10/05/2023
Nicole Newton

10 Apple Watch hacks you need to try

Interested in making the most of your Apple Watch? Whether you’re an experienced Apple Watch user or a newcomer, there might be some undiscovered features you’re overlooking.

Here are 10 Apple Watch features and hacks you should look into!

In this blog:

Activating Water Lock

Apple Watches are water-resistant, not waterproof, so you still need to take precautions when getting your watch wet. When swimming or engaging in any activity that could result in your Apple Watch getting wet, you should enable the Water Lock feature to lessen the possibility of any water damage.

Here’s how to manually activate the Water Lock feature on your Apple Watch:

  1. Swipe up from the bottom of your home screen to open the Control Center.
  2. Tap the icon that looks like a drop of water. 

Your Apple Watch will automatically activate Water Lock when you choose a swimming workout. Look for the blue water droplet icon at the top of your watch face to confirm that Water Lock is activated; if it’s there, it is!

Make sure to eject any water from your watch afterwards:

  1. Tap the blue water droplet icon.
  2. Turn the digital crown.
  3. You’ll see a pulsating blue dot, then dancing blue raindrops on the screen as your device emits a few beeps before completing the ejection.

Using the Walkie-Talkie

The Walkie-Talkie is one of the many amazing Apple Watch features you might not be aware of. You can use this function to speak with friends or family members who have an Apple Watch without using up your calls or texts.

The Apple Watch Walkie-Talkie feature does not have range restrictions like actual walkie-talkies, so all you need is an internet connection!

To set it up, click the yellow Walkie-Talkie symbol on your Apple Watch home screen, choose one of your contacts, and hold the on-screen button to talk.

Accessing the camera clicker

If you enjoy taking group photos, you are probably all too familiar with the challenge of trying to beat the self-timer to get that perfect shot.

Instead of running back and forth while trying to master a pose in 3 seconds, you can now utilize your Apple Watch as a camera clicker to take pictures whenever you’re ready thanks to this Apple Watch hack!

If you open the Camera app on your Apple Watch, it immediately activates your iPhone camera. Then, all you have to do is tap the shutter button on your Apple Watch to take a photo remotely.

Setting up hand gestures

Did you know there is a more straightforward to navigate your Apple Watch features? You can program specific hand movements to manage your Apple Watch so you don’t have to touch the screen or hit any buttons! 

Want to learn how to use hand gestures on your Apple Watch? This is how:

  1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
  2. Click Accessibility from the menu on the My Watch tab.
  3. Click AssistiveTouch and toggle on AssistiveTouch.
  4. You’ll then need to click Hand Gestures from the Inputs menu to toggle on Hand Gestures.

Then, all you’ll need to do is set up which hand gestures you want to use to control certain functions. There are four gestures: Pinch, Double Pinch, Clench and Double Clench – you can select which actions you want to be assigned to each motion.

Pinging your phone

This Apple Watch function could spare you from all those frantic hunts if you frequently lose your phone.

Whenever you’ve misplaced your phone, you can use your watch to send a ping to your phone to create a noise – even if it’s on silent! As long as your iPhone is within Bluetooth range of your Apple Watch, you’ll be able to ping your phone.

Swipe up to the control screen and look for the iPhone icon in the top left corner; if it’s green, your iPhone and watch are in Bluetooth range.

On the right-hand side of the control screen, tap the phone icon with two parentheses around it. This will trigger your phone to make a noise, helping you to locate it.

Accessing the flashlight

If you’re ever in a situation where you need a little light and don’t have your phone or a flashlight, you can use your Apple Watch instead! This Apple Watch hack allows you to access a hidden flashlight feature on your device.

Swipe up in the control centre, tap the flashlight icon, and your Apple Watch screen should light up into a flashlight. You can also adjust the brightness and switch between three modes: regular white, flashing white, and red.

Unlocking your Mac

You can configure your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac without having to enter your password if you own both a Mac and an Apple Watch.

Go to Security & Privacy in the Mac’s System Preferences. To enable the feature, you’ll need to check the “Use your Apple Watch to unlock apps and Mac” box and enter your Mac password.

Clearing and silencing notifications

If you don’t know how to silence or clear your notifications, listen up! 

When you’ve missed a notification, a tiny red dot appears on your watch face screen. Push down firmly on it to reveal the option to remove all notifications.

To silence any further notifications, hold your hand over the screen of your Apple Watch until you hear a buzz.

While some may already be familiar with this hack, it’s a good one to learn if you don’t use it already!

Getting directions

Looking for some Apple Watch hacks that you can use while you’re on the go? Lucky for you, we’ve got just the thing!

Did you know that you can follow directions without looking at your screen when using Maps on your Apple Watch? Launch Maps, enter your location, and press start. When it’s time to turn left or right, your watch will buzz on your wrist, and it will also buzz when you get to your destination.

For turning left, you will feel two long double buzzes. For turning right, you will feel four rapid buzzes. And when you have reached your destination, you will feel one long buzz.

Translating speech

Use Siri on your Apple Watch to help you if you ever require a quick translation. Real-time translation on your Apple Watch is supported in 11 different languages and is as easy as asking Siri to do it!

Simply ask Siri, “Hey Siri, how do I say {word or phrase} in {language}”. Siri will then display the typed translation and speak the word or phrase aloud – so you can either try to pronounce it yourself or let Siri lead the way!

Thinking of upgrading to a newer Apple Watch? Trade in Apple Watch models with Decluttr for cash towards your upgrade! Plus, get your next Apple Watch for less when you switch to a refurbished Apple Watch… It’s smart for you, smart for the planet!

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