One of the best technological gifts of recent years is without a doubt the Apple Watch, a watch with a strap and touchscreen with interactive features so you can read messages and notifications from other applications without having to take your phone out of your bag or pocket. Like any Apple product, even the smartwatch is a good success, despite the price so high that it makes you think more of a luxury item or a “status symbol” than an actually useful device.In this guide, we will show you how the Apple Watch works, showing you its features and also showing you how to combine it with an iPhone (to take advantage of it 100%), how to use it the first time and how to combine it with an Android smartphone (with limited functionality). READ ALSO: Best Apple and Android Smartwatch watches
How the Apple Watch Works
Reading all the chapters illustrated below we will have a clear idea of what an Apple Watch offers and how to connect it to the portable devices in our possession. As anticipated in the introduction, the Apple Watch is at its best with a paired iPhone, while with an Android smartphone the functionality is very limited.
Apple Watch features
The Apple Watch is a smartwatch designed to display notifications, send messages, answer calls, use maps, listen to music, read emails, send voice messages, answer calls and see directions without having to pick up the iPhone (with which it interfaces) each time.
To these basic functions of any Apple smartwatch has added a system to monitor health and sports activities, integration with the most famous social apps (Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and SMS), integration with i Siri voice commands (fully functional without ever touching the iPhone), an advanced system for managing appointments and reminders and the possibility of use the Apple Pay system to pay purchases without taking out your wallet or credit card. On models equipped with an LTE Apple Watch module, you can make/receive calls and receive some notifications even without having iPhone nearby, very useful if you forget your phone at home and need to call someone urgently.
These characteristics make it one of the best smartwatches we can buy at the moment.
How to pair Apple Watch with iPhone
To take advantage of Apple Watch we will have to combine it with a latest-generation iPhone, only in this way will we be able to fully appreciate all the features described above.
To pair the two devices turn on Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on our iPhone, turn on the Apple Watch and bring it close enough to start the phone’s recognition.
Pressing on the button Go on we will be asked to frame the screen of the Apple Watch with the rear camera of the iPhone, so as to correctly frame the three-dimensional QR code. After a few seconds, the Apple Watch will pair with our iPhone and our Apple account.
In the screen following the pairing we will be asked to create a security code, useful to protect the smartwatch every time we remove it from the wrist (the sensors will monitor the presence or not of our wrist); the configuration will end with the last two steps, in which we will be asked if we want to enable Apple Pay (optional) and if we want to install the apps on the iPhone also on the Apple Watch (if the installed apps provide an optimized version for the Apple smartwatch ).
The new app will also appear on our iPhone Watch, essential to check all the settings of our new smartwatch.
How to pair Apple Watch with Android
One of the most frequent questions on the Web concerns the possibility of using Apple Watch combined with an Android smartphone. Unfortunately, at present, it is not possible to combine the Apple Watch directly with Android, but with a little trick, it will still be possible to get some features on ‘Apple Watch 4 or later (with data network support), even when we use an Android smartphone.
First, we combine Apple Watch with an iPhone: this step is essential, so as to combine the data network of our SIM with the network that will also use Apple Watch. Once paired, we switch off the iPhone, remove the SIM card and insert it into the Android smartphone.
When the Android smartphone is turned on, data will be exchanged between the phone and the Apple Watch via the cellular network. Thanks to this little trick we will be able to make and receive (non-international) calls receive notifications of the Android smartphone, send messages to friends (via iMessage) and receive notifications from the app already installed on the Watch (it will not depend on the app on the phone Android).
At the moment these are the only features offered by the Apple Watch when paired “indirectly” with an Android smartphone, waiting for official support from Apple.
NOTE: only the Apple Watch sold as GPS + Cellular, ie with native support for the cellular data network, they are indirectly compatible with Android. Models with the only GPS cannot be associated with Android.
How to use Apple Watch
After pairing the Apple Watch with our iPhone, it’s time to learn the touch controls and actions that can be performed with the side physical buttons, so you can immediately become familiar with the features offered by the smartwatch.
As for the touch screen, the gestures are as follows:
- Short touch: touching briefly on the screen we will select an element, exactly like the classic tap on the smartphone;
- Extended touch: Apple Watch perceives the intensity of pressure on the small screen. By long-pressing on the screen we can change the clock face or, if executed within an App, to view the specific settings;
- To drag: by dragging on the screen we will scroll through the displayed content, such as on a Web page or on the WhatsApp or Telegram chat;
- Slide: By scrolling in the other directions on the screen, we will be able to view other screens of the same app (if available).
In addition to touch controls, we can use physical keys to manage Apple Watch:
- Digital crown: looks like the classic wheel of the watches, but has many features! Just press it once to return to the smartwatch homepage, twice to return to the last app or we can hold it down to use Siri. By turning the wheel we can scroll or zoom based on the app we are on.
- Quick key: this button can be pressed to view recent or favorite apps; holding it pressed activates the SOS function (call and emergency message) while pressing it twice will allow us to activate Apple Pay for quick payments.
To clarify any further doubts about how to use Apple Watch, please read the Apple Watch User Manual.
Conclusions
The Apple Watch has raised a category of very beautiful but little “included” technological products, thanks to a decidedly attractive design, to increasingly innovative functions and features worthy of a true “watch of the future”.
Combining it with the iPhone is extremely simple, just as it is easy to learn to manage it right away. The only disappointing aspect is the poor support for Android smartphones, where the combination is only indirect, effectively limiting the functionality of Apple’s smartwatch.
That interested can to sort the Apple Watch online or can book online and then buy it in an Apple Store choosing and trying out the different straps.
If we are looking for a compatible smartwatch with both Android and iPhone, we suggest you read our guide on Which smartwatch to buy: buying guide.
If, on the other hand, we don’t want to spend all that money, but we’re still looking for a smart bracelet for notifications and to monitor our physical activity, we suggest you read our articles Mi Band 4, from Xiaomi, the cheapest FitBand smartwatch for just 35 Euros is Get back in shape with fitness apps and bracelets to monitor physical activities.