It\u2019s important not to look at your wearable\u2019s small screen as a con. Extreme portability is the biggest Apple Watch pro. And it likely goes with you everywhere. Find jobs that it\u2019s good at, and you\u2019ll make your life easier.<\/p>\n
An iPhone<\/a> is portable too, obviously, but it\u2019s comparatively cumbersome. Dragging my iPhone out of my pocket just to read a reminder or a one-sentence text message, then shoving it back in my pocket, is a waste of effort when the same information is available on my wrist where I can simply glance at it.<\/p>\n I started looking for non-health-tracking ways to make my Apple Watch more useful by asking myself one simple question<\/a> \u2014 you should try it. Here are the simple things I now use the smartwatch for. If you\u2019re still doing these on your iPhone, think about switching. And none of these require adding third-party Apple Watch apps.<\/p>\n Payments, flashlight and music Apple Pay:<\/strong> I love using Apple Pay<\/a> to wirelessly pay for purchases without needing to pull out a credit card. And I love it even more now that I realize I can pay from my Apple Watch instead of my iPhone. Using the smartwatch for payments is even more convenient than a handset.<\/p>\n Flashlight:<\/strong> Whenever I need a bit more light, I use the flashlight on my Apple Watch<\/a>. It\u2019s perfect for searching for something in the back of a cabinet or reading a menu in a dim restaurant. And it doesn\u2019t require me to have a hand free to hold the light. If I\u2019m going into the woods at night, I\u2019ll bring out the much brighter iPhone flashlight, but that\u2019s about the only time.<\/p>\n Music and podcasts:<\/strong> When I\u2019m enjoying music or a podcast on my iPhone, the multimedia controls are also available on my Apple Watch. Adjusting the volume is as simple as spinning the Digital Crown \u2014 which I count as one of the major Apple Watch pros. And I can skip songs or ads embedded into podcasts right from my wrist. This is all very convenient, because I frequently listen to podcasts streaming to speakers over AirPlay<\/a> while my iPhone is charging way off in another room. My smartwatch is always with me, though.<\/p>\n Texts (and sometimes email)<\/p>\n Texts:<\/strong> It took a while, but I broke myself of the habit of always pulling out my iPhone to read texts. A 7-inch screen isn\u2019t needed to read a one-line message \u2014 a 2-inch display is fine. A quick glance is all it takes to read a text on an Apple Watch.<\/p>\n When I reply, I often pick one of the basic responses that can be sent just by touching a button, like \u201cThanks!\u201d Alternatively, I use Dictation to turn my voice into written words. No iPhone needed.<\/p>\n I occasionally even read an email on my Apple Watch. You can assign VIP status to people in Apple Mail<\/a>. I did that, and my Apple Watch alerts me when I receive an email from one of them. I generally at least glance at it on my watch, though I usually switch to the iPhone for long messages.<\/p>\n Timers, Siri and navigation<\/p>\n Timers:<\/strong> I time everything in the kitchen with my Apple Watch. It\u2019s far easier to set them up, check on them, and cancel them on my wrist than on my phone. Super-convenient timers sit at the top of my list of Apple Watch pros.<\/p>\n As for alarms, I still set them up on my phone, but watchOS<\/a> lets me cancel or snooze them on the Watch anyway because it\u2019s just that clever.<\/p>\n Siri:<\/strong> Pulling out an iPhone simply to ask Siri<\/a> a question makes little sense. Once it sank in that the voice assistant is available on my wrist by holding down the Digital Crown, that became my go-to method. Admittedly, Siri isn\u2019t the sharpest tool in the shed. But Apple\u2019s AI assistant can prove useful within its narrow limits. I utilize Siri for a range of functions, from controlling my smart home to getting sports scores \u2026 all from my wrist.<\/p>\n To combine two suggestions: setting up a 5-minute timer with Siri just requires telling it \u201c5 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n Walking directions:<\/strong> Don\u2019t overlook the fact that Apple Maps<\/a> prove just as useful on sidewalks as on streets. I use the app on my Apple Watch<\/a> to get around unfamiliar areas. I find it easier than frequently pulling out my iPhone for walking directions.<\/p>\n It also works great when driving, bicycling<\/a> or taking public transit<\/a>. The Apple Watch\u2019s haptics, which can discreetly alert you about upcoming turns, work wonders.<\/p>\n Apple Watch pros help you get more out of your wearable<\/p>\n You probably bought your Apple Watch to use it as a health and fitness tracker. But it\u2019s easy to overlook that the smartwatch can do much more. Going above and beyond health-oriented features is among the biggest Apple Watch pros.<\/p>\n Now you know what else I use my smartwatch for. I hope you\u2019ll be inspired by these suggestions to make better use of your own. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s time to break the habit of doing everything on your iPhone while overlooking what\u2019s often a better…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42625,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3160],"tags":[23869,23870,4690,1685,23871,53,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-42624","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gadgets","8":"tag-apple-maps","9":"tag-apple-pay","10":"tag-apple-watch","11":"tag-gadgets","12":"tag-siri","13":"tag-technology","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114384812449506394","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Apple-Watch-apps-1440x810.jpg\" "\\"Apple")
<\/a>Look at all those Apple Watch apps. You should use more of them.
Photo: cottonbro studio\/Pexels<\/a><\/p>\n