Your New Apple Watch Needs a Few Tweaks to the Settings - CNET

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This communicative is portion of 12 Days of Tips, helping you marque the astir of your tech, location and wellness during the vacation season.

So you recovered a caller Apple Watch under the Christmas tree, and you're not definite wherever to start? Luckily, the Apple Watch is already casual capable to acceptable up and use. But changing a fewer settings tin marque it adjacent much convenient.

For example, you tin determine however you'd similar to activate Siri, prime which apps look successful your dock, marque your apps look successful a database presumption alternatively than a grid and acceptable Portrait Mode photos from your iPhone arsenic your ticker background. You'll beryllium capable to usage these features and settings connected immoderate ticker exemplary that Apple presently sells, including the $249 Apple Watch SE, the $399 Apple Watch Series 8 and the rugged $799 Apple Watch Ultra.

Apple's WatchOS 9 update, which arrived successful September, brought adjacent much features to the Apple Watch Series 4 and newer. Additions see much elaborate slumber monitoring and a caller app for tracking medications.

Here's a look astatine the Apple Watch settings you should alteration to get the astir retired of your watch.

Read more: Best Smartwatch for 2022

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Adjust each of your Activity goals

With the merchandise of WatchOS 7 successful 2020, Apple added the enactment to alteration your goals for the magnitude of clip you basal and exercise. Previously, you could lone alteration your Move (or calories) goal.

So alternatively of utilizing the defaults -- 30 minutes of workout and a cumulative 12 lasting hours a time -- you tin alteration either 1 to acceptable your existent regular routine.

This tiny alteration volition marque it imaginable for you to deed your ain targets erstwhile you really commencement your day, not erstwhile Apple tells you to. For example, if you usage slumber tracking overnight and request to complaint your ticker much often successful the morning, you won't consciousness similar you've mislaid an hr of clip needed to adjacent those rings.

Open the Activity app connected your watch, scroll to the bottommost and pat Change Goals. Make your adjustments for each 3 metrics and commencement closing those rings.

Read more: Best Workout Subscription Apps

So long, random screenshots

To instrumentality a screenshot connected the Apple Watch, you property the Digital Crown and broadside fastener astatine the aforesaid time. It's a elemental and convenient method, unless you're similar maine and find yourself often triggering it accidentally, filling up the Photos app with random pictures of your ticker face.

To crook disconnected the quality to instrumentality screenshots altogether, unfastened the Settings app connected your ticker oregon usage the Watch app connected your telephone and spell to General and scroll down until you find Screenshots. Tap this enactment and toggle disconnected the power adjacent to Enable Screenshots for a clutter-free camera roll.

Customize which apps look successful your dock

If you person a batch of apps installed connected your Apple Watch, it tin beryllium hard to find the close ones erstwhile you request them. That's wherever the Apple Watch's dock comes successful handy. If you're not familiar, the dock is fundamentally the iPhone's app switcher, but for the Apple Watch. You tin trigger it by tapping the broadside button, which pulls up a carousel of precocious utilized apps.

However, you tin besides customize the dock to amusement immoderate apps you privation alternatively of your astir caller apps. To bash this connected your watch, unfastened the Settings menu, pat Dock and prime the Favorites option. But I urge mounting this up successful the Phone's Watch app alternatively truthful that you tin customize these apps.

Open the Watch app connected your iPhone and pat Dock. Once the Favorites enactment is selected, you'll spot a database of apps divided into 2 sections: Favorites and Do Not Include. Favorites are the apps that are presently successful your dock, portion the second lists each of the different apps connected your ticker that aren't included. Tap the Edit button successful the apical close country to customize the Favorites database to your liking.

Choose the Portrait mode photos you privation to spot connected your wrist

You tin acceptable Portrait mode photos arsenic the inheritance for your ticker face. But first, you person to excavation into the settings successful the Watch app connected your iPhone. To get started, motorboat the Watch app and navigate to the Face Gallery tab astatine the bottommost of the screen. Then, pat the Portraits enactment nether the New Watch Faces category. Tap the Choose Photos option nether Content to prime up to 24 photos that volition rotate automatically erstwhile you rise your wrist oregon pat the screen.

Apple Watch showing photos successful Portrait Mode

Keep the Apple Watch's surface awake for a longer play of time

There are times erstwhile you mightiness not privation your Apple Watch's surface to spell idle close away. Perhaps you were successful the mediate of speechmaking a agelong substance connection and got distracted, oregon possibly you privation to support an oculus connected your timer. Once you pat the Apple Watch's screen, it typically stays progressive for 15 seconds. But you tin widen that to 70 seconds by launching the Settings paper connected your watch, tapping Display & Brightness and choosing Wake Duration. Then prime the Wake for 70 Seconds option.

Stop each app from automatically installing

Every clip you instal an app connected your iPhone, it volition automatically instal its Apple Watch counterpart if determination is one. This tin clutter up your watch's app grid beauteous quickly, making it hard to find the apps you bash privation to usage connected your watch.

In the Watch app connected your phone, spell to Settings > General and past descent the power adjacent to Automatic App Install to the Off position. You tin besides bash this connected the ticker by opening the Settings menu, tapping App Store and toggling the power adjacent to Automatic Downloads.

From present on, you'll instal idiosyncratic apps connected your ticker by opening the Watch app connected your phone, past scrolling to the bottommost wherever you'll find a database of disposable apps.

Read more: Best Apple Watch Apps

Silence those noisy notifications

Smartwatches tin beryllium utile for discreetly checking an alert oregon the time. But large notifications tin decision the purpose. Turn connected your Apple Watch's soundless mode by swiping up from the bottommost of the surface to motorboat the Control Center. Then pat the icon that looks similar a bell to trigger Silent Mode.

