The First 10 Things You Should Do With Your New Apple Watch
So you’ve just set up your brand new Apple Watch . Apple’s popular wearable device is a stunning extension of your iPhone, packed with features spanning health, fitness, communication and entertainment. But before you dive into all these fun and exciting features, you should probably do 10 things first to get the most out of your watch right out of the box.
Turn off the sound (or turn down the volume)
By default, sound on Apple Watch is turned on. It’s interesting at first to listen to all the unique sounds and melodies that Apple has packed into its wearable device. However, it can become annoying after a while, especially if you have a lot of notifications. (More on this later.) If you usually keep your iPhone on silent, you might want to do the same for your Watch.
To mute your watch, simply wake it up, swipe up from the bottom, then tap the bell icon in Control Center. To simply turn down the volume, go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics on your watch or Watch app, then use the volume icons to adjust accordingly. If you want, you can also access “Silent Mode” to turn off notifications.
Set your clock to unlock your Mac
If you have a Mac, especially a Mac without Touch ID, you’ll need to set up this feature. Every time you wake up your Mac by lifting the lid of your MacBook or pressing a key on your iMac, it will immediately unlock if the Apple Watch is unlocked on your wrist. For more information , check out this walkthrough from Lifehacker writer Khamosh Pathak .
Turn off notifications for apps you don’t need
Apple Watch comes with a lot of notifications by default, especially if you have a lot of notifications set up on your iPhone. Luckily, it’s easy to manage these notifications directly on your watch.
Open the Watch app on your iPhone and go to Settings > Notifications . Here, review all the apps and turn off notifications for the ones you don’t want to see anymore. Tailoring this experience is key to fully enjoying your Apple Watch: If you no longer want to see breathing reminders but want to see Messenger alerts, you’ll be glad you took the time here.
For a list of notifications you should enable , see our guide here .
Remove apps you don’t need
If you have apps on your watch from your iPhone that you don’t need, just get rid of them! If you’ve told your watch to download every available app from your iPhone, you may have a lot more options than you really need. Removing these apps will make it much easier to find the apps you want to use, since there won’t be a ton of unnecessary options every time you open the Apps view.
You can remove apps from Apple Watch by long-pressing the app on your watch and tapping the icon (X) that appears, just like on the iPhone. Alternatively, you can open the Watch app, scroll down to the list of installed apps, tap the app you want to remove, and tap the Show app on Apple Watch switch to confirm.
Set up cellular connectivity (if you have an Apple Watch with cellular connectivity)
If you have an Apple Watch, it won’t just give you free cellular service out of the box. Instead, you will need to purchase a cellular plan from your carrier. You can start this process from Settings > Cellular on your watch or through the Watch app on your iPhone.
Not sure if you have a mobile Apple Watch? There are two easy ways to find out: You will only see the Cellular Settings page in the Watch app if you have a cellular watch connected. Besides, the red ring on the crown of a cell watch is a useless invention.
To learn more about calibrating your Apple Watch for the most accurate workouts, check out our complete guide here .
Set up sleep tracking
For a long time, Apple didn’t have sleep tracking built into the Watch. If you wanted to track your sleep using your Apple Watch, you had to use a third-party app instead. Today, you can track your sleep habits with built-in tools, but they need to be set up first. You can learn more about this in Lifehacker senior health editor Beth Skwarecki’s guide here .
Save battery power
If you have a new Apple Watch, it most likely has an Always On display. With it, you can quickly glance at your watch to check the time, find new notifications, or read your watch face without turning off your watch at all. While this feature is great, it does put a strain on your battery. To extend your battery life, try turning it off by going to Settings > Display & Brightness > Always On .
I also recommend turning off background app refresh in General > Background App Refresh . While this feature can be useful for keeping various Apple Watch apps updated with the latest content, it is another drain on your battery life. You’re probably better off just downloading apps when you’re curious about what’s new. More tips for saving Apple Watch battery power can be found here .
Learn gestures
Your Apple Watch is a touchscreen device, but it works differently than your iPhone. Here’s how to navigate watchOS:
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Quickly press crown: open app view
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Long press crown: activate Siri
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Side Quick Press Button: Bring up Control Center.
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Long press the side button: expanded menu including power, medical ID, compass return and emergency SOS.
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Swipe down on the watch face: Notification Center.
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Swipe up on watch face: View widget.
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Long press the watch face: switch and customize watch faces.
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Cover the watch face with your palm: put the watch into sleep mode/turn off notifications.
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Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 also introduced a new gesture called double tap: whenever you need to tap on the watch face, for example to turn off a timer or answer a call, you can double tap it. touch your index finger to your thumb so it looks like pressing a button. However, even if you don’t have one of these clocks, you can set something similar in Accessibility settings .
Calibrate it
If you need your Apple Watch for fitness, you’ve probably already recorded a couple of exercises on it. However, it is possible that these exercises were not recorded as accurately as they could have been.
Apple doesn’t clearly advertise this, but the Apple Watch actually needs to be calibrated in order to record the best and most accurate workouts. It’s not an intense process – it essentially boils down to a 20-minute walk outside or a run on an open, flat area – but without this calibration your data may be slightly skewed.
When calibrating your workout, make sure fall detection is turned on at least during your workout , if not always. This feature can contact emergency services on your behalf if the watch detects that you have fallen.
Charge it up
If you’re not already using the new Apple Watch, and you haven’t already, give the battery some juice. Most technology ships with a partially drained battery, and the Apple Watch is no exception. If you want it to last the rest of the day or even track your sleep the first night, put it on charge for a while. If you have a Series 7 or newer, you can use the fast charging feature to get a quick charge. For fast charging you just need: