12 Little- Known Apple Watch Features You Should Start Using

Some of the apple watch’s best features and most useful controls are not obvious to the casual user

- Jason Cross

The Apple Watch is a marvel of miniaturization and can do so much. It’s no wonder it’s the most popular watch in the world. But the tiny display and simple controls don’t leave a lot of room for tutorials and explainers.

Many of the best, most useful features and controls for the Apple Watch are, not exactly hidden, but at least hard to discover.

1. TAKE SCREENSHOTS

Want to brag about that epic workout session or high score in an Apple Watch game? Taking a screenshot on your AppleWatch is simple. Just press and hold the side button and tap the digital crown (you can usually trigger it by simply tapping both buttons at once, which is easier since they're on the same side of the watch).

Your screen with flash and the screenshot will appear in your Photos library on your iPhone (and your Mac, if you're using iCloud to keep everything in sync).

First, you’ll have to enable this in the the Watch app on your iPhone. Go to my watch tab, tap General, then scroll down and toggle Enable Screenshots.

2. SWITCH TO LIST VIEW

Finding that hexagonal grid of circular, unlabeled app icons a little hard to navigate? You can switch it to a list view! Just force touch (press firmly) on the grid, and you’ll be presented with options for grid view or list view. The list view is easier is alphabetical, labeled, easier to swipe through, and has larger touch targets. Try them both to see which you prefer.

3. TURN ON FALL DETECTION

If you have an Apple Watch Series 4, it can detect when you take a hard fall and automatically notify your emergency contact, or even call emergency services if you don’t move. It’s a handy feature for everyone, but it’s only enabled by default if you’ve entered your age when setting up your Apple Watch and said you were65 or older.