Apple Watch Newbie

1

OK, so I have succumbed to the temptation of an Apple Watch (6 cellular). Never had or used one before.

Would really welcome any tips, tricks, best guides that are out there, etc., so that I can get the most out of it, and really come to know that it is indispensable!!!

Many thanks.

Robert

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EDIT: SEE THE UPDATED LIST FURTHER BELOW IN THIS THREAD

Series 6 is great. I am sporting a Series 4, which is still going strong

My main uses are:

  • Open my computer
  • Authenticate logins w/ 1Password and Authenticator
  • Listen to music/podcasts/audiobooks while walking (with airpods)
  • Show train tickets
  • Check actions in Omnifocus
  • Dictate to Drafts
  • Start EV charging at public charging points
  • Take phone calls
  • As camera remote
  • Command Siri around
  • Homekit control (lights, alarm etc)
  • Media controls (Apple Music, AppleTV)
  • ApplePay (Use it for nearly all daily expenses)
  • Public Transport (Citymapper is great)
  • Directions while walking (Apple Maps)
  • Weather (All Carrot complications are great)
  • Loyalty card scans in shops
  • Control my car (Open, close, pre-heat, send satnav instructions)
  • Timers (while cooking or pomodoro)
  • Activity (close my rings)
  • Track workouts
  • Sleeptracker
  • Do mindfulness exercises during the day
  • Check water consumption
  • Use calculator and currency app
  • Check deliveries
  • Run shortcuts
  • Translate audio
  • Read, write and dictate messages
  • Walkie Talkie with my other half
  • Check calendar

oh ā€¦ and it tells me the time as well

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3

Wow - that is quite a list!

Havenā€™t worked out the Apple TV controlling yet!

So, is there a way for me to make my own watch face that would just have productivity complications on it?

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My uses in order of most common to leastā€¦

  • Mess with the watch face because Iā€™m not happy with how it looks right now. :laughing:
  • Tell the time/date
  • Glance at notifications ā€” then decide whether I need to get my phone out or not
  • Track my water intake with WaterMinder (great new version out!)
  • (When I work in an office) see when the next train is due with NextThere.
  • Track my sleep
  • Check my ā€˜training readinessā€™ with the app of the same name
  • Start and track a workout
  • Run timers for the kitchen
5

This isnā€™t the exact same name but is this the one you are talking about?

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6

List view for apps instead of the honeycomb grid

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7

Sorry, no. There are a lot of people who would like that! Hereā€™s the Apple support guide on adding complications. I think the best you can do at the moment is at a watch face with eight complications, the Infograph, which is what I have now.

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This app has changed the way I worked out. It earned a spot in my daily Watch complication.

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10

You can customize any face to show whatever complications you want. My main work face (modular compact) only has ā€œproductivityā€ complications.

I also use a time-triggered automation to switch away from that face every day at 6 p.m.

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11

Can you please share this automation as Iā€™ve wanted to do this for a long time.

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Same deal here, about a month ago. Love this thread!

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Oh yes, thatā€™s the one. Donā€™t know where I got ā€˜Training Readinessā€™ from. Maybe in the interface somewhere.

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Training Today doesnā€™t collect data nearly as often as I thought it wouldā€”12 hours between data points in some cases. Do you all do sleep tracking or use the Breathe app?

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I was going to write a description of how to do this but I thought a video might be easier to follow. To get the point I started at open the Shortcuts app and then Automation tab at the bottom of the screen. This is where the video starts.

Edit: Just watching the video back Iā€™ve realised it has not clear that after clicking the plus sign in the top right of the screen the next thing to choose id ā€˜Create Personal Automationā€™. The screen recording on my phone has not captured the screen presses but hopefully you will be able to work out the rest of the screen presses. Please let me know if anything is not that clear.

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This is one of the easier automated Shortcuts to set up:

In the Shortcuts app, tap the Automation button at the bottom (the clock). Tap the plus button to add a new ā€œpersonalā€ automation. Select ā€œtime of dayā€ and set the time you want to run the automation. After you tap Next, you can add the Action to ā€œSet Watch Faceā€.

I think itā€™s easiest to search for the action (rather than scroll through all of the options). But you can also get to it by selecting Apps under the search bar and scrolling down to Watch. Once youā€™ve added the action to the shortcut, you can select which watch face to switch to by tapping on the word (variable) ā€œFaceā€ in the action itself.

I set this up on my phone that controls the Apple watch. Iā€™m not sure if all of these options would appear on, say, an iPad, thatā€™s connected to the same Apple ID.

17

Wow - this is all fascinating and giving me enough rabbit holes for a year!

So are people using any particular app for homekit and homebridge on their watches? Are you paying for any of the services which some of these apps offer?

Thanks, Robert

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I use HomeRun on my watch to control specific scenes. I think I have the original version, however, version 2 is listed in the App Store. From what I can see this allows you to control your selected scenes from your iPhone and iPad, as well as on the watch face.

Thereā€™s a free trial and then you can pay a monthly/yearly subscription, or a one of payment.

19

I had no idea!!! I tried to print your amazing list but was unable to do so. Did you happen to generate your list elsewhere?

I followed some of your recommendations and had some fun with what I believe is my Series 5.

At any rate, thanks!

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Mine seems to be roughly every two hours without any intervention from me. Occasionally I will use the breathe app if I want to know the ā€˜nowā€™ value.

I wear my watch about 22 hours a day FWIW. It charges for 60-90 mins in the evening and 15-30 min again in the morning. Donā€™t know if that affects the frequency or not.

Looking at it now, at 8:30am, the readings go backā€¦ 07:22, 05:22, 03:22, 01:24, 23:22, 22:40, 19:24, 17:25ā€¦ The 22:40 was just after I put my watch back on after evening charging.

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21

Katie, can you just select the text in the browser and copy it to a note?

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