You tin besides bash this by opening the Apple Watch's Settings menu, scrolling down to Sound & Haptics and toggling the power adjacent to Silent Mode. There's besides a measurement slider for adjusting however large oregon quiescent incoming notifications dependable if you'd alternatively not mute them completely.

Have Siri lone talk retired large erstwhile you're wearing headphones

Siri tin beryllium utile for rapidly mounting timers, starting workouts oregon checking the upwind from your watch. But you mightiness not ever privation to person Siri talk retired loud. You tin easy alteration this truthful that Siri lone provides audible feedback erstwhile you're wearing headphones. Open the Settings paper connected your Apple Watch, scroll down to Siri and navigate to the Siri Responses section. Then pat the Headphones Only option. When your Bluetooth headphones are connected to your Apple Watch, you should present spot the sanction of your headphones look supra the Siri measurement mounting successful the watch's settings menu.

Make substance easier to work by expanding the font size

Reading notifications and quality headlines tin beryllium hard connected a surface that's truthful small. Luckily, you tin summation the font size connected the Apple Watch to marque things a spot easier connected your eyes. To bash so, motorboat the Settings app connected your watch, pat Display & Brightness and scroll down to Text Size. Rotate the Digital Crown oregon pat the letters that look connected either broadside of the metre to set the substance size connected your watch. If you person the Apple Watch Series 7, Series 8 oregon Ultra, you'll person much size options for enlarging the text, since those watches person bigger displays.

Stop those annoying reminders to breathe

The Breathe reminder is designed to assistance you instrumentality a fewer minutes to wide your caput and power your respiration, perchance helping you consciousness much centered and calm. But if you're similar maine and ne'er travel the prompt, instrumentality a fewer seconds to crook it disconnected truthful you nary longer person to beryllium reminded to breathe.

Open the Apple Watch app connected your iPhone, past scroll down and pat the Mindfulness app option. Next, select Notifications off. (Note: If your ticker isn't moving WatchOS 8, this volition look arsenic Breathe alternatively of Mindfulness.)

Unlock your Apple Watch with your iPhone

Typing successful your passcode to unlock your Apple Watch tin beryllium a pain, but there's an easier mode to bash it. You tin take to person your Apple Watch unlock automatically erstwhile your iPhone is unlocked.

Tap the Digital Crown and navigate to the Apple Watch's Settings menu. Scroll down to Passcode, and marque definite the power adjacent to Unlock with iPhone is toggled on. Your iPhone volition present besides show an alert saying that your iPhone is being utilized to unlock your Apple Watch whenever you enactment this into practice.

Two Apple Watch models showing passcode numbers

Make it easier to find your apps

The honeycomb app grid looks large astatine archetypal glance, but it tin beryllium hard to find the app you privation to launch, peculiarly if you person a batch of apps installed connected your watch. Instead of successful a grid, the ticker tin show each of your apps successful an alphabetical list.

Either successful the Watch app connected your telephone oregon successful the Settings app connected the Watch, pat App View > List View. Now, erstwhile you property the Digital Crown to permission your ticker face, you'll spot a database of apps that you tin rapidly scroll done and find what you're looking for.

Someone checking an Apple Watch app database portion wearing the watch

Control erstwhile you'll spot Siri

There are 3 antithetic ways to activate Siri connected your Apple Watch. You tin rise your wrist toward your rima and commencement talking, long-press the Digital Crown oregon usage the aftermath phrase, "Hey, Siri."

I've recovered that I often accidentally trigger Siri erstwhile trying to cheque the clip oregon work a notification portion I'm talking to idiosyncratic other (but my ticker thinks I'm trying to speech to Siri). It's annoying, but it tin beryllium changed.

Either successful the Watch app connected your telephone oregon successful the Settings app connected the Watch, prime Siri and determination you'll find 3 buttons to power erstwhile you'll spot Siri. Slide each fastener to the Off presumption for immoderate of the options you don't privation to use.

This is simply a hidden diagnostic that you should memorize close now.

Jason Cipriani/CNET

Rearrange Control Center

Just similar Control Center connected your iPhone, Control Center connected the Apple Watch is wherever you spell to rapidly set settings similar bash not disturb and airplane mode and to activate the flashlight.

You whitethorn find the default database of options successful the Control Center isn't the champion acceptable for however you usage your watch, however, and you privation to rearrange the list. For me, that means moving the Bedtime toggle from adjacent the bottommost of the database to the top. That mode erstwhile I privation to way my slumber implicit the play erstwhile I don't person slumber goals set, I tin swipe up and pat the icon.

To entree the Control Center connected your watch, swipe up from the bottommost of the ticker face, oregon erstwhile successful an app you tin long-press connected the bottommost of the surface until you spot Control Center commencement to descent up, aft which you conscionable request to descent your digit up to entree it. The aforesaid instrumentality works to presumption your notifications from anywhere.

Change the order, oregon fell immoderate buttons successful the Control Center by tapping the Edit button astatine the bottommost of the list. The icons volition statesman to jiggle and amusement a reddish minus motion to fell an option. Drag and driblet the icons into your preferred order, oregon pat the reddish minus fastener to region the enactment altogether.

When you're done, pat Done oregon property the Digital Crown connected the broadside of your ticker to spell backmost to the ticker face.

There are plentifulness much Apple Watch features that are worthy checking out. For example, the ECG app tin assistance place heartbeat irregularities, determination are caller workout options for Pilates and Tai Chi and you tin adjacent stock your customized ticker faces.

For more, cheque retired CNET's database of the best Apple Watch bands and every iPhone mounting you should change close now.

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