Right out of the box, an Apple Watch can help keep you healthy, deliver notifications, make calls, send texts, run simple apps, and even save your life. But the real magic happens when you install apps and personalize your Apple Watch to help you achieve exactly what you hope to do in any given day.

In this guide, we’ll show you exactly what the Apple Watch can do in a variety of settings. Some of them may sound obvious to long-time Apple Watch users, but we promise there are some cool things listed below that you’ve never tried since the Apple Watch and WatchOS are constantly evolving.

Almost all recent Apple Watch models can do everything listed below, but some of the features are exclusive to more recent Apple Watch models. If you are using an Apple Watch that’s a few years old and want to be able to do everything listed in this guide, you may need to upgrade to the newest Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch 8, or Apple Watch Ultra.

The Apple Watch is more than a miniaturized iPhone on your wrist. When you understand what you can do with the Apple Watch it becomes an amazing tool to help you get through your day, be more productive, lose weight, and even save money.

Your Apple Watch can do more than anyone likely needs. But just about everyone should get to know the basic Apple Watch features that are at its core. However, a lot of people don’t make use of the Apple Watch’s best features. This Apple Watch series aren’t the only watches that connect to the iPhone, but they are the best for most people. 

What Can the Apple Watch Do with watchOS 9?

With watchOS 9, there are more workout views, a new compass layout, improved medications reminders, better sleep tracking, and more dynamic watch faces. These, combined with many other watchOS 9 features, means you can do more with your Apple Watch than ever, and rely less on your iPhone. That’s important for those that aren’t allowed to or aren’t able to pull out their iPhones whenever they choose. There are more details within each of the sections below.

Communicating Quickly

1.) Answer Calls on the Apple Watch: 

You can answer phone calls on your Apple Watch, using it as a small Bluetooth speakerphone. There’s no need to pull out your iPhone for shorter calls thanks to the Apple Watch’s built-in microphone and speaker. Just keep in mind that those nearby may be able to hear your caller and the speakerphone on the Apple Watch isn’t nearly as loud as the iPhone’s. 

You can also use your Apple Watch to quickly let callers know that you can’t talk at the moment by tapping one of your pre-set replies, such as “Sorry, I can’t talk right now.”

2.) Place Calls from Your Apple Watch  

You can place calls from your Apple Watch in a flash. All you have to do is hold the Apple Watch’s crown down to activate Siri and ask your watch to call a contact. If you are dialing a number that isn’t in your contact list, then you can also tap it into your Apple Watch using an on-screen keypad. 

If you have an Apple Watch GPS + Cellular, you can make or receive calls on your Apple Watch, even when your  iPhone isn’t nearby. This requires adding the watch to your plan for about $10 per month with your wireless carrier. The Apple Watch Ultra comes with the cellular feature baked in. If you want to make calls from other models, you need to plan ahead and make sure you buy a cellular model as there’s no way to upgrade down the road. 

3.) Call 911 in Two Steps

In an emergency, the Apple Watch makes it fast and easy to call for help. All you need to do is hold down the side button for a few seconds until three options pop up. Sliding the SOS icon to the right will activate an emergency call. Regardless of where in the world you are, the Apple Watch will call the appropriate phone number for emergency services. While you may be used to dialing 911, the Apple Watch is smart enough to dial the proper number and even key in any confirmation number local authorities require. 

4.) View and Reply to Texts and iMessages on Your Wrist

Text messages and iMessages instantly appear on your wrist so you don’t have to take your phone out of your pocket. You can also reply quickly with canned messages, emojis, Siri or by scribbling letter by letter what you want to say. The canned messages often pick up on the context of a text so that you can tap on an option that someone gives you. 

You can also see recent conversations in the Messages app on the Apple Watch. This works with both iMessages and text messages. 

5). Send Facebook Messages 

Facebook Messenger is a popular app for staying in touch with family, friends and groups. You can receive Facebook Messages on your Apple Watch and even reply with with text, emoji, a thumbs up, your location or a custom message using the microphone to dictate. If you rely on Facebook Messages to stay in touch, this is an awesome feature. Facebook Messenger supports the scribble reply feature so you can reply even when you can’t talk. 

