40 Apple Watch tips and tricks I wish I knew sooner on watchOS 27

I’ve owned and used Apple Watch long enough to think I knew most of its tricks. Then watchOS 27 arrived, changing the interface in several small but meaningful ways.

The new dynamic app grid, one-handed Smart Stack controls, Siri AI, smarter suggestions, and the redesigned Find My experience are easy to miss if you simply update and continue using the watch the way you did before.

Here are the Apple Watch tips and tricks I think are actually worth knowing.

1. Use Single Tap to control Smart Stack with one hand

This is probably my favorite small watchOS 27 trick.

Apple added a Single Tap gesture that lets you select a Smart Stack widget without touching the screen.

From the watch face:

1. Perform a Double Tap to open Smart Stack.
2. Double-tap again to move through the widgets.
3. When you reach the widget you want, perform a Single Tap to open it.
4. You can also use a single tap to select certain buttons inside a widget, such as Play or Pause.
5. Perform a wrist flick to return to the watch face.

After testing, I realized how useful it is when my other hand is occupied. For example, when you’re carrying something, cooking, walking, or simply don’t want to touch the screen, you can navigate Smart Stack with your fingers on the same wrist.

2. Let Smart Stack predict what you need

I used to think of Smart Stack as just a collection of widgets. watchOS 27 changed the way I think about it.

Smart Stack can now surface suggestions based on things such as your time of day, location, and recent activity.

For example, your watch may surface:

• A workout suggestion around your usual workout time
• Your parked car location
• A birthday reminder
• A travel card
• A relevant Live Activity
• Other information based on your routine

When the watch thinks something is immediately useful, it can even tap your wrist and show a small suggestion at the bottom of the watch face. Tap the suggestion to open Smart Stack.

Thus, you don’t have to remember where everything is.

3. Pin your most important Smart Stack widgets

There’s a simple way to stop your favorite Smart Stack widgets from getting lost.

Open Smart Stack → scroll to the bottom → tap Edit.

From here, you can:

• Add widgets
• Remove widgets
• Pin widgets
• Rearrange pinned widgets
• Customize certain widgets

I recommend pinning only the things you genuinely check throughout the day.

For example, I would rather have Weather, Calendar, Battery, Reminders, or Home controls immediately available than fill Smart Stack with widgets I rarely open.

4. Try the new dynamic app grid

This is one of the biggest navigation changes in watchOS 27.

Press the Digital Crown to open the Home Screen.

Instead of simply treating the app grid as a static collection of icons, watchOS 27 now uses a dynamic app grid that highlights Siri-suggested apps, including apps you use frequently and recently. The Siri app remains in the center.

This makes the Home Screen feel less like a tiny iPhone and more like a launcher that adapts to how I use my watch.

You can still touch and hold an app to rearrange it.

5. Use Siri AI for more than timers and weather

For years, I mostly used Siri on Apple Watch for simple commands like “Set a timer,” “What’s the weather?” or “Start a workout.”

Siri AI in watchOS 27 makes the assistant considerably more interesting. On supported devices, Siri AI can understand more natural requests, use personal context, answer broader questions, and take actions in supported apps.

You can ask things such as:

• “What’s on my calendar today?”
• “Set my Move goal to 600 calories.”
• “Find the information about my flight.”
• “Start directions home.”
• “Play the music I was listening to earlier.”

Siri AI is still marked as a beta feature, and availability depends on your Apple Watch, paired iPhone, language, and region.

6. Revisit previous Siri conversations

watchOS 27 adds a dedicated Siri app where you can view previous conversations, continue them, or start a new one. That makes Siri feel less like a one-question-at-a-time assistant.

If you started something on another Apple device, the conversation can also be available across devices when the relevant iCloud features are enabled.

For someone who uses Siri frequently, this is much more useful than having every interaction disappear as soon as the answer is given.

7. Get useful information while you’re on a business call

watchOS 27 introduces Call Context, which can surface relevant information from your apps while you’re calling a business.

Imagine calling an airline. Instead of switching between apps to find your reservation or confirmation code, your Apple Watch can surface relevant information from Mail when appropriate.

It’s a small feature, but this is exactly where I think a smartwatch makes sense: giving me information at the moment I need it without making me dig through my phone.

8. Use Live Activities from your wrist

Live Activities can now make the Apple Watch more useful for ongoing events.

The Smart Stack can show real-time information for supported activities such as:

• Workouts
• Timers
• Other supported app activities

Instead of repeatedly opening an app to check what’s happening, you can glance at the Live Activity or tap it for more information.

