MacFormat UK – June 2019

macformat.com @macformat JUNE 2019 | MACFORMAT | 69

>Apple has greatly improved the

battery life of the Watch. Still, we

can all benefit from cutting down

on processes that hog the battery

in order to get even more help from

the wrist-worn assistant. Follow the

three tips below and you should

notice a real difference in how

long your Watch lasts each day.

Keep your Watch going

for longer with a few

quick changes

Battery tips

our Watch’s

default display

shows apps as

a grid of small

bubbles huddled together

on your home screen. This is

called the grid view, and shows

all of the apps installed on your

Watch. To uninstall an app,

lightly touch and hold its icon

until it jiggles, then tap the app

and tap Delete.

You can further organise

your Watch apps by using the

Dock, which you access by

pressing the side button. By

default, the Dock shows recent

apps, but you can change it to

instead store your favourites

(see tip 1, right). To reorder

favourites, drag from the

handles to the right of an app’s

name in My Watch > Dock.

1

Background drain

Background app refresh lets apps

periodically check for updated data.

This can drain the battery. To turn it

off or choose which apps can use

it, go to My Watch > General >

Background App Refresh.

1 Change recent

apps to favourites

Go to My Watch > Dock and

choose Favourites. To add a

favourite, tap Edit, then tap

the + or – next to an app to

add or remove it.

2 Recents at the

top of the list

The Dock can hold up to

10 apps. Your most recently

opened app will always

appear at the top of the

Dock’s list.

3 Change how

apps are shown

You can change the grid

view you get when you

press the Digital Crown to

a list. Press firmly on the

grid, then tap List View.

2

Brightness

As with your iPhone, your

Watch’s battery can benefit from

lowering the brightness. On your

iPhone, go to My Watch > Brightness

& Text Size and adjust the brightness

slider to your preferred level.

3

Workouts

Go to My Watch > General and

turn on Workout Power Saving Mode.

This will turn off your Watch’s heart

rate sensor during walking and

running workouts (but your analytics

may be a little less accurate).

Given the small size of the Watch’s screen, it’s a good

idea to make sure your apps are well under control

Learn how to seamlessly use

your Watch with your other gear

Watch & other kit

AirPods

If you have AirPods, raise your Watch

to wake the screen and show Now

Playing, then rotate the Digital Crown

to adjust the volume of your AirPods.

iPhone

You can link the process of

unlocking your iPhone and

your Watch. Go to My Watch >

Passcode and turn on ‘Unlock

with iPhone’. As long as you’re

wearing your Watch, this will

automatically unlock it when

you pass your iPhone’s security.

Mac

To unlock your Mac with your

Watch, go to  > System Prefs >

Security & Privacy > General and

tick the ‘Allow your Apple Watch

to unlock your Mac’ box. Your

Mac and Watch must both be

signed in to the same iCloud

account for this to work.

Y

Music

> To sync music, your

Watch must be charging and

Bluetooth needs to be on.

In My Watch > Music, choose

from the items iOS suggests

to sync, or tap Add Music

to pick exactly what

you want.

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