6) Use the Apple Watch as a Translator

You can use your Apple Watch as a translator so that you can talk with people you don’t share a common language with. There is even an offline mode to use when you are traveling and don’t have a cellular connection. 

iTranslate is a free app that offers in-app purchases to unlock some additional features. The app allows you to translate between more than 100 languages. The app translates quickly and allows the person you’re communicating with to read what you said in their native language. There’s also an option to have the Apple Watch speak the translations out loud. 

7. Apple Watches Can be Walkie Talkies

You can use your Apple Watch as a walkie talkie to communicate with friends and families when you are out and about. The Walkie Talkie app on the Apple Watch allows you to send audio messages that automatically play when the recipients are marked as available.  This allows you to quickly chat back and forth with friends during the day or connect with them when you are at an event like a concert easily. Some people use this feature like an intercom at home.  

8. Check Your Email 

Is your email app your second home? If so, the Apple Watch will either be the best thing to happen or a gateway to checking your email even more often. You can get Mail notifications on your wrist, read flag, delete and easily open on the iPhone for a longer reply. This works inside the Mail app for iPhone. 

There isn’t a Gmail app for Apple Watch, but you can get Gmail notifications. You won’t necessarily get a notification for each and every email that comes in, but it will mirror what you see on your iPhone. 

9. Send Memojis on Apple Watch

You can send Memojis from your Apple Watch, as well as standard emoji. You can’t animate the Memoji or make a specific face like you can on the iPhone, but you can send the Memoji that are standard on the iPhone from your watch. 

10. Send Apple Watch Drawings to Friends

You can sketch out a small drawing with your finger on your Apple Watch and send it to a friend’s Apple Watch. The only limits are your imagination, artistic skill, and of course the screen size. The drawing will come across as an animated sketch and your friend can respond with another drawing. This drawings will also go directly to iPhones.  

11. Share Your Heartbeat

The Apple Watch can track your heart rate for fitness activities, but that’s not all the sensors can do. You can share your heartbeat with a loved one as a message.  When you do this a small animation shows on-screen to show your heartbeat directly to another Apple watch. Apple calls this, “a simple intimate way to tell someone how you feel.”

This isn’t something that most Apple Watch users will use often, but it’s a cool way to send a message to someone you love to let them know you are thinking about them. 

Apple Watch Can Help Keep You Healthy and Safe

1. Monitor Safe Hearing Levels

The Apple Watch comes with a noise app that tracks how loud your environment is. This allows you to know if you are in a setting where audio is at a dangerous level so you can get hearing protection or move away from the loud sources of noise. You can expect to get alerts in loud environments like constructions sites, rock concerts, and fireworks shows.  You will also see alerts for things you might not think will damage your hearing, such as sustained noise at volumes that aren’t as jarring. 

2. Check and Track Blood Oxygen Levels

The Apple Watch Series 6, Series 7, Series 8, and Ultra include a sensor that tracks your blood oxygen levels. This is especially useful for those who need to monitor their blood oxygen levels due to illnesses such as Asthma, Influenza, and COVID-19.  

The more recent Apple Watches will take blood oxygen level readings throughout the day, which means you can instantly see your most recent reading on your Apple Watch’s Blood Oxygen app. If you want a current blood oxygen level reading it 15 seconds to take a new one.  You can see a running history of your blood oxygen levels in your iPhone’s Health app.

3. Monitor Your Heart Rate

The Apple Watch heart rate monitor is credited with saving the life of a teen and of a 62 year old.

The Apple Watch uses sensors on the back of the Apple Watch to check your heart rate automatically throughout the day. Your current heart rate, resting heart rate, and walking average are all instantly viewable on your Apple Watch by tapping the Heart Rate app. Your heart rate data is stored in the Apple Health app on your iPhone so you can look at trends and see more details.

 When you are exercising, you can see the heart rate at all times on your Apple Watch if you start a workout. 

4. Take an Electrocardiogram (ECG)

The Apple Watch Series 4 and newer (except SE models) can take Electrocardiograms (ECG) to detect your heart health. An ECG used to be something that required a visit to a medical provider, but you can now check your heart’s rhythm in just 30 seconds with your Apple Watch. All you need to do is launch the ECG app and hold your finger to the Digital Crown. When the scan is done it will show you whether your heart shows signs of arterial fibrulation (afib). 

