Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Wearables
  3. Apple
  4. Mobile
  5. Evergreens

The best Apple Watch Series 6 tips and tricks

By
Add as a preferred source on Google

The combination of the Apple Watch Series 6 and WatchOS 8 software is powerful. The last generation Apple Watch comes with a variety of useful features that can help in your daily life — if you know how to use them. We offer a list of our favorite tips and tricks for getting the most out of the Series 6 in conjunction with WatchOS 8.

Zoom in and out using the Digital Crown

The Apple Watch Series 6 lets you zoom in or zoom out to have a closer look at the contents of your watch face. To use it, open Settings and scroll down to Accessibility. Tap to open it, and you’ll see the Zoom control, which is off by default. Toggle the switch on to launch Zoom and then double-tap on the screen using two fingers to enable size adjustments with the Digital Crown. You can also use the settings to specify the maximum amount of zoom you want. To zoom out, double-tap on the screen using two fingers and it will return the screen to normal viewing.

Recommended Videos

Ring your iPhone

Where, oh where, is your iPhone? If it’s in silent mode and you’ve misplaced it, you can use your Apple Watch Series 6 to ping it. Open the Control Center on your watch and tap on the iPhone button. Your iPhone will then make a loud dinging sound — even if it is silent mode — signaling precisely where it is located.

Use your watch as a camera remote

Open the Camera Remote app on your Apple Watch 6 to automatically launch the Camera app on your iPhone. Then tap the shutter button on your watch or use the timer to snap a picture.

Use the always-on display more effectively

The Apple Watch Series 6 has an always-on display, which allows it to show useful alerts and data without the need to activate or unlock. With Series 6, the always-on display is much brighter than previous models and incorporates direct control capabilities. You can tap for basic features  — complications, notification center, and Control Center without unlocking the watch.

Activate Siri with wrist motion

Do you give Siri commands via the Apple Watch? The Series 6 has a super-handy intuitive feature for this — simply lift your wrist at any time and say your Siri command — no need to say “Hey Siri” first. The wrist motion automatically lets Siri know it’s all right to start listening, without unlocking the watch, so you can give immediate commands or ask quick questions.

Track blood oxygen levels

For the Series 6, Apple redesigned the way it measures certain health indicators and added the ability to measure your blood oxygen levels (or Sp02 data). You can find this option in the Health app under Respiratory information, or you can visit the dedicated Blood Oxygen app within the WatchOS. Your Watch also monitors background blood oxygen levels several times a day, which allows you to check how much oxygen your body is getting over time. While this shouldn’t be used to diagnose any specific condition, it can offer insight into overall respiratory health, which your doctor may be interested in checking, alongside other testing.

Use the improved altimeter

Apple redesigned the altimeter in the Series 6 to track your elevation and provide real-time elevation changes via a more powerful, accurate sensor. The tool is much more useful to hikers, climbers, skiers, and even surveyors for tracking real-time elevation changes, even if it’s just a foot or two of difference.

Control universal volume with the Digital Crown

Digital Crown is the fancy name for the large rotating dial on the side of the watch that you use to go to the home screen. On the Series 6, any time you are in Now Playing mode for any kind of audio, you can twist the crown to control the volume.

Theater mode controls screen brightness

If you are ever in a location where you need to lower the light or noise from your Apple Watch, the Control Panel now includes a Theater Mode option that enables your watch’s silent mode. Activate it to keep the screen dark regardless of alerts or notifications. If your Apple Watch suddenly starts making noise or disrupting a meeting, just cover it with your palm. The Watch will sense this and automatically stop this action, leaving you to carry on in peace.

Wash your hands with confidence

Hand washing has become a critical health protector, and the Apple Watch Series 6, combined with the WatchOS 8, can play an important role. It uses the array of sensors to detect when you are washing your hands — listening for running water and hand movements, for example — that initiate a hidden 20-second timer for your handwashing action. If you stop before the 20 seconds are up, the watch sends a quick vibration to signal you to keep going. The 20-second goal is a guideline both the WHO and the CDC agree on.

Tyler Lacoma
Tyler Lacoma
Former Contributor
If it can be streamed, voice-activated, made better with an app, or beaten by mashing buttons, Tyler's into it. When he's not…
Topics
The wearable on your wrist can predict blood pressure crisis events days in advance
A hypertensive crisis can lead to acute organ damage, and the abrupt spikes in blood pressure are also linked to stroke, kidney damage, fluid backup in the lungs, and heart attack. Research says wearable devices can provide a warning 3 days in advance.
Huawei Watch D3 Blood Pressure (6)

In the domain of wearable devices, we have reached a stage where they are available in a variety of form factors. You can go with a smartwatch, something a little more subtle like a smart band without a screen, or even a smart ring. And as the form factors have continued to evolve, so have the capabilities and the sensing hardware. What started with basic light-based heart rate tracking has now reached a stage where smartwatches are capable of tracking multiple metrics, such as taking electrocardiogram readings, tracking sleep, looking for signs of sleep apnea, or even detecting spikes in blood pressure levels.

Now, fresh research courtesy of the American Heart Association claims that these mass-market wearable devices can help predict episodes of dangerously high blood pressure, or hypertensive crisis, up to three days in advance. The research was conducted over a period of 12 months and involved more than 4,000 participants living with stage 2 high blood pressure.

Read more
Wear OS is borrowing your phone’s status bar so you never lose track of time
Your smartwatch is finally getting the one thing it was weirdly missing.
The Pixel Watch on a person's wrist.

If you have ever opened an app on your Wear OS smartwatch and had no idea what time it was, Google is working on a fix. In October, the company launched a Wear OS canary emulator inside Android Studio. It lets developers try out new features and design tweaks well before Google ships them to anyone’s wrist.

The biggest addition in this build is a status bar that never leaves. It lives at the top edge of your round watch face, floats above whatever app you have open, and keeps the clock and your watch’s status icons in view. 

Read more
Samsung’s first AI glasses could arrive in December, but only in two countries
Samsung's Gemini-powered glasses might be arriving a little later than expected, and most countries will have to wait even longer.
Samsung AI Glasses

Samsung's first AI-powered smart glasses are finally getting closer to store shelves. According to a new report from South Korea's ChosunBiz, the company is planning to launch its Intelligent Eyewear in mid-December, and if you're waiting to get your hands on them outside the US or South Korea, you might be disappointed.

For those catching up, we reported earlier in October that Samsung was planning a November launch. However, the latest report suggests the release has been pushed back by a few weeks. Samsung hasn't officially confirmed the new date, and there's still no word on how much the glasses will cost.

Read more