watch into a bedside clock and alarm:

• On your watch, go to Settings > General > Nightstand Mode, or in the Watch app on the iPhone go to General, and turn the Nightstand Mode option on.

• With Nightstand mode on, when you place the watch on its side and attach it to the charger, the screen displays the time (Figure 181).

  

• If the screen has gone to sleep, wake it by tapping the screen or one of the buttons.

• If you’ve set an alarm, when it goes off, press the side button to cancel it, or press the Digital Crown to snooze for several minutes before the alarm blares again.

Accessibility

The watch has many features for people who can benefit from vision or hearing assistance. In the Watch app on the iPhone, go to General > Accessibility to enable these features. (On the watch, go to Settings > Accessibility to find the same options.)

Here’s a rundown of your options:

• VoiceOver: The watch speaks the names of items on the screen (or the time, if you tap the watch face). Tap once to select an item, double-tap to activate it, and swipe with two fingers to scroll. You can adjust speaking rate and VoiceOver volume. For those whose vision makes a screen redundant, turn on the Screen Curtain to use the watch without lighting up the screen (and save a lot of battery power).

• Zoom: When turned on, double-tapping two fingers on the screen zooms in, up to 15 times (a maximum amount you choose in the settings).

• On/Off Labels: Adds symbols for on and off to switches for better readability (Figure 182).

  

• Grayscale: Removes color from the screen.

• Reduce Transparency: This option removes blurred backgrounds in some areas.

• Text Size: Changes the size of text in apps that support Dynamic Type.

• Bold Text: Increases the weight of text in general.

• Reduce Motion: When on, this minimizes animations and makes the Home screen icons all the same size (see Work with Apps).

• Chimes: Opt to play sounds on a schedule (every hour, 30 minutes, or 15 minutes), to audibly note the time.

• Quick Actions: This setting lets you respond to some alerts using a double-pinch hand gesture. When you choose On or When AssistiveTouch Is Enabled, a badge appears telling you what the gesture will do. For example, when a timer ends, double-pinch to end the chime or haptic vibration.

• Assistive Touch: “Does a watch really need so many sensors?” you may ask. Yes, when they can work together in service of something like Assistive Touch. Instead of touching the screen as interaction, this feature translates finger-pinch and fist-making movements into onscreen commands. By default, the gestures navigate the interface, but you can assign other actions. For instance, you could set a double-pinch to initiate an Apple Pay payment (instead of using your other hand to double-press the side button). See Apple’s Use Assistive Touch on your Apple Watch for more information.

• Side Button Click Speed: Choose a slower rate to double-press the side button.

• Touch Accommodations: The options here help when someone has trouble using the watch’s touchscreen. For instance, you can specify the amount of time to hold a finger on the screen for it to be represented as a touch.

• Auto-Answer Calls: Let the watch pick up incoming calls without doing it manually.

• Control Nearby Devices: Use the Apple Watch to perform actions on a nearby iPhone or iPad signed into the same Apple ID. Once connected, you can go to the Home screen, access the App Switcher, open Notification Center or Control Center, or invoke Siri. There are also buttons for controlling media playback, as well as options for assigning gestures such as pinch, double-pinch, and clench to those actions.

• Tap to Talk: Instead of holding the button when you Speak Using Walkie-Talkie, tap once when you start talking and again when you stop.

• AirPods: Choose a slower speed for pressing two or three times on AirPods, or shorted the press and hold duration, to activate features such as pausing playback.

• Siri: The Type to Siri setting allows you to invoke Siri and type your commands on the watch instead of speaking them aloud. You can also change the amount of time Siri waits for you to finish speaking.

• RTT: Enable this feature to use RTT (Real-Time Text) from the watch when the iPhone isn’t nearby. RTT displays what the other person is typing as they type it, instead of sending each thought after it has been composed.

• Mono Audio: Play audio in just one channel.

• Audio volume balance: Drag the slider to favor the left or right sound output.

• Headphone Notifications: This is the trigger that sends notifications if headphone volume levels are excessive, as described in Sounds and Haptics.

• Complication: If you use a hearing device, choose which option to display in watch face complications: Mic Volume or Program.

• Show Audio Transcriptions: When you interact with HomePod, a transcription of what it says is displayed.

• Taptic Time Speed: Make taps occur slower or faster.

• Accessibility Shortcut: Choose what triple-pressing the Digital Crown activates: VoiceOver, Zoom, Assistive Touch, or Touch Accommodations.

Passcode

If you use Apple Pay or use the watch to Unlock Your Mac or authenticate some apps, you’re required to use a passcode. You can enable or disable this passcode, as well as change it, in the Passcode section of the Watch app on the iPhone or on the watch itself in Settings > Passcode.

The passcode setting I’ve found most helpful is Unlock with iPhone, which is found only in the Watch app on the phone (under Passcode). When it’s enabled, unlocking your phone automatically unlocks your watch, too (as long as it’s on your wrist).

Wrist Detection

In the Watch app on the iPhone or the Settings app on the watch, go to Passcode and find the Wrist Detection toggle, but do not turn it off. If your watch is protected with a passcode, this feature locks the watch whenever you take it off.