5. Track Your Fitness

The Apple Watch uses various sensors to monitor your movement and track your progress towards healthy goals that the Apple Watch or an Apple Watch app will help you set.

You can see this progress across three categories; movement, exercise and time spent standing. Movement measures calories burned, exercise is when you hit 30 minutes of exercise in a day, and the stand section aims to make you less sedentary. The watch will alert you to stand up if you sit for too long and nudge you towards movement and exercise goals. 

You can adjust your move goal by pressing hard on the screen when in the Activity App. You can also see the fitness information on your iPhone in the Health app.

6. Track Your Runs

The Apple Watch can use its built-in GPS to track where you runs, even if you don’t bring your iPhone with you. You can view your detailed runs on a map on your iPhone after your run so you can decide if you want to repeat the route in the future or not. 

7. Track Your Cycle

You can easily track your cycle and get alerts on your Apple Watch. The app uses information you enter on your last period  to help predict the start of your next period. 

You can see this information on your Apple Watch and log flow as well as symptoms of your period.

8. Track Your Sleep

All recent Apple Watch models include built-in sleep tracking features that make sure you get to bed on time, wake up on time, and help improve your quality of sleep. All you need to do is enter some basic info in the Sleep app and wear your Apple Watch to sleep.  The Apple Watch will track how much time you spend in each stage of sleep and at what time you hit each stage. 

Use the Apple Watch to Get Around

1. Use the Apple Watch as a Compass

Select Watch Faces and  the standalone Compass app is a standalone app can show you the which way you’re facing, the incline, elevation and your latitude and longitude. This is a cool feature to try at least a few times, especially if you’re directionally challenged. For more complicated navigation, there are countless watch apps that use the Apple Watch Compass to assist you navigate on land, water, or even sky. 

2. Use the Apple Watch as a Car Key

You can use your Apple Watch  as a key for most newer BMWs and select Hyundai and KIA models.  That means you can open your cars’ doors and start the ignition by just tapping on your watch’s side button a couple of times.  Almost all BMW models built since July 2020 support the Apple key feature, with Hyundai and Kia compatibility much more limited. 

Apple Watch Productivity Features

1. Use Your Apple Watch as a Calculator

The Apple Watch can be used as a calculator through Siri or the calculator app. The built-in app can help you solve basic math problems and settle restaurant bills. The Apple Watch calculator app has a TIP calculator that lets you put in the total due and adjust the percentage of tip you’d like to leave. It also gives you the option to select the number of people splitting the bill to give you a precise number for each person to pay. 

2. Record a Voice Memo or Conversation

You can use your Apple Watch to record a Voice Memo  with its built-in microphone. This means your Apple Watch can quickly record your thoughts before you forget them, important meetings and conversations without having to rely on your iPhone. All you need to do is open the app by selecting it from the app screen or by asking Siri to open the Voice Memos app. To start recording, all you need to do is tap the red button. Voice Memos are stored in iCloud and synced to your other Apple devices for playback and sharing.  

3. Unlock Your MacBook and Passwords

With Auto Unlock enabled on your MacBook, you can quickly unlock it while wearing your Apple Watch. That means you won’t need to type in your password every time your MacBook goes to sleep. You can also use your Apple Watch to automatically unlock your stored Passwords and password-protected Notes. 

Apple Watch Entertainment Features:

Listen to Podcasts on the Apple Watch:

Apple includes the Podcasts app on the Apple Watch. You can sync podcasts to the Apple Watch based on the ones you listen to on your iPhone when the watch is on its charger. If you are mobile you can stream the latest episodes on LTE or on WiFi.  You will to use your AirPods to listen as Podcasts won’t play back on the Apple Watch’s built-in speaker. 

Other Things the Apple Watch Can Do

1. Stay Quiet in a Movie Theater

You can tell your Apple Watch not to respond to hand movements while you are at the movies. This keeps your Apple Watch from lighting up when you move your arm. With this mode, the watch noises also stop, so you can enjoy the movie without disturbing others. You will still get notifications and the watch will vibrate so you know if something important is happening, it’s just less likely to annoy people around you. 

