Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,547
30,862



The Apple Watch may have a small screen, but it's still large enough to show off those pictures of your little one's dance recital to the grandparents. As long as you've got an album synced from your iPhone, you can even view pictures while your smartphone is out of range.

apple_watch_photos.jpg

To help you get the most out of your photo viewing experience, we've put together this tutorial to explain how to set up and customize the Photos app on Apple Watch

Create an Album in Photos on iPhone

The first step to getting the most important pictures on your Apple Watch is to create an album for it in your Photos app on iPhone.

Open the Photos app on the iPhone and select "Albums." Then tap the add icon (+) to create a new one.
Name the new album. For simplicity, I named mine Apple Watch Photos.
Select the photos you wish to add to the album and select done.
apple_watch_photos_setup.jpg


Click here to read more...

Article Link: How to View Photos on Apple Watch
 

UnfetteredMind

macrumors 6502
Jun 6, 2012
451
77
I have to agree with captain cadet, unless you don't have your phone with you, why wouldn't you just take out the iPhone to which the :apple:Watch is tethered to show the pics? Maybe for very brief encounters where you don't even want to bother pulling out the phone (but then maybe it's not even worth trying to show the pic in the first place).
 

Noble Actual

macrumors 6502a
Sep 10, 2014
851
501
Please...do not use your Watch to show some pictures when you can just use your iPhone or iPad.

Its so damn small. And it's common knowledge that as you grow older, your eyesight gets worse. They probably can't even see it. Showing it on the iPad...now that's a magical and beautiful experience.
 
Last edited:

doelcm82

macrumors 68040
Feb 11, 2012
3,765
2,776
Florida, USA
How to view photos on the Apple Watch.
  • Bring up a photo on the Watch screen.
  • Orient your eyes so that they are both directed at the watch
  • Orient the watch so that the screen is facing your eyes
  • Focus your eyes so that the watch face is sharp (optional lenses worn over or in contact with your eyes not included)
  • View the photo.
I am the proud owner of an Apple Watch, but I haven't yet seen one in person. Mine is "On Vehicle for Delivery Today".
 

BillyTrimble

macrumors 6502a
Sep 20, 2013
548
162
Or just pull your phone out to show people on a screen that they can actually see your face on...

Why are you the watchdog for how people want to use their watch? Does it really matter to you, anyone else, or the world why someone wants to show a picture on their watch? The capability is there. And if someone wants to use, they should without being insulted by those of you who try to impose your own ways of doing something on someone else. Just stop criticizing them for wanting to do thing their own way!

And I find MR's little tutorials to be just fine and quite welcome. I don't care if they are available on Apple's site by doing some search. Their here, they show when you open MR's site and they are quite fine.
 

pubwvj

macrumors 68000
Oct 1, 2004
1,901
208
Mountains of Vermont

ApfelKuchen

macrumors 601
Aug 28, 2012
4,334
3,011
Between the coasts
Or just pull your phone out to show people on a screen that they can actually see your face on...
Yeah, there's that, but once you get used to using the thing, your first instinct can become "look at/show the Watch" instead of "pull out the iPhone." It's one more option, not unlike having a button, menu item, and shortcut key combination that all do the same thing.

And once Watch 2.0 comes along, life with the Watch will be a bit less tethered, and there will be watch faces that will access the on-watch images. As things are, I end up leaving my iPhone in the bedroom as I roam the house far more than I did pre-Watch.
 

CarpalMac

macrumors 68000
Nov 19, 2012
1,620
3,991
UK
Why are you the watchdog for how people want to use their watch? Does it really matter to you, anyone else, or the world why someone wants to show a picture on their watch? The capability is there. And if someone wants to use, they should without being insulted by those of you who try to impose your own ways of doing something on someone else. Just stop criticizing them for wanting to do thing their own way!

And I find MR's little tutorials to be just fine and quite welcome. I don't care if they are available on Apple's site by doing some search. Their here, they show when you open MR's site and they are quite fine.
Eh? Where in the original post did they do any of those things??!!

Defensive much?
 
  • Like
Reactions: AngerDanger

captain cadet

macrumors 6502
Sep 2, 2012
417
648
I have to agree with captain cadet, unless you don't have your phone with you, why wouldn't you just take out the iPhone to which the :apple:Watch is tethered to show the pics? Maybe for very brief encounters where you don't even want to bother pulling out the phone (but then maybe it's not even worth trying to show the pic in the first place).
The thing is that YOU have to have your phone with you!
 

dabigkahuna

Suspended
Aug 3, 2010
448
42
Oahu
Actually, after you sync photos to your watch, you don't need the phone with you.

I found it amusing that just after various posters talked about how a tutorial isn't needed, we had a post from someone who apparently would have benefited from reading the tutorial and you had to point out the facts! Not blaming that person. I've seen a lot of watch reviews which talk about how you have to have your phone too, but that simply was never true. If we get comments like that from people sorta in the business of reviews, we can't expect everyone else to got it right.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ApfelKuchen

PhillyProf

macrumors newbie
Jun 3, 2015
26
14
Philly
Can I make a request? I would really like to see a tutorial on how to view the time on the Apple Watch. I've had this thing for over a month and I still can't figure out how to make it show me the date and time. Is there some hidden setting?
I'd like to make a request. Quit with this kind of bellyaching. I suppose you're too smart to be even reading these posts, so why do you waste your time and ours by making this predictable complaint?
 

Chupa Chupa

macrumors G5
Jul 16, 2002
14,835
7,396
MR you forgot the last step -- place loupe onto Apple Watch screen; place eye on loupe.
 

QuiteSure

macrumors 6502a
Jun 20, 2002
539
117
I'm amused by all the hostility to these How To articles. I've gotten benefit from at least 2 or 3, including this one. Why wouldn't you pull out your phone to show a picture? For the same reason you wouldn't want to pull out your phone to tell the time. The watch is already out. Just makes life a bit easier. Also, if you're on public transit, in a cab or many other places, it's just easier to pull up the photos app and show the pic.

But please keep slamming Macrumors for these articles. I'm getting a big kick out of it.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.