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How to Browse the Internet on Apple Watch Through watchOS 5's WebKit Integration

MacRumors said:



With watchOS 5, Apple has added support for WebKit, which is designed to allow you to view content from the web right on your wrist, something that's entirely new to the Apple Watch.

There's no full web browser so you're not going to see a Safari app for Apple Watch anytime soon, but you can now click on and open web links in apps like Mail and Messages.


WebKit in Messages

If someone sends you a link to your Apple Watch in the Messages app, you can tap on it to open up a little mini web browser right in the Messages app.

applewatchmessagesweb-800x282.jpg

You can open all kinds of webpages, from restaurant menus to airline flight information. Webpages are interactive and you can click on links and browse as you normally would.

WebKit in Mail

Just like Messages, if you get an email with a web link in it, you can open it up using the Mail app. You can also view HTML emails on the Apple Watch for the first time thanks to the WebKit integration.

Using Google and Other Websites on Apple Watch

As we mentioned earlier, there's no built-in Safari app on the Apple Watch for browsing the web, but you can cheat. Here's how:

applewatchgooglesearch-800x282.jpg
  1. From your iPhone or Mac, send yourself an iMessage with a link to Google.com (or any other search engine).
  2. On the Apple Watch, open up the Messages app.
  3. Tap on your name, and then tap on the Google.com link that you sent yourself.
  4. Wait for the Google site to load on the Apple Watch.
  5. Tap on the search field.
  6. Speak or spell out whatever you want to search for.
  7. Tap the search button.
You can load all kinds of websites on the Apple Watch, from Wikipedia to restaurant sites for finding menus, to airline check-in sites to websites like MacRumors.com. It's essentially a full browser that's been miniaturized for the wrist.

Some content will not load on the Apple Watch. You can't watch YouTube videos, for example, nor will other types of video content load. Complicated websites with a lot of content, such as news sites, can take awhile to load or can refuse to load all together, so simple browsing is best on the Apple Watch.

Where possible, the little Apple Watch browser will use Reader Mode for text heavy websites, so you will see simple, easy-to-view sites with no ads. Mobile optimized sites work the best on the Apple Watch.

applewatchwebbrowsing-800x282.jpg

Using Google in the Messages app for browsing the web isn't something that you're going to want to do all the time because it's slow and tedious on such a small screen, not to mention it eats up a lot of battery, but it's useful for an emergency where you need to look something up and don't have an iPhone handy.

For browsing the web on the Apple Watch, you will always need to use the search cheat because Apple doesn't allow access to the URL bar. You can tap it, but there's no way to enter a web address.

WebKit Gestures

WebKit on Apple Watch supports several gestures, which are outlined below.

applewatchbrowsingcontrols-800x282.jpg

[*]Use the Digital Crown or a finger on the screen to scroll.
[*]Double tap to zoom in and double tap again to zoom out.
[*]Long press to access options for Back, Forward, Reload, and Reader Mode.
[*]Swipe to move forwards or backwards through different sites.
[*]Tap a text field to speak or spell out text.
How to Clear Website Data on Apple Watch

Being able to browse the web on the Apple Watch through Mail and Messages means that your Apple Watch is storing some website data. You can delete all of this data in the Settings app. Here's how:

applewatchclearwebsitedata-800x282.jpg
  1. Open the Settings app on Apple Watch.
  2. Choose General.
  3. Scroll down to Website Data.
  4. Select "Clear Website Data."
Using this option will remove all website cookies, credentials, and browsing data. It does not appear that Apple Watch stores any browsing history in a viewable format, so there's no option to clear just history.

Availability

According to Apple, WebKit integration is limited to Apple Watch Series 3 models. WebKit and websites will not load on the Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2 models.

Article Link: How to Browse the Internet on Apple Watch Through watchOS 5's WebKit Integration
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Really? Now I need a stronger magnifying glass for text. I thinks it's not small enough.
 
Well, if certain sites support optimized view of the webpage for apple watch, this would also be huge benefit.
I remember when iphone was first introduced, and viewing webpage from iphone wasn't really attractive because the design of webpages were not really for mobile devices at that time. But, then many sites became available for viewing from mobile device, and now most websites have mobile pages as well.
If someone starts working on designing the webpages for watch style showing minimal but important information, that would provide great benefit for watch users. Shortly after, we will see more and more watch style webpages.
 
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The article makes no mention of the fact that watchOS 5 is sill very much in developer-only beta for the time being.
 
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michaelant said:
Nice to know you can get a search engine to load on the Watch, but if I just want basic info on something, I say, "hey Siri, look up iguanas" and it'll pull up the Wikipedia entry for iguanas.
Click to expand...

If I say hey siri, load www.apple.com it asks me if I want to continue on my iPhone. *rolls eyes*.
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TomaxXamot said:
Had no idea the bezels were so thick on it; seems like a lot of wasted space (I’ve never really paid much attention the the watch).
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You think that is bad, look at even 2018 MacBook Pro bezels! *SHAME*
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Dj64Mk7 said:
The article makes no mention of the fact that watchOS 5 is sill very much in developer-only beta for the time being.
Click to expand...

Even so, just install the developer profile and you can load it, just google. ;)
 
A couple of things:

1. Useful for previewing the content of an email or a link someone texted you.

2. It will be even more useful once they announce the new watches with much larger screens (no bezels)
 
TomaxXamot said:
Had no idea the bezels were so thick on it; seems like a lot of wasted space (I’ve never really paid much attention the the watch).
Click to expand...
Smaller bezels are supposed to be part of the series 4 upgrade. The 38mm is going from 1.34 to 1.57” diagonal while the 42mm is increasing from 1.53 to 1.78”. Should be a nice upgrade, the new smaller display becomes larger than the current large one.
 
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liberte1776 said:
While the WebKit addition is nice, it is SILLY not to include a Safari app to make it simpler to actually use it when needed!
Click to expand...

Completely agree. As MacRumors have said: sending yourself a link to google provides essentially this experience anyway. All they need to add is access to iCloud Tabs/Bookmarks and some sort of URL input and it’s immediately much more useful.

I imagine the reason they don’t is that this would destroy the watch battery so they are artificially limiting its potential usage.
 
nsimpson94 said:
Perhaps I am a pessimist but I just can’t think of any practical scenarios where this would be useful.

With a bigger screen, however...
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Yeah. My eyes are getting bad as it is. I couldn’t imagine staring at a watch when I’m out and about and trying to surf the web.
 
Imagine all the ads loading in space you don't even see...

On a completely different topic: Can we browse the web already on the AppleTV or is it still crippled? I didn't switch mine on the past few months...
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goobot said:
The mail app might actually be useful now.
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lol, no... not even on the iPhone/iPad. In 2018 it still can't follow anchor links or prominently display attachments.
 
Seems like an exercise in self-induced frustration to me. Why would I want to? First, you wait for god knows how long for it to load, then you have to navigate and squint your eyes. Yuck!
 
All this mockery re using microscopes to see the text. That's so impractical. All you need is to simply purchase a pair of watch repairers glasses and a wearable headlamp. Honestly some people don't make life hard.
 
Scottsoapbox said:
If you want to browse the internet, take your phone out of your pocket!
Click to expand...
If you want to browse the Web, bring your iPad or MacBook!
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michaelant said:
Nice to know you can get a search engine to load on the Watch, but if I just want basic info on something, I say, "hey Siri, look up iguanas" and it'll pull up the Wikipedia entry for iguanas.
Click to expand...

If I just want basic info on something, I say, "hey Siri, look up iguanas" and it'll pull up the Wikipedia entry for bananas.
 
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Sigh…

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