To enable this, just swipe up from the Apple Watch home screen, and you’ll see a pair of theater masks.  Tap on the masks to turn on Theater mode. When you are done, tap on it again to turn it off.   

2. Tell You The Time

There’s more than one way for the Apple Watch to tell you the time. While the most obvious way is to just look at your wrist, there are a few other ways to tell time on the Apple Watch. 

The Apple Watch can speak the time to you by tapping the watch face with two fingers. You can also set your Apple Watch to play hourly chimes.   The Apple Watch can also tap out the time on your wrist using its haptic engine.

To enable or disable these time-telling tricks, you will need to launch the Settings app on your Apple Watch, then select Clock to see your options. 

What the Apple Watch Can Do:

1. Answer Calls . 
2. Use as Your Car Key .
3. Use the Apple Watch as a Walkie Talkie .
4. Record a Voice Memo .
5. Track Your Cycle . 
6. Monitor Safe Hearing Levels.
7. Use a Calculator .
8. Act as a Compass_.
9. Always Show You The Display
10. Listen to Podcasts on the Apple Watch .
11. Unlock Passwords and Notes on Your Mac .
12. Use the Apple Watch to Challenge Friends
13. Use the Apple Watch as a Flashlight
14. Use the Apple Watch in Water
15. Track Your Runs .
16. Stay Quiet in a Movie Theater .
17. Change Your Watch Face
18. See Info Quickly
19. Monitor Your Heart Rate . 
20. Track Your Fitness .
21. View and Reply to Text and iMessage .
22. Send Apple Watch Memoji .
23. Get iPhone Notifications On Your Wrist
24. Share Your Heartbeat. 
25. Pay with Apple Pay
26. Use Apple Watch Apps
27. Get Directions On Your Apple Watch
28. Send Drawings from the Apple Watch
29. Use Siri on the Apple Watch
30. Look at Photos on Your Apple Watch
31. Connect to Your Car
32. Send Facebook Messages
33. Listen to Music on Your Apple Watch
34. Stream Apple Music
35. Share Your Location
36. Check Your Email .
37. Control Your Apple TV & Music
38. Use it as a Camera Viewfinder
39. Find a lost iPhone
40. Store Tickets on Your Apple Watch
41. Use it as a Nightstand Clock
42. Set Your Apple Watch Up to 10 Minutes Fast
43. Send an SOS
44. Keep on Track to Close Your Activity Rings
45. Keep You On Task as a Virtual Assistant
46. Send Money to Friends with Apple Pay Cash
47. Use it as a Stopwatch
48. Show Store Loyalty Cards
49. Control Your Smart Home
50. Get Important Weather Alerts
51. Use as a Translator . 
52. Check Your Instagram Feed
53. Track Your Sleep
54. Always Have Your Passwords
55. Track Skiing and Snowboarding with the Apple Watch
56. Continuously Track Your Heart Rate Without Workouts
57. Control Your HomePod Music
58. Order a Pizza
59. Open Your Garage Door
60. Show Your Car Insurance
61. Check the News
62. Browse Etsy
63. Make In-App Purchases on Your Apple Watch
64. Check Your Blood Oxygen Levels .
65. Use without an iPhone as a Kid or Senior

This list of things you can do with the Apple Watch should be more than enough to get your money’s worth out of it.

Read: Get the Best Gaming Chair You Can Buy

Answer Calls on the Apple Watch

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You can answer a call on your Apple Watch using it as a small Bluetooth speakerphone. You only want to use this for shorter calls because the audio quality isn't as good as when you are talking on speakerphone on your iPhone.  The Apple Watch only allows you to answer your calls on Speakerphone, so you won't want to use this all the time. It is very handy when you are working on a project or busy with your hands. Definitely be conscious of where you are taking calls. If you wouldn't talk on speakerphone, you shouldn't talk on your Apple Watch. If you buy the new Apple Watch with LTE, you can even make calls on the Apple Watch without your iPhone nearby. This requires adding the watch to your plan for $10 a month. You cannot answer a FaceTime video call on the Apple Watch.

