Apple Watch Newbie Questions

[MitzEclipse]

Hi all

Just got my first Apple Watch s8 45mm model. Coming from a Garmin Fenix 5s so it's a completely different ecosystem for me. Overall, I like the Apple Watch experience, especially the cohesiveness with my iPhone and MacBook which I didn't expect.

However, there are a few questions I have to ensure better usability:

1) Watch Faces - How to customize the Apple watch face complications? I am using Metropolitan with 4 complications in all 4 corners. For example, the day/date is awkward showing 3 dates but highlighting the actual day's date in the middle. It's quite small to read and wondering if I can just have 1 date? Also, Activity, another complication - is there a way to just show STEPS? I don't care for move or stand etc. Finally, when the watch goes to sleep or not in "on" mode, the numbers of the dial go away, when I turn my wrist, the numbers on the dial appear - how do I make it so the numbers simply don't appear in "on" mode? I can reduce the numbers but I want them completely removed.

2) Workout mode - How do you customize what data fields you see within the Apple Workout app? I don't want to have to scroll through screens when running. When I finish a workout in Apple Workout which is an outdoor run and I sync to Strava, I do not see the map? How do I even see the map of where I've run and also how do I confirm the GPS is on?

3) Noise - when cycling, the watch tells me it's a noisy environment which is incorrect - it's probably the wind creating the noise on the sensor. is the Noise app really not that smart?

4) Display - when in an activity / workout, how do I have the display change from AOD to turn on only when I move my wrist? How do I set the brightness to dim when in sleep mode? I don't see an option to customize the brightness for different modes?

Thanks in advance!

 

[waw74]

to change complications, there are 2 ways,
--long press on the watch face, hit the edit button, swipe all the way to the right, and you'll see complication options.
--the easier way, in the watch app on the phone, if you click any of the faces in the my faces at the top, you can edit complications there.

some watch faces have the option to change how many numbers appear, from all 12, to just 4, to none. The setting isn't on all faces, but it's accessed the same two places as changing complications.

To get step count as a complication, you need a third party app, I think there are a few out there, perhaps others might have a suggestion as to which one.

maps of workouts are in the fitness app (not the health app) , you can see the map at the bottom of the detail screen for each workout. I'm not sure about Stravia integration.

for noise, if you get liquid (sweat) in the microphone, it can cause false readings. it's the small round hole between the crown and button, try to minimize sweat coming into contact with that.

you can make an automation that triggers when you start a workout, it's done in the shortcuts app on the phone. that automation can then disable AOD.

I put my watch in cinema mode overnight, it disables raise to wake. I do this with a pair of shortcut automations, one at 11p and the other at 7a that enables/disables cinema mode. you could also have this trigger based on turning sleep focus on/off. Or have it include AOD on/off if you wanted.

 

[azhava]

4) Display - when in an activity / workout, how do I have the display change from AOD to turn on only when I move my wrist? How do I set the brightness to dim when in sleep mode? I don't see an option to customize the brightness for different modes?

Thanks in advance!

On your iPhone, go to Settings > Focus > Sleep > under "Customize Screen", click "Options", then turn on "Sleep Screen" and "Show Time". It will turn off AOD, and it changes the watch face to a simple, very dim time display with large numbers, which will only turn on when you tap the watch face.

 

[GerritV]

[snip]
2) Workout mode - How do you customize what data fields you see within the Apple Workout app? I don't want to have to scroll through screens when running. When I finish a workout in Apple Workout which is an outdoor run and I sync to Strava, I do not see the map?
[snip]

Open the Workout app on your Watch, and scroll to find the workout tile of your choice.
Tap on the 3 Dots at the top right and next tap the Pencil button, again at the top right.
Tap on Workout Display to start customizing the display during workout.

 

[jr5x]

1) Watch Faces - How to customize the Apple watch face complications? I am using Metropolitan with 4 complications in all 4 corners. For example, the day/date is awkward showing 3 dates but highlighting the actual day's date in the middle. It's quite small to read and wondering if I can just have 1 date?

I have the same issue with that date complication (and my watch is 41mm, it’s really hard to read the date at a glance). None of the Apple complications will give you just the date. Maybe there’s a different calendar app or set of complications in the app store that will do it?

