An Apple Watch can be used exactly as it is once
paired with your iPhone, but to do so would be to
miss out on a lot of the benefits it offers. The Apple
Watch app, which is automatically installed on the iPhone, is
designed to work with the Watch and more specifically to let
you customise the Watch experience in a highly efficient way.
Not only does it deal with the initial pairing process, but it
also lets you tell the iPhone how you are wearing your Watch
and what specific features you want to use. It is vital that the
software knows if you wear the Watch on your left or right
hand to enable accurate step tracking, and you can even
choose how you want to use the digital crown. From individual
app notification settings to brightness and text, you can literally
customise every single aspect of the Apple Watch experience,
and it is possible that you will make more changes as time
passes to suit your needs. With some simple tweaks, you can
improve the battery life of your Watch, make it easier to read
and generally make it fit the way you live. You should end up
with a much more suitable Watch for your needs by the time
you have finished reading this tutorial.
Pair your Watch
Make sure your Apple Watch is charged and
then open the Apple Watch app on your
iPhone. Now follow the simple instructions to
pair the devices with each other.
Check for updates
Tap ‘General’ and then ‘Software Update’ to
see if a new version of the operating system is
available. You should always install OS updates
as soon as you can.
Set up notifications
Go back to the main screen in the app and tap
‘Notifications’. Here you can set them up to
mirror your iPhone or individually customise the
notifications for each app.
Deal with apps
The ‘App Install’ section within ‘General’ lets you
decide whether to install apps on the Watch
automatically or not. We would advise to keep
this off and install each individually.
Left or right
Tap ‘Watch Orientation’ in ‘General’ to set
up the software to work with how you wear
your watch. This is crucial for accurate fitness
tracking and ease of use.
Customise app positions
From the main app screen, tap ‘App Layout’
and tap and hold any app to move it within the
grid. The changes will be shown on the Apple
Watch immediately.