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65 Exciting Things You Can Do With the Apple Watch is a post by Xavier Lanier from Gotta Be Mobile.

Here’s a look at what’s new in watchOS 5. This is the new version of Apple Watch software coming to most Apple Watches next week. Here’s a rundown of the most exciting new Apple Watch features. This greatly expands what the Apple Watch can do.

Apple announced watchOS 5 at WWDC alongside iOS 12 and macOS Mojave. It ships on the Apple Watch 4 which arrives on September 21st, and you can install watchOS 5 on your Series 1 or newer Apple Watch starting on September 17th.

This is the first Apple Watch update that will not come to all devices. The first gen Apple Watch will not run watchOS 5. If you like these new features, you should consider upgrading to the Apple Watch 4,

Here’s a look at the new Apple Watch upgrades that are coming to your wrist with watchOS 5.

Smarter Siri on Apple Watch

Enjoy an upgraded Siri watchface on watchOS 5.

With watchOS 5, you no longer need to say Hey, to use Siri. Just raise your wrist and say Siri’s name. That makes using Siri easier on the go, and more natural.

Apple also upgrades the Siri watchface. It now uses machine learning to better know what you need at the right time. This can be a playlist or it might be one of the new Siri Shortcuts you’ll be able to make in iOS 12.

The watchface also pulls in information from other apps, so you’ll see more than just the Apple info you’re used to on watchOS 4.

Apple Watch Walkie Talkie

The new Walkie Talkie feature allows you to have quick snippets of conversation with other Apple Watch users without having a full on real time conversation. It’s like voice iMessages and Apple calls this Walkie-Talkie.

They are pitching it as a handy way to connect with people at a concert, an outing or when you want to talk instead of type, but not have a full conversation that you both have to be present for the whole time.

This is a feature we can’t wait to test out, and can see it being handy when trying to track someone down at a show or conference.

Activity Competitions

Compete with friends on watchOS 5.

If you share your activity with other Apple Watch users, you can now set up Activity Competitions. This allows you to put your friends on notice with a 7 day challenge to close your rings.

You’ll get alerts to help you stay on task and coaching so you know what you need to do to get ahead. At any point during the competition you can see who is ahead right from the watch.

New Exercise Tracking

Track many new workouts on watchOS 5.

Apple is going big on exercise tracking in watchOS 5 with new workouts and improvements to existing ones designed to cater to more serious runners.

Your Apple Watch will now automatically track a workout if it detects one is in motion. The watch will then prompt you to star the workout and give you progress based on the movement you’ve already completed.

There is a new Yoga workout mode that will help you track calorie burn and other metrics. A new Hiking workout tracks elevation as you walk, and you’ll get better calorie tracking for tackling hills on watchOS 5.

For power runners you will now see your Pace and how far off from it you are. You will also see a rolling mile pace and your Cadence so that you can run with the best efficiency.

Podcasts on Your Apple Watch

Listen to podcasts right from your Apple Watch.

Apple finally adds the Podcasts app to the Apple Watch so you can listen to your favorite podcasts directly on your watch, without your phone on hand. Podcasts sync automatically so that you have episodes ready when you are ready to listen. You can use Siri to search for new shows and start streaming them straight from the Apple Watch.

Better Apple Watch Notifications

Apple upgrades Apple Watch notifications on watchOS 5 so that you can do more with a notification. For example, a notification about a flight will allow you to check in right from your watch.

The notifications for an app are also grouped so you can see more information without scrolling and scrolling.

A huge option is to see web content on your Apple Watch. If someone sends you a link, you can see a small version optimized for the Apple Watch by tapping the link , instead of grabbing your phone.

Better notifications and improved Do Not Disturb are part of watchOS 5.

Enhanced Do Not Disturb for Apple Watch

Apple is making Do Not Disturb a bigger part of watchOS and iOS 12. Now you can set Do Not Disturb on your Apple Watch for a specific time, until a change in time (like this evening or this afternoon) or when you leave a location.

This is a huge benefit since even with my parred down notifications I still get too many alerts on my Apple Watch at times. Hopefully this also brings Do Not Disturb for messages to the Apple Watch. This feature doesn’t work on watchOS 4.

