Do you own an Apple Watch or are considering getting one? While most users are aware of basic functionalities like fitness tracking and music control, the Apple Watch has so much more to offer. In this blog, we will delve into the some of the lesser-known features of the Apple Watch, to help you get the most out of your smartwatch.
Take an ECG
To start on the more health-focused side of things, one interesting thing that the Apple Watch can do is take an electrocardiogram (ECG). To do so, follow the steps below:
Open the Health App > Browse > Heart > Electrocardiograms (ECG)
While this won’t detect heart attacks, strokes, or blood clots, it can still be a valuable tool for anyone who needs to keep a closer eye on their heart to help track how fast their heart is beating, the rhythm of the beats and the strength and timing of electrical impulses.
Take Better Photos
In the past, if everyone wanted to be involved in a group photo, you’d have to setup a camera, apply a timer, rush to get in the shot and hope for the best. Now, through opening the camera app on your Apple Watch, the camera will also open on your paired iPhone and you’ll be able to see whatever the camera can see on your watch, while also being able to switch between front and rear cameras. Once you’re happy with the shot, hit the three second timer on your watch to take the photo, which will then instantly appear in your iPhone's camera roll.
Water Lock
The Apple Watch has a feature designed especially to be used when experiencing contact with water. Simply open the control panel and select the option that looks like a water drop to enable this feature. It will also turn on automatically when you start a water-based workout.
When enabled, your Apple watch will not respond to a touch on its display to prevent accidental input while in the water. The more interesting part of this feature is that when turning off water lock (you can do so by holding down the crown), your Apple Watch will play a series of tones while ejecting any water that remains in the speaker grill.
Discreet Directions
A particularly useful feature for someone travelling or simply just walking somewhere on their own, is the Apple Watches ability to give more discreet directions - without having to walk around continuously staring at your phone or watch screen.
Simply open maps on your iPhone, input your destination and start the journey. You can turn off sound alerts and your watch will notify you whenever you need to make a left or right turn – a left turn is signalled with a few sets of two short buzzes, with a right turn signalled by a rapid series of taps. This will help it seem like you know exactly where you're going while you're in a new or unknown area.
Locate Your Misplaced iPhone
Now, this is one of our most used features on the Apple Watch. For anyone who is prone to putting your iPhone down in multiple different places throughout the day and forgetting where you’ve left it, your Apple Watch becomes an extremely useful tool.
Simply open the control panel where you’ll see an icon of iPhone emitting some sound waves – select this and your iPhone will make a ‘ping’ sound to help you track it down.
Quick Reply - and Create Your Own Responses
You’ve probably already noticed that you can select a quick response to a message on your Apple Watch by simply selecting the message and scrolling down, you can also use the scribble pad to type out a message.
What you may not know, is that you can create custom responses by opening the Watch app on your iPhone then going to:
Messages > Default Replies
This allows you to set your own quick responses, so if there is a common phrase you find yourself saying to your friends and family, you can save yourself the trouble of typing it out every time.
