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Apple Watch Tips?

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Tommy Boy

Tommy Boy

noob cannon
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GW Elder
1 Year Old Poster Minecraft Pro Trader Tubby-Boy Memorial Tommy!
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I've had one for seven years now, and I love it. Some random banter below:

  • Figure out your schedule to charge and stick to it. I typically charge mine when I shower each evening.
  • Sleep tracking has changed my life. I highly recommend starting this, as weird as it might be to wear a watch to bed. If you can't get used to it after a week, then forget it. But I strongly recommend trying this. (My app rec will be further down the list)
  • At the very least, the watch functions as the "Notification Hub" - as in all of your notifications are now being rerouted to the Watch instead of your phone (but still being in both places). If you have certain apps you'd prefer to only be notified via phone, you must set that in the Watch settings. For example, I always have my SMS/iMessage notifications sent to my watch, but all of my Signal message notifications only get sent to my phone. It prevents bloating from happening.
  • Fully set up the Fitness/Activity app that comes with the Watch. Set ring goals and start meeting these goals daily. Life stats are a huge motivational boost.
  • Walkie-Talkie is a gimmick and not functionally useful in pretty much any capacity unless you have an Ultra Watch or you don't mind straining every sense in your body to make out what's going on. (Benzine seems to have better experience than me so chalk this one up to personal gripe for the time being)
  • Make sure Apple Pay/Wallet is set up on the Watch, it is as easy as pressing the "Set Up" button in the Watch settings app. It will transfer your accounts from your phone seamlessly through iCloud.
  • Play around in the Watch settings app. There are a lot of things you may prefer to tinker with.
  • To add to this, in Sounds & Haptics settings, enable haptic alerts and change to "Prominent". I never have sound enabled on my Watch, and the prominent alerts actually feel like an alert as opposed to the "Default" setting.
  • Always On is preference based. I prefer it off. It doesn't impact battery enough to make a difference, but I like the look of the screen off when I'm not looking at my Watch. Up to you.
  • Actually use the Workout app when doing fitness-related activities. I pretty much only go on walks during the winter, so I have it logged. Stat accuracy is improved during workout mode rather than ambiently monitoring data, so I suggest this if you're looking to have more oversight on your physical fitness level.
  • Emergency SOS can save your life depending on the situation, but it can be sensitive if not setup properly. In Settings > Emergency SOS, I have "Hold Side Button to Dial" disabled, and I have Fall Detection enabled for only during workouts. I've only had one time where my Watch thought I had a fall on a bike ride and started calling 911. It makes a very scary low-toned siren noise. Never again lol.
APPS I FULLY RECOMMEND, EVEN SPENDING MONEY ON:

  • HeartWatch - I had heart issues in my late 20s and this app really did the job. Now that I'm in better health, I still use this constantly to monitor heart rate and any sort of complications that can arise.
  • AutoSleep - By the maker of HeartWatch (syncs together actually) this app changed my life. The sleep tracking is superior to Apple's native tracking. I got more insight on my life from this app more than anything else. This is why I recommend attempting sleep tracking - I think everyone should be doing it simply for the benefits. If I feel shitty in the middle of the day, I likely didn't get enough deep sleep. Maybe I was tossing and turning all night because my room was too hot, so I need to adjust the heat/open a window tonight. These things really improved the quality of my life.
  • CARROT Weather - Both a phone and Watch app, this is the best and most aesthetically pleasing weather app I've used. I've been a yearly subscriber for a little over 6.5 years now and it's worth every penny.
That's all I can think of for now, but I might have more stuff later. If you have any questions or even what you think is a dumb question, please just ask. The Watch has a slight learning curve when you first get one, but once you're properly integrated, it can really be awesome. THAT BEING SAID - It's not for everyone. Some people abandon it after a few weeks/months. If that happens, it's not a you problem and you shouldn't feel bad. I've found this to happen to people that are not used to wearing normal watches, but it still happens either way. Worth mentioning.

Woof. :words
 
Lunar Kreskents

Lunar Kreskents

noping in a corner near you
GW Elder
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I do have an Apple Watch! I thought they were some dumb shit when they first came out, then I caved and tried a refurb one eventually and it's become one of my favorite items. I think I'm on my 3rd model. I keep them 2-3 years before upgrading.
  • I originally bought it so I could ping my iPhone which I would lose constantly and which was also my wallet so kind of a problem. I joke that it's my $400 phone finder, but honestly this is still one of my favorite features. Ironically, once I got it I stopped losing my phone so much because I stopped even picking up the phone so much for my many small daily needs. But I do still ping my phone to find it a few times a week.
  • Probably more valuable is what having a smart watch doesn't do. Before when I would pick up my phone to set a timer or check the weather or play some music or something, I'd end up opening a bunch of random apps too. The Apple Watch (I imagine all smart watches?) do a limited set of carefully chosen things though. I waste much less time browsing random shit on my phone now simply because it's hard to do complex things on the Watch and easy to do simple things.
  • It's turned out to be one of the most valuable tools I have for my ADHD, because of the above, and also because I use timers and alarms CONSTANTLY. Need to remember that made food? Set a timer. Take a nap? Set a timer. Upcoming meeting? Set a timer. Put the laundry in the dryer? Set a timer. I live and die by this thing pretty much.
  • I have to take 4-5 naps a day, so Watch is instrumental in making sure I don't miss my meetings and stuff.
  • Other simple things I use Watch for that used to accidentally turn into wasting time in random apps on my phone:
    • Siri
    • Turning Hue lights on and off and changing scenes, most of the rooms in my house have Hue smart lights
    • Skipping music/podcasts
    • Shazam
    • Adding tasks to todoist
    • Adding quick notes to Bear
    • Checking the weather
    • Quick calculator
    • Text & email (VIP only) & calendar notifications
      • Also for limiting notifications: some notifications I don't want to be interrupted by, so I have those go to my phone but not my Watch.
    • Really short text replies
    • Ignoring phone calls
    • Setting up Shortcuts to automate various things for me that can be run from my watch.
    • Using it as a flashlight, pretty often actually.
  • Turned off
    • Always on - I also turn this off. In fact I often put it on theater mode for naps, and eventually I just ended up leaving it on theater mode permanently.
    • Emergency services that are too easy to accidentally trigger - I also turn these off on watch and iphone.
  • I use the workout app to track outdoor walks otherwise I wander around aimlessly had have no clue how far or how long I've been out there.
  • I do have cards setup in my Watch wallet, but somehow I constantly forget to use it.
  • When I was very sick I used the health features a lot, checking heart rate and blood oxygen. Sometimes the heart rate monitor goes off. Also it taps me when I'm in sound that's too loud.
  • The "remind me to go to sleep" functions
  • Also, haptic taps are awesome. So much more pleasant and less disruptive to have little taps on my wrist than to have phone sound notifications annoying everyone.
Overall, I love the dumb thing. I'm sure it does the same thing as many other smart watches, but I use other Apple devices and the ease of integration is so worth it to me.

Edit: Apparently you shouldn't do this because soaps can degrade or slip past the water resistance, but I have turned on the water lock and washed mine in the shower more than a few times. I have a Series 7.

Edit edit: Not exactly a feature, but I also love that I have an Apple Card and can pay for the things with 0% interest monthly payments. $12.45 per month is a totally worthwhile "subscription" to pay for it for me given how much time I save not losing or browsing my phone. Apparently I paid this one off last Sept so it's almost 2.5 years old. I feel like it's normally starting to feel slow by now or having a short battery life, but this one still seems to be going pretty strong!
 
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