Student ID on Your Apple Watch

Carry your Student ID on your Apple Watch.

Apple supports Student ID cards on the Apple Watch as part of Wallet. This is rolling out to several universities and will allow you to get into the dorm, gym, library and campus buildings with your watch. At some schools it will also let you pay for snacks, do laundry or use the dining services.

This starts at The University of Alabama, Duke, Johns Hopkins University, The University of Oklahoma, Santa Clara University and Temple University.

Answer Calls on the Apple Watch

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You can answer a call on your Apple Watch using it as a small Bluetooth speakerphone. You only want to use this for shorter calls because the audio quality isn't as good as when you are talking on speakerphone on your iPhone.  The Apple Watch only allows you to answer your calls on Speakerphone, so you won't want to use this all the time. It is very handy when you are working on a project or busy with your hands. Definitely be conscious of where you are taking calls. If you wouldn't talk on speakerphone, you shouldn't talk on your Apple Watch. If you buy the new Apple Watch with LTE, you can even make calls on the Apple Watch without your iPhone nearby. This requires adding the watch to your plan for $10 a month. You cannot answer a FaceTime video call on the Apple Watch.

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8 Exciting New watchOS 5 Features That Will Upgrade Your Apple Watch is a post by Josh Smith from Gotta Be Mobile.

After spending an hour trying on the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Sport and playing with Apple Watch demo devices this morning allowed me to use the controls, customize the Apple Watch and play with the settings I came away with a better feel for the Apple Watch and a list of new things I learned.

When you go in and schedule an Apple Watch trade-in at an Apple Store you can try on multiple Apple Watches for about 15 minutes and the Apple Watch is designed to loop through a demo that highlights a variety of features including the Taptic feedback engine that delivers vibrations to alert you to messages and other alerts.

Here’s what I learned after using the Apple Watch for an hour.

In addition to this experience there are some Apple Watch demo units that allow you to test out various features and options. While the Apple Watch demo devices don’t let users try out every single feature, they deliver more options and actual use than the Apple Watch try-on experience does.

Here’s what I learned after spending an hour with the Apple Watch and the Apple Watch Sport.

Apple Watch Customization

https://youtu.be/N6ezjg6-0hU

There are only a limited number of Apple Watch faces, but there is a lot of customization that you can do with the Apple Watch face to customize it. When you choose the Apple Watch face that you want you can then choose the amount of information that displays on screen and other details.

I do wish that Apple did include faces, but with a few options you can change the look enough to fit your style or needs. Complications are the small pieces of information like the date, sunrise and sunset, weather, next appointment and more.

Read: 7 Things The Apple Watch Can Do Without an iPhone

Tapping on any of these takes you into the associated app. Apple lists the Apple Watch customizations on the Apple Watch site, but after using them, it is clear that they are more than just a small detail to look at.

Apple Watch Interface and Use

It takes some time to figure out how it all works.

It is not immediately intuitive to use the Apple Watch. I wanted to tap on the screen when I should scroll with the Digital Crown and the side button only serves one function — to pull up your circle of contacts. You can tap on an app on the screen, but if you tap on an app that is near the edge it is tough to hit the right app. Instead you can move it to the middle and then tap or use the Digital Crown to open the app with a zoom in.

Read: Apple Watch Etiquette

After the first 30 mistakes it started to click, and I feel confident that after a few days of real world use I will quickly adapt to the right way to use the Apple Watch.

Force Touch

Force Touch is an awesome way to interact with a small screen. The ability to pull up a secondary function or menu by pressing the Apple Watch screen is awesome.

This removes the need for many taps or swipes to get to secondary functions and I am hopeful that this type of technology will make it to the next iPhone-like iPhone 6s rumors suggest.

Sketches, Emoji, Taps & Heartbeat

While I won’t use the heartbeat option much, the Apple Watch features are interesting.

On stage I did not understand the appeal of the heartbeat sharing and the other Apple Watch features that you can send to your inner circle of friends who own an Apple Watch. I still am not sure I will use these features often, but after hearing what others think about these options it is clear Apple has many users in mind.

