Apple Watch The Complete Manual

Learn how to master your Apple Watch and watchOS

First Steps with Your Watch • Beginners should start here. In fact, everyone should start here. However long you’ve been using your Apple Watch, you might find something new. We show you how to get started with your Apple Watch, how to set it up, its key features such as the watch face, Control Centre and Gestures, and more. Look out too for changes in the Smart Stack, which are new to watchOS 11!

What’s Where on Your Watch • The controls on your Apple Watch are fairly straightforward, with two buttons on the right of the casing and a tough, durable Force Touch crystal covering the screen. But there’s more to the hardware than just the buttons.

Getting Started with Watch • So you’ve left the Apple Store with your brand new Apple Watch tucked under your arm. But what do you do now? How do you pair your watch with your iPhone, set it up and get it ready for everyday use? Here we show you how to set it up out of the box, and then take you through the stages of setting up your brand new Apple Watch, pairing it with a new iPhone and more.

Updating watchOS on Your Watch • watchOS is the operating system on which the Apple Watch runs. It underpins everything that happens on your Apple Watch. watchOS is regularly updated by Apple, and when there’s a new version available, you get a notification. You can then update your Apple Watch directly from the watch itself, or through your iPhone’s Watch app. Here’s how.

Watch Gestures and Buttons • Apple pioneered gestures with its touchscreen iPhone and iPad, and also with trackpad gestures used to interact with your Mac. It comes as no surprise then that Apple Watch also uses gestures, along with controls offered by the side button and the Digital Crown. Here we take a look at how to use those gestures to operate your watch and what they do.

Customising the Watch Face • One of the best things about Apple Watch is you can change your watch face. If you get bored with the one you’re using, swap it for another. Most of the faces on offer can be customised too, both cosmetically and on a practical level, changing the complications that draw information from Apple Watch’s apps. Some faces aren’t available on some older models.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth • When your iPhone is nearby, your Apple Watch connects to it and gets its online connection through the phone, but if it isn’t, your watch can connect to Wi-Fi itself. You can connect your Apple Watch directly to a 802.11b/g/n, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network, or even the faster, less crowded 5 GHz network if you have a Series 6 watch or later. Here’s a guide to how.

The Watch Control Centre • You access the Control Centre by pressing your Apple Watch’s Side Button. Watches running watchOS 9 or earlier open Control Centre by swiping up from the foot of the screen, which now gives you widgets.

The Widgets Smart Stack • The Widgets Smart Stack is even smarter in watchOS 11. To access the widgets screen, either turn the Digital Crown upwards from the time screen, or swipe up from the bottom of the screen, a gesture that used to summon the Control Centre. You can navigate through the widgets using the Digital Crown or upward swipes, and edit them too. Here’s how it all works.

The Watch’s Home Screen • The Home screen, also known as the App Switcher, is at the heart of your Apple Watch. It’s from here you can launch your watch’s built-in and third-party apps, and rearrange the order in which they appear. You can set your Home screen in Grid View or List View, and also delete Apple Watch apps directly from the App Switcher. Here’s how to use and customise it.

Using the iPhone’s Watch App • The Watch app on your iPhone is an essential part of your Apple Watch experience. You use it to set up and configure your Apple Watch, change its settings and generally...