Use the hidden features of the Apple Watch

Politely check time

If you own a Series 2 Apple Watch, you can discreetly check the time by turning the Digital Crown, rather than lifting up your wrist. As you turn the crown, the screen’s brightness gradually increases.

Ping your iPhone

You can easily find your iPhone with your Apple Watch if they are relatively close to each other. At the watch face, swipe up to reveal Control Center and tap the bottom-left icon to tell your iPhone to emit a sound.

Send your location

While sending a message, apply Force Touch to the screen to reveal a bunch of hidden options. One of them is “Send Location,” which you can use to quickly let the other party know exactly where you are.

Safe yet helpful

You can save time by setting your Watch to unlock whenever you’re wearing it and you unlock your iPhone. In the Watch app on your iPhone, tap Passcode, then switch on “Unlock with iPhone” to enable this feature.

Clear notifications

Notifications on Apple Watch are useful and efficient, but it can be a chore to clear them all. The quickest way to manage them all at once is to apply Force Touch to the list, then tap “Clear All” – it takes just two seconds.

Change your goal

The Move Goal in the Workout app looks static at first; apply Force Touch in the app to reveal an option to change the goal. Tap it, then turn the Digital Crown to adjust the amount; try to make it reasonably challenging.

Pause workouts

When you’re working out, accuracy is key to gaining the stats you need. In the Watch app, tap Workout then switch on “Running Auto Pause” to have tracking stop whenever you do, saving you having to tap the screen.

Transfer a call

If you’ve answered a call on your Apple Watch, but decide you would prefer to continue it on your iPhone, tap the green bar at the top of your iPhone’s screen to transfer the call there immediately.

Cover to Mute

In your iPhone’s Watch app, go to Sounds & Haptics and switch on “Cover to Mute.” You can then hold your palm over the screen when you want to silence a notification that arrives at an unfortunate moment.