 

[MitzEclipse]

Thank you all for the replies

@waw74 I can't believe I need a 3rd party app just to change the size of the day/date or just show steps instead of Activity on the watch face. Really odd. Re the noise - I am not sweating at all...this is on my 15 min flat bicycle commute... it's simply a false positive, sensors really not right.

@azhava - when I go to On your iPhone, go to Settings > Focus > Sleep > there are no options to customize. It just says "Sleep Focus follows the schedule you've set in the Sleep app, even when Mirror my iPhone is off" - there are no options in that menu.

@GerritV - Thanks for this tip! wish I could do this via the Phone but will play with the watch to customize the screens

@jr5x - yes, I don't have to wear glasses but the day/date is simply too small. Does anyone know any good 3rd party apps? I just want to show steps and a bigger day/date...just want a clean and simple watch face

 

[Howard2k]

The steps thing is, I believe, because Apple believes that focus on steps alone is insufficient. That’s why they have the three rings, it’s a more complete view. If Apple was to prioritize a steps display then they wound arguably be undermining their position that the rings approach is better. That’s my opinion.

 

[MitzEclipse]

The steps thing is, I believe, because Apple believes that focus on steps alone is insufficient. That’s why they have the three rings, it’s a more complete view. If Apple was to prioritize a steps display then they wound arguably be undermining their position that the rings approach is better. That’s my opinion.

I get that but I'm used to steps and don't care for the other dimensions of the rings - quite a let down

 

[MitzEclipse]

also, I still cannot see the map on my workouts. location services is turned on, on the watch itself. it's turned off on my iPhone but I don't even bring the iPhone with me on runs. I am using the Workout app/ out door run. Anyone?

 

[papbot]

also, I still cannot see the map on my workouts. location services is turned on, on the watch itself. it's turned off on my iPhone but I don't even bring the iPhone with me on runs. I am using the Workout app/ out door run. Anyone?

My wife always just goes to the activity app after her bike rides and taps on that, or a previous, day’s ride to see the route she took, if that‘s what you’re referring to.

 

[Nina Rosso]

1) Watch Faces - How to customize the Apple watch face complications? I am using Metropolitan with 4 complications in all 4 corners.

What I do is select a watch face and than try a lot of complications until I find what I want. I have 9 different watch faces, mostly versions of Modular. Watch face for work outs/sports, watch face for the weather, watch face for work. I have automations that change the watch face during the day.

2) Workout mode - How do you customize what data fields you see within the Apple Workout app? I don't want to have to scroll through screens when running. When I finish a workout in Apple Workout which is an outdoor run and I sync to Strava, I do not see the map? How do I even see the map of where I've run and also how do I confirm the GPS is on?

Apple Workout is only customizable a little. You can use a third party app: WorkOutdoors. Customizable, maps, a lot more functions for running. There is a thread here on MacRumours for WorkOutdoors, where the developer answers questions and requests for new functionality.
In the Fitness app on your phone you can see a map of your run, or bike trip etc. GPS is on by default.

3) Noise - when cycling, the watch tells me it's a noisy environment which is incorrect - it's probably the wind creating the noise on the sensor. is the Noise app really not that smart?

Are you listening to music/podcasts etc while cycling? Very rarely I get a noise warning while cycling, mostly when there is a lot of wind and I have to increase the volume on my beats to be able to hear my podcast. I’ve never had a warning because of noise from the wind.

4) Display - when in an activity / workout, how do I have the display change from AOD to turn on only when I move my wrist? How do I set the brightness to dim when in sleep mode? I don't see an option to customize the brightness for different modes?

When in a workout, by default the display changes to AOD when you’re not looking at your watch, it’s dimmer and shows less detail. It turns on when you move your wrist/arm.
Dimming the brightness while you’re sleeping: you can set a sleep schedule in the Health app on your phone. At the scheduled bedtime your watch face turns off/becomes black. At the scheduled wake up time it turns on again. When you do this, your AW registers your sleep. In the Health app you get detailed information about your sleep.

