www.makeuseof.com Apple Watch: A Beginner’s Guide

The Apple Watch is a perfect companion for any iPhone owner. Along with a suite of fitness and wellness features, the watch provides a great way to stay connected and see the most important information you need at a glance.

If you’re new to Apple Watch, we’re here to help. Here’s our beginner’s guide to help get your new watch set up and customized.

Pair the Apple Watch to Your iPhone

After taking your Apple Watch out of the packaging and putting on the watch band you purchased with the device, it’s time to grab your iPhone. While the Apple Watch continues to become less dependent on the iPhone with each generation, you’ll still need the handset for pairing.

Turn your Apple Watch by pressing and holding the large Side Button on the right side of the watch below the Digital Crown. Wait until you see the Apple logo.

Related: How to Pair Your Apple Watch to a New iPhone

Next, bring the watch next to your iPhone. Wait until you see a pop-up on your iPhone that says Use your iPhone to set up this Apple Watch. Hit the Continue button to begin the pairing process.

During the setup process, you’ll get the Apple Watch up and running. Some of the tasks you’ll accomplish include setting a passcode, adding Apple Pay information, and selecting what settings are shared between the iPhone and Apple Watch.

If you have a cellular-enabled Apple Watch, you will also set up that connectivity during the pairing process.

Explore and Download Apple Watch Apps

Just like on your iPhone and iPad, apps play a big part of the overall Apple Watch experience. Along with a number of pre-installed apps from Apple, you can also use a wide variety of titles from third-party developers.

Related: The Best Apps to Download for New Apple Watch Users

To explore the stock apps on your watch, click the Digital Crown once. You will see either the grid view with app icons or a list view that shows the app icon and name. To switch between the two press down and select either Grid View or List View.

There are a few ways to download third-party apps to your Apple Watch. One way is to open up the companion Watch app on your iPhone and select the My Watch tab.

Scroll down to the Available Apps section. That will show apps installed on your iPhone that also have an Apple Watch version available. Select Install to install the app on the watch.

You can also download apps directly from your Apple Watch. Press the Digital Crown and then select App Store.

Along with a list of curated apps, you can search for exactly something specific by choosing search. You can use voice dictation, Scribble, or with the Apple Watch Series 7 or later the built-in keyboard.

Once you install all of the apps you’d like. Apple offers a number of different ways to manage and rearrange apps on the wearable device.

If you want to not worry about selecting individual apps to install on the watch, you can also automatically install any app on your iPhone that’s compatible with the Apple Watch. To do that, select the My Watch tab in the Watch app. Then choose General and toggle on Automatic App Install.

With a number of apps installed, Apple offers a great way to switch between each one. Make sure to read our primer on the Apple Watch Dock and how to use it.

Create a Custom Apple Watch Face

Once you’ve installed all of your apps, it’s time to dive into the world of Apple Watch faces. Apple includes a huge variety of different faces that you can customize with different colors and compilations.

Complications are small bits of information from apps that you can quickly and easily view with a quick glance of your face.

Related: The Best Apple Watch Complications Worth Using

To create a custom watch face, the easiest way is to press down on any watch face. Continue to slide left until you see the New face option. Select the + sign. You can scroll through the different available faces with the Digital Crown.

When you’ve found the one you want to try, choose Add. In the next screens, depending on the face you choose, you can pick a color, add complications, and more to make the face all your own.

Apple Watch Notifications and Control Center

To better interact with your Apple Watch, you can swipe down from a watch face to see any notifications from your iPhone. Select one to see more information. To dismiss an individual notification, swipe left and choose the X.

To dismiss all notifications, select Clear All at the top of the screen.

Another important feature of the Apple Watch is the Control Center. Swipe up on a watch face to view the Control Center. One of the most important icons will show you the remaining battery life on your Apple Watch.

You can also toggle Silent Mode or Theater Mode on and off. It’s also a great place to turn on Airplane Mode and the watch’s built-in flashlight mode. To customize the Control Center, scroll down and choose Edit. The icons will start to wiggle and you can delete and reorder each one to appear how you’d like.

Accessorize Your Apple Watch

With the popularity of the Apple Watch, there are a number of ways to make the device your own. One of the best ways is with the wide variety of bands. Along with many from Apple, there are many from third-party accessory makers in many price ranges.

Related: The Best Apple Watch Series 7 Straps

The good news is that Apple Watch straps are compatible with all generations. One strap size is for the 38mm/40mm/41mm watch. The larger strap fits any 42mm/44mm/45mm device.

Past different Apple Watch bands, there are also other accessories like cases and screen protectors for the device.

Making the Most of Your New Apple Watch

Getting started using an Apple Watch might look intimidating to anyone new to the device. But with these tips, we’ve hopefully made your first experience a bit easier.

Enjoy your new Apple Watch as you workout and much more with the top-notch wearable device.

Born and raised in sunny west Texas, Brent graduated from Texas Tech University with a BA in journalism. He's been writing about technology for more than 5 years and enjoys all things Apple, accessories, and security.

Join our newsletter for tech tips, reviews, free ebooks, and exclusive deals!