Sketching is easier and even if most of my use will be sophomoric sketches I will probably use this the most. With the uptick in Emoji on iOS 8.3 there is a demand for Apple Watch Emoji, but you cannot yet change the skin tone of emoji on the Apple Watch. The taps may be a way to quickly annoy someone.

I could feel the heartbeat in the try-on section of the experience, but could not share my own. I’m not sure I will use this, but again others seem interested.

Taptic Feedback

During the Apple Watch try-on experience the Apple Watch loops through a demo that includes Taptic feedback for notifications.

This feels like a smarter vibration notification and while it is not earth shattering it is less jarring than a big vibration on your wrist.

Apple Watch Do Not Disturb

Use Do Not Disturb on the Apple Watch.

The Apple Watch includes its own Do Not Disturb mode that allow you to control when you get notifications and when you won’t get interrupted.

I still don’t know if this can sync up to your iPhone Do Not Disturb options, but a standalone setting is a must and I am glad Apple included this on the first version.

Digital Crown is Your Apple Watch Home Button

After pressing the wrong button over and over I was able to start to figure out the controls when it became clear that the Apple Watch’s Digital Crown is the home button.

Read: Apple Watch Stands & Docks

You can press this to go home, and a double tap on the home button switches between the clock and your most recent app. It’s simple and it’s a handy way to figure out how this works.

Clock Adjustments

If you are habitually late you can set the Apple Watch time ahead up to an hour. This is not a feature that I will use, but it is a great option for users that rely on this trick to make sure they get to meetings at the right time. Plus, the Apple Watch is accurate so it will stay ahead when you need it.

Apple Watch Accessibility

Change the size of Apple Watch text or make it bold.

The Apple Watch screens are small, but you can change the Apple Watch font size and make text bold if it is hard to read. This is a useful option that will work across other Apple Watch apps if they support this. You can also dial the text size down so that you can see more on the screen at once.

Apple Watch Calls and Texts on WiFi

https://youtu.be/_Zj5KisMVv8

As long as your Apple Watch and iPhone are on the same WiFi network you can get messages and phone calls on the watch even if you are out of Bluetooth range. I could not test the call quality of this, but it is handy for those times when I walk around my house and my iPhone is charging. WiFi reaches farther with better consistency than Bluetooth.

Apple Sport Band Feels Amazing

The Apple Watch Sport band is a challenge to put on at first, but it feels great.

Plastic watch bands often suck. They are hard plastic that chips and feels like something you got in a gumball machine. The fluoroelastomer band feels incredible. It is strong but soft and it almost feels like velvet when you brush against it.

I’ll probably buy another Apple Watch band to dress up my 42mm Space Gray Apple Watch Sport, but for now I like this combination. The Sport Band is a little challenging to close at first, so make sure you try it on over the table.

Fast Access to Music Source

Control where the music plays right from your Apple Watch.

When you are using the Apple Watch to play music you can quickly choose the source as your watch or your iPhone.

You can pair Bluetooth headphones to the Apple Watch, which is where the music will play when you choose watch. A small option, but a handy one.

Apple Watch Band Sizing is Important

After trying on the Apple Watch and watching someone with big hands and small wrists try on watch it is more evident that you will need to use the right size Apple Watch band.

The Apple Watch Sport comes with bands to handle multiple sizes, but it is not two full bands according to the store employees. The Apple Watch bands for the stainless steel model requires more specific sizing and if you choose the wrong size you will end up with a watch you cannot wear or one that is way too lose.

Answer Calls on the Apple Watch

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You can answer a call on your Apple Watch using it as a small Bluetooth speakerphone. You only want to use this for shorter calls because the audio quality isn't as good as when you are talking on speakerphone on your iPhone.  The Apple Watch only allows you to answer your calls on Speakerphone, so you won't want to use this all the time. It is very handy when you are working on a project or busy with your hands. Definitely be conscious of where you are taking calls. If you wouldn't talk on speakerphone, you shouldn't talk on your Apple Watch. If you buy the new Apple Watch with LTE, you can even make calls on the Apple Watch without your iPhone nearby. This requires adding the watch to your plan for $10 a month. You cannot answer a FaceTime video call on the Apple Watch.

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Apple Watch: 13 Things I Learned After 1 Hour is a post by Josh Smith from Gotta Be Mobile.