 

[MitzEclipse]

Thank you @Nina Rosso
- I am in the fitness app on my iPhone. I click "show more" on workout details (or even on splits or heart rate) and do not see the map. Seems so odd? When I click "reorder" I see: Heart Rate, Pace, Power, Cadence, Verticial Oscillation, Ground Contact Time and Stride Length. Elevation is greyed out.

- No i am not listening to podcsts or music when riding my bike. Now I'm thinking I have a defective watch

- I already have a sleep time enabled on my phone and mirrors my watch. Even then, the screen is not dimmed...it's pretty bright when I wake up in the middle of the night. I want it only to turn on if I tap the screen or crown - is this possible?

 

[MitzEclipse]

and another newbie question please

When navigating from maps via my phone to the watch on Apple Maps or Google Maps, I expected a much better experience - eg to see the map in addition to the distance to next turn, etc. I just see the text directions which is pretty hard to see at a glance when on a bicycle. Is there anyway to further customize this?

My simple use case is navigating to different addresses I am not familiar with. Hence I don't think WorkOutdoors app is good as that's tracking a set route or open route.

 

[Nina Rosso]

This is the map of a recent cycle trip. You can click on the map and zoom in to get a far more detailed version. On my AW/phone this works.

Dimmed screen during sleep: go to Settings on your AW, go to Sleep and set the toggle behind Sleep Screen to On.

 

[azhava]

Thank you @Nina Rosso
- I am in the fitness app on my iPhone. I click "show more" on workout details (or even on splits or heart rate) and do not see the map. Seems so odd? When I click "reorder" I see: Heart Rate, Pace, Power, Cadence, Verticial Oscillation, Ground Contact Time and Stride Length. Elevation is greyed out.

- No i am not listening to podcsts or music when riding my bike. Now I'm thinking I have a defective watch

- I already have a sleep time enabled on my phone and mirrors my watch. Even then, the screen is not dimmed...it's pretty bright when I wake up in the middle of the night. I want it only to turn on if I tap the screen or crown - is this possible?

See post #3.

 

[MitzEclipse]

OK - went to the Apple Store to get some guidance...I now know why Maps were not appearing in my Workout/Activity history in the Fitness App. Location Services was turned on BUT I had it turned off on the phone which then mirrored back to the watch. Was not aware there was a mirroring relationship here and even more annoying I don't want Location Services turned on all the time - don't like the constant tracking nor the battery drain!

As far as why the noise alerts at 90db kept going off when on my bike - no one can tell why. Only doing simple commuting, not racing, not sweating and not listening to music. Apple Genius did diagnostic and no hardware issues so increased the notification to 100db, let's see if it goes off erroneously again but still doesn't make sense

 

[Akrapovic]

OK - went to the Apple Store to get some guidance...I now know why Maps were not appearing in my Workout/Activity history in the Fitness App. Location Services was turned on BUT I had it turned off on the phone which then mirrored back to the watch. Was not aware there was a mirroring relationship here and even more annoying I don't want Location Services turned on all the time - don't like the constant tracking nor the battery drain!

As far as why the noise alerts at 90db kept going off when on my bike - no one can tell why. Only doing simple commuting, not racing, not sweating and not listening to music. Apple Genius did diagnostic and no hardware issues so increased the notification to 100db, let's see if it goes off erroneously again but still doesn't make sense

You can enable Location Services on the iPhone, but disable for each individual app except for the "Apple Watch Workout" app. This way it will not track, or use battery when not exercising. On the iPhone go to Settings - Privacy & Security - Location Services. Turn "Location Services" at the top on and then in the app list set everything to "Never", apart from Apple Watch Workout - set this to "White Using". I realise that's a bit of work, but should achieve what you want.

The 90db warning is the wind noise. I get it when hiking in high wind. The wind noise over the microphone is producing this.

I hope this helps.

 

[ArchEtech]

Apple and customization are diametrically opposed mindsets.

You can change minor color and complication locations but that’s about it. Apple native faces are flat and uninspiring so I use Clockology.

