Flaunting a larger and brighter display than its predecessor, Apple Watch Series 7 has managed to garner plenty of traction, and rightly so. Apart from featuring a better display, the new Apple Watch has a more crack-resistant front crystal to take on random bumps and scratches. Couple these impressive specs with the refined watchOS 8 – watchOS 8.4, and you have got a smartwatch that looks complete in most aspects.
So, what sort of Apple Watch tips and tricks are you looking for? Are you up for ways to create a ton of eye-catching watch faces to personalize your smartwatch? Or, are you gearing up to fine-tune the notable health and fitness features for enhanced progress tracking? Irrespective of what is at the top of your mind, there are plenty of cool tips and tricks that may suit your preference. With that said, let’s dive right in!
1. Set Portraits Watch Face
While watchOS 8 – watchOS 8.4 have several notable features, none is as striking as the Portraits watch face. If you have a penchant for creating cool photo watch faces, there is a good chance you would love every bit of it.
If you are wondering what makes Portraits watch face different from a normal photo watch face? Well, let me tell you that it uses depth data to animate a portrait image with a multi-layered effect. What’s more, you can use the Digital Crown to zoom in or out of the Portraits watch face.
Head over to the Watch app on your iPhone > Face Gallery > Portraits watch face. Now, choose up to 24 portrait images and then customize the watch face. In the end, tap Add to set the Portraits to watch face.
2. Customize Your Watch Face to Your Heart’s Liking
If you wish to amp up the customization game further, personalize all of your favorite Apple Watch faces so that they always look and work in line with your preference. For instance, you can choose from various designs, tweak colors and even fine-tune the features that show up on the watch face.
With the watch face showing, long-press on the display and then hit Edit. Swipe left all the way to the end and then select the desired complication. Then, you can turn the Digital Crown to choose another complication like heart rate or activity. When you are happy with the customization, press the Digital Crown to save your changes. After that, tap the face to switch to it.
3. Create Awesome Looking Custom Watch Faces Using Watchsmith
Without undermining the solid library of watch faces that watchOS comes with, nothing can beat the elegance of the fully personalized watch faces. And for this specific purpose, you should look no further than “Watchsmith” from the creator of the top-rated widget app for iOS called “Widgetsmith.”
The watch app is available for free and comes with a ton of highly customizable complications which can be adjusted to best fit your taste.
4. Adjust Mindfulness
Apple has redesigned the “Breathe” app and named it “Mindfulness,” emphasizing mental peace. For a change, it now also lets you reflect to help bust stress with pro tips. What’s more, you can fine-tune the mindfulness and reflect session so that it perfectly fits your schedule.
To do so, open the Mindfulness app on your Apple Watch and then navigate to Breathe or Reflect session. Next, tap the three-dot icon at the top right. After that, choose the preferred duration, and you are all set.
5. Customize Apple Watch Home Screen View
While a honeycomb-like grid layout is the default app view on Apple Watch, you can choose to go for the List view which displays your apps as a list. Personally, I prefer the latter as it helps me find specific apps a bit easier. If you are also like me, head into the Settings app on your Apple Watch and choose App View. Now, select List.
6. Hide Unwanted Apps from Home Screen
What if you have some apps that you want to keep under wraps, whether for privacy or any personal reason? Worry not, watchOS lets you hide apps at will so that you can keep some apps away from the home screen.
To do so, open the Watch app on your iPhone. Now, scroll down to the Installed section and choose the app you want to hide on your Apple Watch. After that, turn off the toggle right next to Show App on Apple Watch.
7. Manage Your Apple Watch’s Photo Storage Smartly
If you are fond of setting your images as your Apple Watch face, you should know that watchOS offers a pretty neat way to manage photo storage. To ensure the limited storage (32GB) of your all-new smartwatch doesn’t get cluttered for space, you should make sure to take control of the photo storage.
Open the Watch app on your iPhone > Photos > Photos Limit. Now, choose 25 Photos.