If you don’t want Live Activities appearing automatically, you can manage them from: Settings → Smart Stack → Live Activities

9. Customize Control Center properly

The Control Center on your Apple Watch gives you quick access to certain functions, such as activating silent mode, toggling on Airplane mode and more. While the default Control Center does its job pretty well, you can customize it by rearranging, adding, or removing the control icons.

1. Press the side button to open Control Center.
2. Scroll to the bottom → tap Edit.
3. Now you can:
   • Rearrange controls
   • Add controls
   • Remove controls
     

You can also add supported controls from apps such as Home, Notes, Reminders, and Shortcuts.

10. Turn on Water Lock before swimming

This is one of those features I knew about but didn’t fully appreciate until I actually needed it.

When you’re swimming or doing a water-based workout, turn on Water Lock. You can access it through Control Center.

Water Lock prevents accidental screen interactions while you’re in the water.

When you’re finished, press and hold the Digital Crown to unlock the watch. Your Apple Watch will play sounds to help eject water from the speaker.

11. Use the wrist flick when your hands are full

This is another watchOS gesture that quickly became one of my favorites.

Quickly turn your wrist away from you and back.

Depending on what you’re doing, the Wrist Flick gesture can:

• Dismiss notifications
• Silence an incoming call
• Stop a timer
• Return to the watch face
• Dismiss other alerts

It’s especially useful when I’m carrying something and don’t have a free hand.

12. Cover the display to mute an alert

If you don’t want to use Wrist Flick, there’s an older trick that’s still incredibly handy.

When your Apple Watch starts ringing or making an alert sound, simply place the palm of your other hand over the display. The watch will mute the alert.

You can check the setting under: Settings → Gestures → Cover to Mute

I like this because it feels almost instinctive when I’m in a meeting.

13. Double Tap can do much more than answer calls

If you have a compatible Apple Watch, the Double Tap gesture lets you tap your index finger and thumb together twice to perform supported actions.

Depending on the situation, you can use it to:

• Answer or end calls
• Reply to messages
• Scroll through supported apps
• Scroll through Smart Stack
• Snooze an alarm
• Stop a timer
• Control media
• Take a photo using Camera Remote
• Record a voice memo
• Pause or resume a stopwatch

However, note that Double Tap and Single Tap aren’t the same thing. Double Tap handles common actions, while Single Tap can select a Smart Stack widget.

14. Make your watch face work harder

I used to choose watch faces based mostly on how they looked. Now I choose them based on how much information they can give me without opening an app.

Touch and hold your current watch face → swipe left or right → tap Add to choose another face. When customizing it, think carefully about your complications.

I prefer complications for things I check frequently:

• Weather
• Calendar
• Battery
• Activity
• Workout
• Music
• Timers
• Reminders
• Maps

A good watch face should reduce the number of times you need to open an app.

15. Try the Siri Modular watch face

watchOS 27 also introduces the Siri Modular watch face.

It is designed around quick access to Siri and includes a large complication area that can surface information from Smart Stack.

If you use Siri regularly, this is one of the watch faces I’d try instead of simply sticking with whichever face you have always used.

16. Make the Always On display work for you

If your Apple Watch supports Always On, you don’t have to choose between keeping it enabled and showing everything while your wrist is down.

1. Go to Settings → Display & Brightness → Always On.
2. You can manage which information is visible when the display is dimmed, including complications, notifications, and Live Activities, depending on your model and settings.
   

I prefer customizing this rather than automatically switching Always On off.

17. Quickly switch between your last two apps

This remains one of the fastest Apple Watch shortcuts.

1. Double-click the Digital Crown.
2. Your watch switches between the current app and the previous app.

It’s particularly useful when you’re bouncing between two apps, for example, Messages and Music or Workout and another app.

If you need the full App Switcher rather than simply jumping between two apps, double-click the Digital Crown to open it. From there, you can browse your recently used apps and tap the one you need. It’s much quicker than going back to the Home Screen every time.

18. Remove apps you never use

Most people don’t need every compatible iPhone app sitting on their Apple Watch.

1. Press the Digital Crown.
2. Find the app and touch and hold it.
3. Tap the Delete button when available.

You can also delete apps through the Watch app on your iPhone. Go to Watch app → My Watch. Then manage which apps appear on your watch.

I prefer keeping only the apps that make sense on a small screen.

19. Use the Digital Crown to view the time discreetly

Let’s say you are in a dark environment, like a movie theatre or during meetings, where you don’t want to disturb others with a bright screen when checking the time.

In such cases, you can slowly rotate the Digital Crown upwards while your watch is in sleep mode, and the screen will gradually brighten, showing the time without fully illuminating.

