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Apple Watch is now eleven generations in, and packed with useful features that are easy to miss at first glance. To help you get more out of your new device, we've rounded up 15 practical tips you might not have discovered yet, including a few that long-time users often overlook.

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Bounce Between Two Apps

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On your Apple Watch, double-press the Digital Crown to see a deck of all currently open apps, and turn it to scroll through them. From this view, you can jump back to the last app you were using. Simply tap on an app screen to switch to it, or swipe left on its card and tap the red X button to quit it.

Switch App Views

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If the app grid feels messy, switch to List View. Open the Watch app on iPhone, tap App View, and choose List View. From then on, pressing the Digital Crown will show your apps in a simple, scrollable list.

Rearrange Apps

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You can rearrange your apps so that the ones you use most are closer to hand. Simply press and hold on any app in the grid view, then drag it where you want. Alternatively, open the Watch app on your iPhone, go to App View ➝ Arrangement, and move things around there instead.

Ping Your iPhone

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If you've misplaced your iPhone but you're sure it's nearby, open Control Center with a press of the Side button, then tap the phone icon to make it ping. Press and hold that icon and the iPhone's camera flash will blink too, which can help if it's hidden under something.

Skip the Countdown

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If you're eager to start a workout, the three-second countdown before it starts can be skipped. Just tap the screen when the countdown begins and your workout will start immediately. If you find yourself doing this regularly, consider turning on Precision Start in Settings ➝ Workout.

Customize Vibration Strength

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If you keep missing notifications, go to Settings ➝ Sounds & Haptics ➝ and change from Default to Prominent. This adds an extra tap pattern before alerts so they're harder to ignore.

Perform Precision Timing

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The Chronograph Pro watch face transforms into an actual chronograph. Tap the outer edge surrounding the main 12-hour dial on this watch face to record time on scales of 60, 30, 6, or 3 seconds. Alternatively, select the tachymeter timescale to measure speed based on time travel over a fixed distance.

Jump to the Top

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If you've scrolled way down in an app and want to jump back to the top, just tap the time in the top corner of the screen. It works in most apps and saves a lot of scrolling.

Remove Apps

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Clearing out apps you don't use on your Apple Watch is easy. In the List or Grid View, press and hold on the screen until the apps jiggle, then tap the small x in the corner of the app icon to delete it. This works for most system apps and all third-party apps.

Customize Control Center

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By default, Control Center (accessed via the Side button) gives you quick access to things like Wi-Fi, battery, and Do Not Disturb. But it's worth seeing what else you can add to it that you'd like quick access to. Tap the Edit button at the bottom, then tap the + icon in the top-left corner of the screen. System options such as New Note and Lights are particularly handy, and you might see some third-party options listed too, depending on your installed apps.

Speak the Time Out Loud

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If you're using the Mickey or Minnie watch face, tap on the character and they'll speak the time out loud. Just make sure your sound is turned on. In fact, you can also have Siri read the time on any watch face by tapping and holding with two fingers on the display. Again though, sound needs to be enabled.

Customize Smart Replies

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Smart Replies are handy when you want to reply with just a few words. In the Watch app on iPhone, go to Messages and tap Default Replies to customise what shows up. Then when a message comes in, simply swipe down to pick one of your preset replies.

Pause Activity Rings

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Feeling unwell but hoping to keep your streak intact? In the Activity app, select your rings to access the option to suspend them for the day, or set a pause that lasts until a chosen date up to 90 days ahead.

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Article Link: Apple Watch: 15 Tips Every Owner Needs to Know
 
Also for athletes… turn on Reduce Motion in accessibility.

That way the animations are actually tolerable when you need to move between the interface while working out.
 
i've had an Apple Watch for the past 7 or 8 years and only figured out the last one (accidentally) a couple of weeks ago 😅
 
I just wish notifications worked all the time. I would say for incoming text messages my watch only alerts me with sound and vibration alert about 1/3 of the time. VERY FRUSTRATING as I don't find out about text messages until much later when I happen to look at my watch or phone. Believe me I have gone through the settings many times. I'm probably better off doing away with the watch totally and just use my phone for alerts.

I like having a smart watch for a few things but it seems worthless for notifications.

Good info in articles like this, I'm sure it will help some people be aware of things they didn't know about.
 
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Here's my personal tip: Turn your phone off before you start a run if you don't want your AirPods and even your watch trying to play your podcasts from your phone that you've left at home.
 
Anyone know how to remove the workout countdown? There's nothing labeled "Precision Start" under Settings -> Workout.
It looks like this feature is only available on the Ultra models. This countdown infuriates me & I can't believe it is limited to this model. If I am wrong, I will dutifully apologize.

JC Apple! You think we are going to upgrade to the Ultra just to get this feature?? We can easily click the side bar or crown instead of the action button to get the same result. It's crap like this that really turns me off to upgrading anything that is Apple hardware.
 
One other cool feature (it works on iPhone, too) is you can tell Siri to "restart my watch." Siri will confirm, and then the watch restarts. It beats the shut down and manual power back up (which, I admit, I sometimes forget to do; I'll shut down my watch with the intention of powering it back up, but then I get distracted with other things and then remember to power it back up 15 minutes later 😛).
 
What tips do you have for cruisers? My Ultra 3 never records my sleep correctly even when I adjust sleep times and activate sleep mode. My respiratory rate is always out of whack too.
 
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