8. Set a Focus Right From Your Apple Watch
watchOS 8 – watchOS 8.4 allows you to set a Focus right from your Apple Watch. So, the next time you wish to get started with a custom focus profile, you can fine-tune it from your wrist itself.
To get going, bring up the Control Center by swiping up from the bottom of the display. After that, tap on Focus (crescent moon icon), and tap on the Focus you wish to enable. Next up, adjust the length of time, and you are good to go!
9. Set Up AssistiveTouch
Being an integral part of the Accessibility suite, AssistiveTouch has existed on iOS for several years. So, the arrival of AssistiveTouch on watchOS augurs well for user experience not just for the folks with limb differences but also for anyone who wishes to use the Apple Watch more conveniently.
The best part? Well, you can use this Accessibility feature on your wearable device to control apps and even navigate through menus without having to touch the screen. Go to the Watch app on your iPhone > Accessibility > AssistiveTouch and then set it up. Check out our detailed guide if you want to get the most out of this new watchOS feature.
10. Create Custom Messages and Mail Replies
When I’m on the go and don’t have much time to type lengthy messages, I prefer to use custom messages to respond faster. If you are like me, chances are pretty high that you would like to create some custom replies. To do so, open the Watch app on your iPhone > Mail/Messages > Default Replies > scroll down and tap Add Reply. After that, type in the custom replies.
11. Enable Dictation and Use Siri to Get Your Work Done Faster
Despite being a notable watchOS feature, Dictation is highly underrated. As someone who has used this feature for a long time, I can say that it has vastly improved. So, make sure to get the most of this handy feature (Settings app > General > Enable Dictation) to input text faster. And with Siri always at your disposal, you can perform several tasks like controlling music, sending messages, setting a timer, translating languages, and more with ease.
12. Get In-Depth Insight About Your Activity with Weekly Summary
The activity app provides an in-depth insight into your progress to keep a tab on your performance and figure out the areas where you need to improve. What’s more, it also offers a detailed weekly summary to let you know how well you performed in the past week and, more importantly, whether or not you have gone past the threshold or failed to cross the line.
Open the Activity app on your Apple Watch and scroll down to the bottom. Then, choose Weekly Summary to check your past week’s performance.
13. Remember the Handy Troubleshooter for Fixing Common Issues
Hard reset or force restart comes into play when dealing with common issues. Credit where credit’s due, it’s quite reliable in fixing random watchOS (or iOS) problems. So, it pays to keep this trusted savior at your disposal. To force restart your Apple Watch, all you need to do is hold down the side button and the Digital Crown until you see the Apple logo on the screen.
14. Get a Web Browser on Apple Watch
Though watchOS doesn’t come with a browser, you can browse the web on your Apple Watch thanks to a pretty nifty trick. To get a browser on your Apple Watch, all you need to do is send yourself an iMessage with a link to Google. Then, tap on the link to open Google on your Apple Watch. Pretty clever, isn’t it?
15. Remotely Control Your iPhone with Apple Watch
Did you know that your Apple Watch can work as a super handy remote control for your iPhone camera? When you wish to snap stunning group photos or landscape shots, this tip can play a role. So, how do you bring it into action?
Well, all you need to do is open the Camera Remote on your wrist > position your iPhone to frame the shot > hit the Shutter button, and you are done! Alternately, you can also invoke Siri on your Apple Watch and ask it to “Take a picture.”
Image credit: Apple
16. Automatically Play Your Favorite Playlist When You Start a Workout
If you are someone who loves to tune into your top picks right from the moment you hit the ground running, you would like to put this tip under your radar. To bring it into effect, navigate to the Watch app on your iPhone > Workout > Workout Play, and then choose your preferred playlist.
17. Use Accessibility Shortcut
If you are fond of Accessibility features like Zoom and AssistiveTouch, you should take advantage of the Accessibility Shortcut to easily enable/disable these features. Navigate to the Watch app on your iPhone > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut and then select the feature that you want to use. Going forward, you can triple-click the Digital Crown to turn on/off the selected feature.