Stop rotating the Digital Crown once the screen is illuminated enough to check the time. Leave the Digital Crown, and the display will automatically dim, or rotate the Digital Crown downwards to dim it manually.

20. Increase the text size when reading feels uncomfortable

If the text on your Apple Watch feels too small, don’t just squint at it.

1. Go to Settings → Display & Brightness → Text Size
2. Adjust the slider until the text feels comfortable.
   

You can also use the Watch app on iPhone to manage display-related settings.

21. Have Apple Watch announce the time

Wake the display and place two fingers on the watch face. The Apple Watch can announce the time aloud.

If it doesn’t work, check Settings → Clock → Speak Time. Alternatively, you can use a tap to hear the time.

I particularly like this when I’m cooking or working and don’t want to stop what I’m doing just to look at the screen.

22. Get a gentle chime every 15, 30, or 60 minutes

If you like having a subtle reminder of time passing, Apple Watch can play a chime at regular intervals.

1. Go to Settings → Accessibility → Chimes.
2. Turn on Chimes.
3. Then choose a schedule such as:
   • Every 15 minutes
   • Every 30 minutes
   • Every hour
4. You can also choose the sound.
   

I wouldn’t recommend this for everyone, but if you work in timed blocks or simply like a periodic reminder, it’s surprisingly useful.

23. Keep two time zones on your wrist

This is one of the Apple Watch features I think more people should know about.

If you regularly deal with people in another country, travel frequently, or simply need to keep an eye on another time zone, use the GMT watch face.

1. On your iPhone: Watch app → Face Gallery → GMT
2. Add it to your Apple Watch.
3. The inner portion shows your local time, while the outer ring can show another time zone.
   

You can rotate the Digital Crown to change the selected city.

To add a city of your choice, go to the World Clock section of the iPhone Clock app. Now add the city here. After that, it will appear in the list of cities added to the GMT watch face.

I find this particularly useful when working with people in another country. I can glance at my wrist before sending a message instead of doing the time-zone calculation in my head.

24. Set your Apple Watch a few minutes ahead

I actually like setting a traditional watch five minutes ahead, and the Apple Watch lets me do the same.

1. Go to Settings → Clock → +0 min.
2. Tap +0 min and increase it by 1 to 59 minutes, as desired.
3. Finally, tap Set.
   

The important part is that this changes the displayed time, not the actual system time.

So if I set it five minutes ahead, the watch face might show 10:05 when the actual time is 10:00, but alarms, notifications, and other time-based functions continue using the actual time.

25. Use the Apple Watch keyboard when you need to type

On compatible Apple Watch models, you can type directly on the display using the built-in keyboard.

Open an app such as Messages or Mail and tap a text field.

You can:

• Tap individual letters
• Swipe across letters using QuickPath
• Use dictation
• Add emoji

For anything longer than a sentence, I still prefer dictation. But for short replies, the keyboard is much more useful than I expected. You can also send a Tapback and share/forward the message from your watch.

26. Dictate messages instead of typing them

If typing on the small screen isn’t your thing, tap the microphone and dictate your response.

Depending on the app and message interface, you can send the transcription as text or use an audio message.

I use dictation when I’m walking or when the keyboard feels like more effort than the message itself.

27. Take a screenshot of your Apple Watch

Need to capture what’s on your Apple Watch display? You can quickly take a screenshot on the Apple Watch.

1. Press the Digital Crown and side button simultaneously.
2. The screenshot is saved to the Photos app on your paired iPhone.

If screenshots aren’t working, check Settings → General → Screenshots and make sure the screenshot feature is enabled.

This is particularly useful when you’re writing a tutorial or want to share a particular watch screen with someone.

28. Use Apple Watch as a flashlight

Many of you might not know that your Apple Watch’s screen can function as a Flashlight when needed.

1. Press the side button and tap Flashlight.
2. The display becomes bright white.
3. You can swipe to access different modes, including a red light mode.
   

It won’t replace your iPhone flashlight for serious illumination, but it’s excellent for finding something beside the bed or walking through a dark room.

29. Find your iPhone from your wrist

If you’ve misplaced your iPhone, you can use your Apple Watch to locate it using the Ping My iPhone feature.

1. Open Control Center and tap Ping iPhone.
2. Your iPhone will make a sound so you can find it.

If you own an iPhone 15 and Apple Watch Series 9 or a later model, you can also view the exact distance between the two devices.

30. Find people, devices, and AirTags from one app

watchOS 27 consolidates Find Devices, Find People, and Find Items into the Find My app.

