Things to do with your Apple Watch

Your Watch can do so many brilliant things, but which are the very best?

The Apple Watch is known for its fitness tracking abilities and the skill in which it handles notifications and other simple tasks, but a quick look below the surface shows that it can do so much more. In some cases it can do things that may feel like pure science fiction in the way this little wrist-worn device can control objects far away and in a variety of different ways. The watch sits within the connected eco system and this is what makes it possible for seemingly impossible things to be done with no effort at all. But it is the daily experiences ‘that just happen’ that make taking advantage of every option so beneficial to any Apple Watch user. We will highlight some of the more unusual and impressive options for you to get you started.

1 Unlock your Mac

Head over to System Preferences>security & Privacy and click the Apple Watch option. At this point your Mac will unlock providing you are wearing your Apple Watch when you start it up. The entire process happens with no direct interaction from the user and it is very secure.

2 Location notifications

Go to Find My Friends on the Apple Watch and wait a few seconds for it to find a specific contact. Now scroll down to the bottom and you can ask for the watch to notify you when they leave their current location. It’s not quite stalking, and it is extremely useful!

3 Control Apple TV

The Remote app is built into the Apple Watch and provides a seamless way to control your Apple TV providing your iphone is connected to the same Wi-fi and within range. It works just as well as using the iphone and in some circumstances does an even better job.

4 Compete with friends

In the Activity app on the Apple Watch you can compete with friends and family over set periods to see who is winning the fitness war. This interactivity adds a huge amount of motivation to everyone who participates and has been shown to improve activity levels greatly.

5 Stream music anywhere

If you have a cellular Apple Watch and an Apple Music subscription you can use Siri to find any song by any artist. The process works extremely well and is perfect for when exercising and running or for when you are out and about and simply need some audio entertainment.

6 Track your sleep

The Watch does not track sleep by default, but there are apps that take advantage of the sensors built in to give you an accurate indication of how rested you are. It can indicate if you are struggling and will also help you to solve any potential sleep-related issues.

7 Silence an alarm

When your morning alarm sounds on a winter’s day the task of getting out of bed can feel like a real struggle. If you are wearing your Apple Watch in bed you can simply tap the screen to silence the alarm without ever getting cold. A simple, but highly effective feature.

8 Take a photo

You may think that taking a photo from your Apple Watch is not a massive advantage, but with the simple timer built in you can get a group of people together, place your iphone in front of them and then tap the Apple Watch to snap the perfect shot. It works brilliantly.

9 Measure objects

Measuring objects using augmented reality on your Watch may not be the most accurate solution, but it highlights what is already possible and just how useful your watch could become in the future. The Gruler app is a very good start in this new area.

10 Control your home

The Home app lets you control multiple connected devices and to also enable schemes so that you can manipulate your living environment from your wrist. It is potentially one of the most useful and wide-ranging features on the Apple Watch which you’ll find useful multiple times.