5 Apple Watch tips everybody needs

Got an Apple Watch? Here are five cool things you can do that I think you’re going to use.

Where am I?

Meeting a friend somewhere and looking for a way to let them know where you are? Send them a Message to start a conversation, and then Force Touch the display while within the conversation. Now you can choose the Send Location item and send them a map.

Lost in the dark

You don’t know what happened. You were sat in the long grass over there until dusk, now it’s dark and you can’t find your iPhone. What can you do? Here’s what to do: open the settings screen on Apple Watch and tap and hold the Ping button (it’s the iPhone picture at the bottom left). Most people tap the Ping button to make the iPhone chime, but if you hold it down a little longer the iPhone will flash as well – perfect for finding your smartphone in the dark!

Tap and go

Going somewhere new? When you are using Maps on your iPhone to get somewhere you may have noticed taps on your wrist from your Apple Watch as you navigate your journey. No, this isn’t a fault, what’s happening is your wearable wants to help you wander to where you’re going successfully, and those taps mean something. Here is how to decipher those taps (memorize immediately).

• Two tap-taps three times means turn left
• Twelve steady taps means turn right
• A long vibration means you’ve reached your destination.

Now you’ll be able to look natural getting anywhere!

Bonus tip: Using Maps to get to a destination that belongs to one of your contacts but running late and you want to let them know? Try this: Force Touch on the Maps app and choose Call Destination to warn them you’ll be late.

Call waiting

You receive a call. You know you can answer it using your Apple Watch, but you don’t want to do that – you want to use your iPhone. But where is your iPhone? Is it in your bag? Your coat? Your inside pocket? And how will you make sure the caller doesn’t think you are being rude! What are you going to do?

Here’s what to do:

• Glance at the incoming call screen on your Apple Watch
• Turn the Digital Crown a little to expose the lowest part of the incoming call screen
• Tap Answer on iPhone

What happens next is the person calling will hear Siri’s voice asking them to wait followed by a series of repeated sounds while you find your phone and pick up the call. It’s your own answering service.

Alarm

Ask Siri to wake you in six hours and go to sleep wearing your watch. Sure enough, six hours later it will wake you up by gently tapping you on the wrist until you rise. That’s a much smoother awakening than an alarm bell, right?

Bonus tip: Forgotten how to ask Siri? Just press and hold the Digital Crown or say “Hey Siri”.

Let’s get some crowd wisdom here! Share your best Apple Watch tips in comments below!