If you pay for the apple health upgrade you might get some additional feature and info screens I don’t remember but the tracking is pretty basic. It’s been fine for me. There are other apps that track a lot more things and in better ways that you could look into. I’m talking about the Health app native by apple. Strava is one app. WorkOutDoors has quit a bit of options.

The workout app has no customization. It is what it is. It’s worked for me.

Yep it picks up the wind. How would the Watch be able to tell? And frankly if the watch is picking up high decibels from wind then most likely your ears are too. Riding fast or sticking your head out of the window is loud for your ears too!

If you don’t want AOD on you have to turn it off. As far as I know when workout is going, it’s displayed on the face period. With AOD off then you have to move your wrist or set it to only turn on with a crown push.

 

[MitzEclipse]

> Yep it picks up the wind. How would the Watch be able to tell? And frankly if the watch is picking up high decibels from wind then most likely your ears are too. Riding fast or sticking your head out of the window is loud for your ears too!

I am not cycling fast - literally riding around town. Anyway, I changed the notification to 100db and now do not get the alert.

Can anyone tell me how to auto-export my data from Apple Health to Garmin? Is RunGap really the only solution here? seems odd to have to have a 3rd party to do this

 

[Akrapovic]

Can anyone tell me how to auto-export my data from Apple Health to Garmin? Is RunGap really the only solution here? seems odd to have to have a 3rd party to do this

This very much depends on what features Garmin Connect offers. Apple Health does allow apps to read the data (with your permission), but if Garmin doesn't build these features then it cannot be done.

Another option is HealthFit app - this is an excellent one-off payment app. It gives you even more fitness metrics and can sync to a lot of services.

 

[jamface]

Here’s some general advice for a newbie- after a few months you get accustomed to the annoying shortcomings. It’s not the life-changing utility the marketing would have you believe - but it is a useful watch with some handy features. You just have to to do things its way. Mine tells me sometimes that I’m damaging my hearing because my headphones are too loud - except I’m pretty much always just using my Bluetooth speaker - it can’t tell the difference!

Oh and the rings. Yeah, they’re pretty much a cornerstone of its design. No way is Apple letting you not look at all three of them.

 

[Akrapovic]

Here’s some general advice for a newbie- after a few months you get accustomed to the annoying shortcomings. It’s not the life-changing utility the marketing would have you believe - but it is a useful watch with some handy features. You just have to to do things its way. Mine tells me sometimes that I’m damaging my hearing because my headphones are too loud - except I’m pretty much always just using my Bluetooth speaker - it can’t tell the difference!

1. Go to Settings > Bluetooth, then tap blue i next to the name of the device.
2. Tap Device Type, then choose a classification.

 

[azhava]

This very much depends on what features Garmin Connect offers. Apple Health does allow apps to read the data (with your permission), but if Garmin doesn't build these features then it cannot be done.

Another option is HealthFit app - this is an excellent one-off payment app. It gives you even more fitness metrics and can sync to a lot of services.

I have HealthFit, it doesn't sync to Garmin Connect. I've been using Garmin Connect for the last several years and would have liked to keep sending my AW data to it, but Garmin doesn't like to play well with others. I suppose I could export/import .fit files manually all the time, but my desire to keep using Garmin Connect isn't that strong.

 

[MitzEclipse]

i just downloaded HealthFit and realised it doesn’t sync to Garmin connect - should have read the list post lol. Can’t believe it has so many fitness platforms except Garmin!

The main reason to keep syncing with Garmin is my health insurance company gives me a small reimbursement every day I hit 10k steps. Since I moved to the AW no data is getting to them; they don’t support Apple health ugh

 

[azhava]

i just downloaded HealthFit and realised it doesn’t sync to Garmin connect - should have read the list post lol. Can’t believe it has so many fitness platforms except Garmin!

The main reason to keep syncing with Garmin is my health insurance company gives me a small reimbursement every day I hit 10k steps. Since I moved to the AW no data is getting to them; they don’t support Apple health ugh

RunGap claims to be able to do it, but it looks like importing to Garmin Connect requires an additional in-app purchase, and from their support documents it looks like the functionality has a history of being spotty.

Garmin has a bad history of not playing well with others. You can export Garmin workouts to almost anywhere, but they don't want you importing things from other devices into their apps.