Just got my 42mm SS AW. Now What?

[Cnasty]

What are some of the first things you turned on, shut off, or disabled the very first time you got your new AW and set it up?

Any tips for a newbie to get it set up correctly?

Excited to mess around with it and get it set up to my liking!

 

[hallidc]

First thing I disabled was the sound alerts. From there I explored what the watch had to offer and customized it according to my liking (watch faces, etc).

 

[Karnicopia]

Shut off every notification noise that comes out your phone or watch. Set up haptic feedback you are comfortable with. Figure out which apps you actually care about getting instant notifications for. Customize the watch faces you like and check out the app forum. Read through threads that you are interested in. The watch OS all the little things is a great one if you are starting out.

 

[Cnasty]

Customize the watch faces you like and check out the app forum.

This is helpful as I was going to bypass any actual watch apps at this time due to the lag I have read about in opening them and functionality wise. I know some have improved and with the new OS coming out soon it should get better as well. Thank you for this.

One of things I loved with my Moto 360 previously was the ability to turn off all notifications on my phone and get them all through the watch so it wasn't duplicated on both the watch and the phone. I hope it does that.

 

[Karnicopia]

This is helpful as I was going to bypass any actual watch apps at this time due to the lag I have read about in opening them and functionality wise. I know some have improved and with the new OS coming out soon it should get better as well. Thank you for this.

One of things I loved with my Moto 360 previously was the ability to turn off all notifications on my phone and get them all through the watch so it wasn't duplicated on both the watch and the phone. I hope it does that.

Notification handoff works well for me, if the phone is open you get the notification there, if not on the watch silence watch silences phone etc. One of my favorite things with the watch is turning off all the buzzing vibrating chiming things and just getting a tap on the wrist. It was a surprisingly nice feeling to do this. A tip for the app lag is ask Siri to open the app, go about your business and check back in a few seconds and it's usually good. Don't have to stare at the watch while it's happening. Really to enjoy the watch explore the Siri capabilities. Hey Siri play my music, hey Siri set a timer for 5 min, hey Siri open the hue app and hey Siri send a text message to x and then dictating it all work really well.

 

[Armen]

One of things I loved with my Moto 360 previously was the ability to turn off all notifications on my phone and get them all through the watch so it wasn't duplicated on both the watch and the phone. I hope it does that.

In a nutshell this is how notifications work with the Apple watch and iPhone:

- Apple watch on wrist, iPhone locked: Notifications only go to the watch (except phone calls which go to both).
- Apple watch on wrist, iPhone in use: Notifications go to the iPhone only.
- Apple watch not on wrist: all notifications go to iPhone regardless if iPhone is being used or locked.

 

[Mac2me]

I initially kept all 3rd party apps off my watch and slowly added a few. Once the update comes out I'll reexamine. There are a number of 3rd party apps that have been well designed and are favorites even with the current OS. Depends if it's something you'd use though.

Since no one has mentioned this, there is the Apple Watch User Guide pdf you can download to your phone. It's in the Apps store and free of course. It's also a good starting point when you have the time to sit and read through it or sections of it. Certainly will prompt you to think about how you might use the Watch and what adjustments you might want to make.

Definitely should experiment with the watch faces, customizing and adding new faces. I like the option because sometimes you want to coordinate with a certain color face/hand and you can save the versions of a face you like without wasting time redoing it. If you travel for business you might want to set up a watch face that you can easily go to that is more customized to traveling, like setting the complication for certain Cities for example, probably not something you'd care about otherwise. Just makes it nice and convenient even if you routinely talk to clients in other parts of the world.

I think Calendar notifications are probably an important one most people want shown on their Watch so I'd suggest making sure it's enabled on the Watch. I also have it as a Glance.

At some point you might want to organize your app placement on your Watch making the ones you will use most frequently maybe grouped closest together. The time ones like Alarm, Stopwatch and Timer grouped near each other for example.

Experiment with receiving and making phone calls. If you have wifi in your home, at some point figure out what your range with the Watch is with your phone inside the house and not with you. Have fun! You bought the same one I have and I really do still love and value what it offers months later.

 

[Mac2me]

I'll also add that I made it a habit to charge my Watch every night right before I brush my teeth, etc. If it becomes a routine, you will be set to go the next day without any problems. I also use a damp cloth to wipe the band and face down to keep it clean and reduce any rash on my wrist from sweating and bacteria growth. It can get pretty grimy during the day.

 

[Cnasty]

All great tips!

This might be the first piece of tech I've had in a while where I read the manual.

 

[BarracksSi]

I let mine load up every Watch-compatible app, then tried them all, deleting the ones that either malfunctioned, were useless, or didn't jibe with how I think a Watch app should operate. I mostly ignored issues with loading times because I wanted a better idea of what would remain useful as native apps. News reader apps reveal a range of philosophies about what developers want to do with a smartwatch.

Also: Force Touch everything. Doesn't hurt to try. I didn't realize until the other day that, unlike a browser's Back button or closing a Finder window, you can't lose your place in an app with Force Touch. No harm at all in seeing what pops up (or finding out that an app doesn't use it anyway).

I took a leap with notifications and turned my phone's vibrations off completely, relying on my Watch to grab my attention. It works really well. You know how a vibrating phone is still obnoxious sometimes? When I put the watch on silent, its taps are so quiet, nobody else can tell when I've received a notification.

Charging: I charge mine before bed, usually after my shower (I rinse mine off each night) while we're sitting around having dessert. When I'm ready for bed, the watch has recharged to at least 90%, and I put it on. The taptic alarm wakes me every morning, and I can see the time before I reach for my glasses.