Apple Watch For Dummies. Marc Saltzman
Can Do
Some people may question why they need a smartwatch. Perhaps you traded your watch for a smartphone years ago and now wonder why you’d go back to the wrist. One word: convenience. Not having to carrying anything is pretty darn handy, which you soon find out when using your Apple Watch. Simply glance at your wrist to glean information — wherever and whenever you need it — not to mention the fact that your watch can tap you with a slight tactile vibration to let you know about something, such as a calendar appointment or a loved one giving you a virtual “poke.” Buying something at a vending machine or a retail store by simply waving your wrist over a sensor is also kind of awesome. Having an airline attendant scan a bar code on your watch’s screen to let you board a plane? What a time saver.
Thus, you can keep your iPhone tucked away, preserving its battery for when you really need to access something with it. In fact, some Apple Watch models can make or receive calls and texts even without a smartphone nearby, which I get to in Chapter 5.
Perhaps because you wear it on your wrist and will likely glance at it multiple times throughout the day, Apple Watch will become an extension of yourself. When you strap it onto your wrist, you’re not going to want to take it off. Now, that’s personal.
As you discover in this book, Apple Watch has many, many features. Some of the main categories include time, communication, information, navigation, fitness, entertainment, and finance (mobile payments). The following sections highlight Apple Watch’s main features, but be aware that a few may require the GPS + Cellular model (and I indicate where).
Watch faces
Instead of a regular watch that simply shows one face, you can choose what you see on your Apple Watch. The watch has many styles to choose among right out of the box, as well as numerous downloadable apps that customize the look of the face. You can also change the color of the watch face to match your outfit. Chapter 4 walks you through it all.
Timers and alarms
Apple Watch also includes various stopwatches, timers, and alarms. Whether you use your fingertips or your voice, your Apple Watch can let you know when it’s been 30 minutes so you can pull something from the oven. Or you can time your friend doing laps in a pool — from the comfort of your lounge chair. Apple Watch also lets you set an alarm to wake you up in the morning. You can use the Timer app as a game clock, for example, to tell you and your opponent when your time is up in a round of Scrabble. Check out Chapter 4 for all the details.
Caller ID or even calls
See who’s calling by glancing at your wrist. Apple Watch displays the caller’s name (Caller ID) or perhaps just a phone number (which often happens if that person isn’t in your iPhone’s Contacts). You can also use the Apple Watch microphone to record and send sound clips to friends. Some Apple Watch models — those advertised as GPS + Cellular — let you leave your iPhone at home and take or make calls right from your wrist when you’re out! Heed the call, and go to Chapter 5 for details.
Walkie-Talkie
What’s more fun and quicker than a phone call? The Walkie-Talkie feature built into Apple Watch. As the name suggests, Walkie-Talkie lets you press to talk to someone else who has an Apple Watch. Let go to listen for the reply. 10-4, good buddy? I cover this feature in Chapter 5, which is about different ways to use Apple Watch to communicate.
Health and wellness
In case you weren’t aware, Apple Watch has been morphing into a powerful health device that can monitor what’s happening inside your body. It sounds like science fiction, but the Apple Watch Series 6 and Series 7 models include a heart-rate monitor (measured in beats per minute), electrocardiogram (ECG), and even a blood-oxygen monitor (to measure how well oxygen is being sent from the heart and lungs out to the rest of the body). Maybe not as impressive, Apple Watch can now detect when you’re washing your hands — an important habit now more than ever because of COVID-19 — and starts a 20-second timer. The new Mindfulness app features an enhanced Breathe experience, plus a new session type called Reflect.
Emergency SOS
In a nutshell, the Emergency SOS feature built into Apple Watch calls for help when you can’t. Whether it senses a troubling anomaly through the heart-rate or ECG sensor or detects a fall, Apple Watch can dial emergency services, notify your contacts, send your current location, and even display your Medical ID badge for emergency personnel. I cover all this in Chapter 8, which focuses on fitness and health.
Text messages and instant messages
You can read and reply to messages with Apple Watch, as shown in Figure 1-3. Hold your wrist up to read the message, and lower your arm to dismiss it. Chapter 5 walks you through all the messaging functions of Apple Watch, including some models that don’t require your iPhone to be near you at all!
FIGURE 1-3: Read and reply to messages on your Apple Watch.
When an email comes in, you can read it on your wrist (scroll up and down the screen with your fingertip to see all the text), flag it as something to reply to later, mark it as read (or unread), or move it to the Trash. As with text messages and phone calls, you can transfer email from Apple Watch to your iPhone to pick up where you left off. I cover all this in Chapter 5.
Wrist-to-wrist communication
Along with providing the Walkie-Talkie feature, your smartwatch lets you communicate directly with someone else’s wrist via a component called Digital Touch. Use your fingertip to draw something, such as the heart shown in Figure 1-4, and the person who receives it will see it animate — just as you drew it. Or why not send some virtual kisses to let someone know you’re thinking about them? As described in Chapter 5, you can even send your heartbeat to someone by pressing two fingers on the screen.
Dock
Naturally, a wearable watch is a convenient way to stay on top of important information. Apple Watch has a cool feature called Dock that lets you quickly open your favorite apps or go from one app to another. To launch the Dock, press the side button and swipe up or down (or turn the Digital Crown button). See Figure 1-5. Chapters 3 and 6 discuss how to access Dock, customize what you see, and scroll through relevant information.
FIGURE 1-4: Sketch something on your Apple Watch and send it off to someone