18. Sync Your Favorite Apple Music Playlists and Albums with Apple Watch
Another feature that’s going to please fitness freaks and music lovers alike is the ability to sync specific Apple Music playlists and albums. If you are one of them, navigate to the Watch app on your iPhone > Music. After that, tap the “+” Add Music option and then select the desired playlist from your library.
19. Manage Background App Refresh
As we all know how power-hungry background app refresh is, it’s better to take control of it. Else, it could cause rapid battery drain on your Apple Watch Series 7. Fortunately, watchOS provides the desired control over this power-sucking feature.
Go to the Settings app on your Apple Watch > General > Background App Refresh and then either turn it off or allow only a few apps to refresh in the background.
20. Disable Location Services
If background app refresh is regarded as the most power-hungry feature, location services are no less. So, if you want to extend the battery life of your Apple Watch Series 7, make sure to turn it off as well. Navigate to the Settings app on your Apple Watch > Privacy > Location Services and then turn it off.
21. Customize Units of Measure
Whether you are a fitness freak or a health-conscious person, you may want to customize the units of measurement for more personalized fitness tracking. To do so, head over to the Watch app on iPhone > Workout > Units of Measure and then customize everything as per your needs.
22. Use the Power-Saving Mode to Boost Your Apple Watch Battery Life
What “Low Power” mode is for iPhone, “Power Saving Mode” is for Apple Watch. So, if you ever find your smartwatch draining plenty of battery, you should take advantage of this feature to extend the battery life of your wearable device. Launch the Watch app on your iPhone > Workout and then turn on the Power Saving Mode toggle.
23. Unlock Your iPhone with Apple Watch When Wearing a Mask
When you are wearing a mask and wish to unlock your iPhone using the Face ID, your Apple Watch can let you do so seamlessly. To enable this feature, head into the Settings app > Face ID & Password and then turn on the toggle right next to Apple Watch located under the Unlock with Apple Watch section.
24. Choose a Protective Case
A pricey smartwatch like the Apple Watch Series 7 deserves a better safeguard against accidental drops and scratches. Should you wish to opt for uncompromised protection for your all-new smartwatch, I recommend you check out Supcase Unicorn Beetle Pro ($22 for 45mm and 41mm) rugged case. Boasting an exceptionally shock-absorbing profile, Unicorn Beetle Pro provides a top-notch shield against drops and scuffs.
25. Ramp Up the Style Quotient
What about giving a more attractive look to your Apple Watch with a premium-looking stainless steel band? Made of high-grade stainless steel, Fullmosa ($21, available for both 45mm and 41mm) has the profile to make an impressive pair with the smartwatch. It securely locks into the watch and comes in multiple matching colors to let you pick a better companion for your all-new wearable device.
26. Pick A Sporty Silicone Band
While there is no dearth of high-quality watch bands in the market, nothing can beat silicone bands’ comfort. Thanks to the pretty smooth texture, they are comfortable to wear. Made of breathable and sweat-resistant material, the silicone bands ensure you don’t develop an itch.
So, if you want to have a reasonably good yet affordable silicone band for your Apple Watch Series 7, go for SWAS ($26/$27 for 41mm and 45mm). And if you don’t want to settle with anything less than the premium Apple Watch Series 7 silicone bands, check out the official ones ($49).
27. Choose a Durable Screen Guard to Shield the Larger Screen
Considering how expensive screen repair cost is, you should never fail to offer an additional layer of shield against scratches. You never when a sharp scratch may render the touchscreen damaged, and you may end up spending much more than you save by not buying a screen protector. Made of pretty smooth and flexible TPU material, YMHL ($10/11, 8-pack for 41mm and 45mm variants) is fully equipped to offer an additional layer of safeguard to the Apple Watch display.
So, that concludes this exhaustive roundup of Apple Watch Series 7 tips and tricks. I hope you have got some really cool tips and tricks under your radar. Did any of your favorite tips miss out on being part of this lineup? Shoot them up in the comments below, and I could give them a chance.
