The Apple Watch can display notifications from its own apps and from an iPhone. Users can choose which notifications to receive, and whether to receive haptic or sound notifications for each app. You can also choose whether to have the notification indicator on your Apple Watch alert you to unread notifications. You can enable or disable Notifications Privacy, in which case the details of each notification will be hidden until you tap an alert.
Contents
Apple Watch: Choosing Which Notifications to Receive
- Press Home on your iPhone to display the Home screen.
- Tap Apple Watch to open the Apple Watch app.
- Tap My Watch to display the My Watch screen.
- Tap Notifications to display the Notifications screen.
- Set the Notifications Indicator switch to On to make the Apple Watch display a red dot at the top of the screen to alert you to a new notification.
- Set the Notification Privacy switch to On to hide notification details until you tap an alert.
- Tap the app you want to configure to display the app’s screen.
- Specify which notification to receive by setting each switch to On according to your preference.
- Choose other options, such as Progress Updates in the Activity app.
- Tap Notifications to display the Notifications screen again.
- Tap another app to display the app’s screen.
Note than many apps use the Mirror My iPhone setting by default. To use the iPhone settings for this app, tap Mirror my iPhone and skip the remaining steps. To choose custom settings, tap Custom and follow these steps:
- When the Alerts section appears, set the Show Alerts switch On.
- Tap an alerts category, and the screen for that alerts category will appear.
- Set the Show Alerts switch for the category, such as the Show Upcoming Event Alerts to On if you want to receive alerts.
- Set the Sound switch to On or Off, according to your preferences.
- Set the Haptic switch to On or Off, according to your preferences.
- Tap the button in the upper-left corner twice to see the Notifications screen again.
- You can also configure notifications for other apps.
- In the Mirror iPhone Alerts From area, set each switch to On or Off, as you prefer.
Which Notifications and Types of Alerts Should You Receive?
People use their Apple Watch in an amazing variety of ways, so you can choose your own preferences. However, many experts recommend that you allow notifications on your Apple Watch from only those apps that offer an active benefit. If you are not an adept of Photos or Passbook, and Apple Pay, they may not be worthy of notifications, while Phone, Messages, Mail, or Calendar notifications will likely be more beneficial. If you use your Apple Watch in public, turn on haptic alerts. This gives you a discreet prod on the wrist. You can also turn off sound alerts, so others can’t hear it.
A Few Apple Watch Tips
Unlocking Mac from Apple Watch: You can use your Apple Watch original (also known as Apple Watch Series 1 or Apple Watch 1st generation) and your Apple Watch Series 2 to skip typing in a password on your Mac to gain access. If you want to pair the two devices together, you should make sure they are both signed into the same iCloud account. Then, go to your Mac (make sure it’s running macOS Sierra or later) and choose System Preferences. Once there, choose Security & Privacy and General. Once in General, you’ll be able to set the Apple Watch to unlock your Mac. Make sure two-factor authentication is enabled on your Mac. For this, head to System Preferences > iCloud > Account Details > Security.
Sharing Activity: Apple’s answer to Fitbit, Garmin and the rest of the fitness tracker fraternity is its Activity platform. That’s where all of your daily movements are recorded. In its latest iteration, you can now share activity progress with other Apple Watch users. To do this, you will need to add friends, which has to be done by going to the dedicated Activity app on your iPhone. You can then select Sharing and hit the + icon in the corner to add contacts.
Discreetly View the Time: On the second series of the Apple Watch, if you want to check in on the time without raising your wrist, slowly twist the digital crown upwards and it’ll brighten up the screen gradually. This will allow you to peek in instead of fully illuminating the watch screen.
Links
- Just a friendly reminder: Your old Apple Watch is worth money! Sell it to iGotOffer for the best price online. Free instant quote, free fully insured shipping, fast and secure payment: Sell Apple Watch now.