Open Find My on your Apple Watch to access the things you need to locate. The new map-focused experience makes it easier to see where people, devices, and items are.

This is a nice example of a watchOS 27 change that isn’t flashy but makes the Apple Watch feel more coherent.

31. Check your AirPods battery from your wrist

If your AirPods are connected, you can check their battery from your Apple Watch.

1. Open Control Center and tap the battery percentage.
2. Depending on your connected devices, you’ll see additional battery information.

I use this before leaving the house because it’s much easier than opening the iPhone just to check whether my earbuds have enough charge.

Also read: How to check iPhone battery percentage on Apple Watch

32. Use Apple Watch as an iPhone camera remote

This is one of my favorite practical Apple Watch features.

Open Camera Remote on your Apple Watch. Your iPhone camera opens, and the watch gives you a preview and shutter control.

It’s great for:

• Group photos
• Selfies
• Trip photos
• Long-distance shots
• Photos where you want the iPhone completely steady

The best part is that you don’t need to run back to the phone after setting up the shot.

33. Transfer an Apple Watch call to your iPhone

Sometimes answering a call on the Apple Watch is convenient.

But a five-minute call can suddenly become a 30-minute conversation. When that happens, transfer the call to your iPhone rather than holding your wrist next to your face.

Answer the call on your Apple Watch, then use the option to transfer the audio to your iPhone.

It’s one of those features that makes more sense once you’ve actually been stuck in a long call on your wrist.

34. Use Workout Buddy during your workouts

Workout Buddy is one of the more interesting Apple Intelligence additions to Apple Watch.

It can provide motivational feedback and insights based on your workout, including information about:

• Pace
• Distance
• Workout duration
• Progress

On supported setups, Workout Buddy can also work when your paired iPhone isn’t nearby, as long as your Apple Watch has Wi-Fi or cellular connectivity.

For runners, this is one of the watchOS features worth trying.

35. Get better treadmill distance tracking

If you’ve ever looked down at your Apple Watch after a treadmill workout and wondered why the distance doesn’t match the treadmill, watchOS 27 has a useful improvement.

Apple has updated its distance calculations for treadmill walking and running. The Workout app can now calculate indoor distance more accurately from the beginning of a workout.

So if you regularly run indoors, make sure you’re running the latest watchOS before assuming the watch’s distance estimates are hopelessly inaccurate.

36. Use Apple Watch for transit and payments

Apple Watch can be used for Apple Pay wherever supported.

In supported cities, you can also use eligible transit cards and payment methods for public transportation, such as metro, train, and bus rides. The real convenience comes from not having to pull your iPhone out of your pocket every time you need to tap.

Availability depends on your country, transit system, card, and bank.

37. Keep track of your sleep automatically

Apple Watch can track sleep and help you establish a consistent sleep routine.

The important part is setting up your sleep schedule properly and wearing the watch to bed.

Once configured, the watch can automatically collect your sleep information instead of requiring you to manually start tracking every night.

I think this is one of the Apple Watch features where consistency matters much more than constantly checking the data.

38. Use the Apple Watch for directions

The traveler, hiker, or biker in you will love this little feature. Apple Watch has the Compass app, which allows you to see directions straight on your wrist. Furthermore, you can even get cycling directions on your Apple Watch using Apple Maps.

39. Unlock your Mac with your Apple Watch

If you use both a Mac and Apple Watch, you can enable automatic unlocking.

Once configured, your Mac can recognize your nearby Apple Watch and authenticate you without requiring you to type your password every time. It can also help with authentication for supported macOS actions, such as approving payments.

This is one of those features I barely notice when it’s working, and immediately miss when I use a Mac without it.

40. Use Apple Watch as a tiny second screen for your iPhone

The Apple Watch isn’t supposed to replace your iPhone. It’s supposed to save you from reaching for it.

Use the watch for the things that benefit from being immediate:

• Check a notification
• Start or stop a workout
• Check the weather
• Find your iPhone
• Check a boarding pass
• Control music
• Check a timer
• See a Live Activity
• Answer a short message
• Ask Siri something
• Control your smart home
• Take a photo remotely
• Find an AirTag
• Check another time zone

The more I use it this way, the less I feel the need to turn the Apple Watch into a miniature iPhone.

Bottom line

The Apple Watch can do much more than show notifications, track workouts, and tell the time. With watchOS 27, there are even more small features and shortcuts that can make it more useful in everyday life.

I’d suggest trying a few of these tips and keeping the ones that fit into your routine. You don’t need to use every feature; just finding a few shortcuts that save you time can make a big difference.

Which Apple Watch trick did you discover for the first time while reading this list?