Control the Watch from Your iPhone

The Accessibility features include a way to control an iPhone or iPad from your watch, but that idea works both ways. If you need to demonstrate the watch during a presentation, for instance, turn on Apple Watch Mirroring. On the iPhone, go to Settings > Accessibility > Apple Watch Mirroring.

When you activate it, the iPhone connects to the watch via AirPlay Mirroring and displays it onscreen (Figure 183). Tap, scroll, and interact with the watch on the iPhone’s larger screen just as you would physically engage with the watch.

Pair Another Watch

The notion of having two watches sounded silly to me until I upgraded and suddenly found myself with…two watches. Perhaps the top reason for using multiples is to wear one at night to help you Sleep Better through sleep tracking while your “daytime” watch charges. Or, you may have an old aluminum model for exercise and a nicer stainless steel or titanium model for everyday wear.

When you add another watch to your iPhone, your activity levels and secure data are transferred seamlessly, and even automatically if you choose. To pair another watch, do the following:

1. In the Watch app on the iPhone, tap All Watches at the top of the screen.

2. Tap Add Watch. Although, just bringing an unpaired watch close to the iPhone may prompt you to initiate the pairing process.

3. On the Set Up Apple Watch screen, tap Set Up for Myself. (If you’re setting up a watch for a family member who does not own an iPhone, see Use Family Setup.)

4. Line the watch up with the viewfinder on the iPhone to scan the animated cloud that establishes the pairing.

5. Tap Set Up as New Apple Watch, and step through the next screens that ask about wrist preference and ask you to accept the terms and conditions, signing in to your Apple ID, and the rest.

After the other watch is set up, go back to the All Watches screen and turn on the Auto Switch. When you take one watch off and put the other one on, the Watch app automatically knows the switch has happened and updates the current watch with your data. You can also select the correct watch by clicking it on this screen.

It’s important to note that the newly added watch isn’t a clone of the first one. They each have their own watch faces, and you’ll need to set up any Wallet cards separately. The data they share is shared by all your devices, such as calendars, contacts, health and activity information, and so on.

Unlock Your Mac

Your Apple Watch can unlock your Mac when it wakes from sleep—no need to type your password—and also provide authentication for some actions. (Your Mac must be a 2013 or later model running at least macOS 10.12 Sierra.) Once enabled, the feature kicks in whenever your Mac is locked and you’re wearing the watch near it. To set up this incredibly handy feature, do the following:

1. Make sure your Mac and your watch are signed in to the same iCloud account. (On a Mac, check this in System Preferences > Apple ID in Catalina or later, or in System Preferences > iCloud in Mojave or earlier; in the Watch app on your iPhone, go to General > Apple ID.)

2. Enable two-factor authentication for your Apple ID. (If you’re already using the older two-step verification, you must disable that first.)

3. If you haven’t already done so, enable a Passcode on your watch and enter an administrator’s password when prompted.

4. On your Mac, go to System Settings > Login Password (or Touch ID & Password on models equipped with Touch ID) and check “Use Apple Watch to unlock your applications and your Mac” (Ventura) or System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General and check “Use your Apple Watch to unlock apps and your Mac” (Monterey and earlier).

Having done that, as long as your watch is on your wrist and unlocked, having it nearby will unlock your Mac when it wakes from sleep.

In some circumstances, the watch can be used to authenticate actions on your Mac instead of making you type a password. For example, in macOS Monterey and earlier, in System Preferences > Security & Privacy, clicking the lock icon to access settings requires an administrator’s password. With the watch set up as just described, it taps to get your attention and then asks you to double-press the side button to unlock the settings (Figure 184).

Use Emergency Features

You can use your watch to phone emergency services (for example, 911 in the United States and Canada) and notify a loved one of the emergency. Your watch can also provide your medical info to someone who needs it. Access emergency features, and make sure your contacts will be notified, by doing the following:

• Make an emergency call: Press and hold the side button for 3 seconds. On the safety screen that appears (Figure 185), slide the Emergency SOS control to the right. Your watch dials the local emergency number and also sends a message to designated contacts informing them of your location and that you’ve requested emergency services. As of watchOS 9.2, International Emergency SOS is available on cellular-enabled Series 8, Series 7, SE, and Ultra models to request help when you’re traveling (Apple maintains a list of supported countries and regions).

  

• Designate an emergency contact: In the Health app on the iPhone, tap your icon in the top-right corner to view your information, and tap Medical ID. Tap Edit, and then tap Add Emergency Contact. Navigate to the person in your contacts and then tap to add them to your list. Tap Done to finish. The contacts appear in the Watch app under Emergency SOS.

• Medical ID: Your watch can display important medical info (such as blood type and drug allergies) to emergency personnel even if your watch is locked and you can’t unlock it. To enter medical info, go to the same screen in the Health app on the iPhone as above.

  To display this information on your watch, press and hold the side button for 3 seconds, and then slide the Medical ID control to the right. Someone can also use the emergency contacts buttons listed there to call one of your contacts.

If you’re on a hike or turned around in an unfamiliar location, drag the Compass Backtrack slider to Find Your Way Back to where you started.