One of the best technological gifts of recent years is undoubtedly the Apple Watch, a watch with strap and touchscreen with interactive features so you can read messages and notifications from other applications without having to take the phone out of your bag or pocket . Like any Apple product, the smartwatch is also a good success, despite the price so high as to make one think more of a luxury object 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 pair it with an iPhone (to use it 100%), how to use it the first time and how to pair it with an Android smartphone (with limited functionality).
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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 gives its best with a paired iPhone, while with an Android smartphone the functionality is very limited.Apple Watch features
The Apple Watch is a smart watch 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 take control of each time. iPhone (with which it interfaces).
To these basic functions of any smartwatch Apple has added a system to monitor health and sports activities, integration with the most popular social apps (Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and SMS), integration with voice commands by Siri (fully functional without ever touching the iPhone), an advanced system for managing appointments and reminders and the possibility of using the Apple Pay system to pay for purchases without taking out your wallet or credit card. On models equipped with LTE module, Apple Watch allows you to make / receive calls and receive some notifications even without having the iPhone nearby, very useful if you forget your phone at home and we need to call a person urgently.
These characteristics make it one of the best smartwatches that 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, just so we can fully appreciate all the features described above.To pair the two devices we turn on Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on our iPhone, turn on the Apple Watch and bring them close enough to start the recognition by the phone.
Pressing the Continue button we will be asked to frame the Apple Watch screen 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 absence 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 (always if the installed apps provide an optimized version for the Apple smartwatch ).
The new Watch app will also appear on our iPhone, 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 directly pair the Apple Watch to Android, but with a little trick it will still be possible to obtain some features on the 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 fundamental, so as to match the data network of our SIM to the network that will also take advantage of Apple Watch. Once paired, we turn off the iPhone, remove the SIM card and insert it into the Android smartphone.
When the Android smartphone is turned on, the data exchange will start between the phone and the Apple Watch via the cellular network . Thanks to this little trick we will be able to make and receive calls (non-international), receive call notifications from the Android smartphone, send messages to friends (via iMessage) and receive notifications from the apps already installed on the Watch (it will not depend on the apps on the phone Android).
At the moment these are the only features offered by the Apple Watch when combined "indirectly" with an Android smartphone, awaiting official support from Apple.
NOTE : only Apple Watches sold as GPS + Cellular, i.e. with native support to the cellular data network, are indirectly compatible with Android. GPS-only models 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 the actions that can be performed with the physical side buttons, so that you can immediately become familiar with the functions offered by the smartwatch.
As for the touch screen, the gestures are as follows:
- Short touch : tapping briefly on the screen we will select an element, exactly like the classic tap on the smartphone;
- Long touch : Apple Watch senses the intensity of pressure on the small screen. By long pressing on the screen we can change the clock face or, if performed within an App, view the specific settings;
- Drag : dragging on the screen we will scroll on the displayed content, such as on a web page or on the chat of WhatsApp or Telegram;
- Scroll : By scrolling in the other directions of the screen, we will be able to view other screens of the same app (if available).
- Digital crown : looks like the classic watch wheel, but has many features! Just press it once to return to the smartwach homepage, twice to return to the latest app or we can hold it down to use Siri. By turning the wheel we can scroll or zoom based on the app in which we find ourselves.
- Quick key : this key can be pressed to view recent or favorite apps; holding it down activates the SOS function (call and emergency message), while pressing it twice will allow us to activate Apple Pay for quick payments.
Conclusions
The Apple Watches have raised a category of very beautiful but little "understood" technological products, thanks to a decidedly attractive design, increasingly innovative functions and features worthy of a true "watch of the future".Pairing it with iPhone is extremely simple, just as it is easy to learn how to manage it right away. The only disappointing aspect is the poor support for Android smartphones, where the pairing is only indirect, effectively limiting the functionality of the Apple smartwatch.
Those interested can order the Apple Watch online or book it online and then buy it in an Apple Store by choosing and trying out the different straps.
If we are looking for a smartwatch compatible with both Android and iPhone, we suggest you read our guide on Which smartwatch to buy: buying guide .
If instead we do not want to spend all that money but we are still looking for a smart bracelet for notifications and to monitor our physical activity, we recommend you read our articles on Mi Band 4, from Xiaomi, the cheapest FitBand smartwatch for only 35 Euros and Get back in shape with the App and fitness bracelets to monitor physical activities .
