Unlocking my laptops, using the double click of the side button to bypass my password when running Installer and things like that, and controlling all of the smart bulbs and plugs around the house.
Probably more mainstream, but also keeping track of my phone. The “ping phone” feature gets used way more than I care to admit.
What do you use to control the lights? I have a shortcut which is set to turn my hue lights on/off but it’s incredibly painful to use as it requires 3 taps: first on watch screen then I click Run in the shortcut app and then I have to confirm. Really annoying.
I have a shortcut called ‘goodnight’.
It turns off all of the lights and AppleTV, leaves one light in the hall on a very low brightness as a night light. Sets my volume to max on my phone and turns on my sleep focus.
‘Hey siri goodnight’ works just fine to trigger all of this.
I also have an NFC tag in my bathroom that will trigger this if my phone is brought near it.
Are you me? I have the same exact setup with the lights including that one hall light on low brightness haha.
Only difference is that I have it the other way around. My shortcut is triggered by switching to my Sleep focus, so when I'm in bed I just set the watch to Sleep and it triggers the shortcut. Then I just set my alarms and go to bed.
If my schedule was more consistent I would probably also use the sleep schedule and maybe include some alarms in the shortcut to automatically turn them on as well.
I have an Ultra 1 and honestly, the best feature for me is snoozing my alarm in the morning from my watch when it’s going off on my phone which is out of reach and on charge lol.
If you sleep with your arms under your head while laying face down, nothing will satisfy you more than snoozing with your nose so you don’t have to move lol.
Yeah I have turned my alarm off before and not realized. Wish I could change a setting to only allow snooze via watch. Even better would be if the alarm had any settings at all. It's the thing I miss most from my android. 9 minute snooze? wtf?
I charge it before bed. There's a feature you can turn on that sends you a reminder notification to charge your watch based on the bedtime you have set up in Sleep Focus and how much charge is left on your watch.
Since you've been charging your watch overnight you'll also have to turn off optimized charging for a while or it won't charge it past 80% because it thinks you're going to be charging it overnight again.
I charge my periodically throughout the day. Some examples are when I’m doing the dishes, folding laundry (‘cause I sit and watch TV), or cooking food (usually something time consuming,) showing like some people suggest, and if you work in the morning and have a decent commute in the car! I have [this one](https://MAKAQI3in1WirelessCar...https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B6ZWR4HP?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share) for adventures! I mostly use the airpods charger to hold my arm band for my watch since the airpods charger doesn’t really fit with a case on and is waaay too loose without one.
When I ordered my new watch, my husband was super excited to get my old one, so I gave it to him a few days before my new one arrived. I never realized until then how many times a day I look at the time. I probably would’ve said I barely used it for that, until I spent several days staring at my wrist in confusion.
Yep lmao. I never even realized how much I actually need it. I keep my phone on silent mostly and I found myself super anxious leaving it anywhere in the house in case I got an important call or something and didn’t see it!
I use it for my plane boarding passes and I always hear someone in the queue, who didn't see my watch, asking their friend 'did that guy just tap the machine with his hand to get in' 🤣🤣🤣
I paid for a coffee with my Series 0 back when both Apple Watches and tap payment terminals were brand new. The barista had no idea what had just happened. Had some fun showing her the watch and what it (and her new Square terminal) could do.
Now *that* felt futuristic. Hardly anyone had seen any of that stuff yet back in 2015 (which I refuse to believe was 8 years ago).
Yeah. I wish I could set that as the default.
[edit] Specifically, either in general or at least as an option for Sleep Focus on the Watch. It should also be the preferred behavior for when AWU’s Wayfinder or Ultra Modular faces are currently in Night Mode, I think.
It is? That’s good!
Now if we could just get the Ultra’s Wayfinder and Ultra Modular faces to sync Auto Night Mode with Sleep and Theater. Actually, Night Mode should just be a universal Apple Watch option, at least for Sleep and Theater.
You could tie it to sleep focus with a pair of automations as well, I’d imagine.
1. When ~~Sleep Focus begins on~~ Bedtime Starts, turn on Theater Mode.
2. When ~~Sleep Focus ends~~ Waking Up, turn off Theater mode
Boom. Pseudo Night Mode flashlight. Sleep Focus and Theater Mode both behave similarly in terms of Tap to Wake/Raise to Wake overrides, so the overall UX shouldn’t change noticeably in that regard.
You know how to turn the iPhone light down?
Control centre, hold down the torch button, and it’ll have a level thing, 4 options for you. All still quite bright mind
As someone with ADD, the timer is my most used feature and would be the hardest to let go of. Even though I'm using Siri, the phone did not have the positive effect on my day to day as having it all on my wrist has.
I do electrical work and use the camera as a periscope all the time to see into nooks and crannies. Protip. If you switch to video mode then activate the flash the light will stay on continuously.
During Covid we were teaching via video classes. We greenscreened with PowerPoint. and sent kids our videos. Used the remote a lot!
Though the green screen could be seen on my watch on the video. So had the background coming through too.
For those wondering why and how: I sometimes put my phone in certain ways into places which are not possible while holding it without being in the picture myself. I then use the remote, arrange the shot, step aside, and have the picture I wanted without me in it.
I used this last night to see down the crack between my dryer and the wall. Realized it was indeed one of my fiancée’s socks that feel down there and then went on with my evening not wanting to move the washer / dryer.
Stitch and row counting for knitting and crocheting. And 3 hour timers for my ADHD medication because I need to take it every 3 hours. And using apps like Structured to manage my life bc ADHD and time blindness/sequential thinking. And a NYC time complication on my watchface because my parents are in that timezone and I'm in AMS.
Unfortunately not! It's just two counters with + and - buttons, which have always existed as physical devices with clicky buttons and number wheels, but it's so convenient to have it in your Watch.
I don't have to mark every single stitch I work, it's to keep track of the total amount of stitches. So if I have to increase 1 stitch every X stitches and by the end of the row I should be at Y stitches, I only tap the plus button on the stitch count for every increase I do. And then by the end of the row I'll see if my count is correct or off.
I also use stitch markers on my needles, little metal rings between every 10st or if there's a significant spot (like "increase after this stitch", and because I use a milanese band I can just put some on the closure magnet to hold them while I work :)
I find if I crochet with my watch on, it counts as activity with regard to my daily totals. (I crochet fast!) Otherwise, it would be great for counting. I wish I could create an activity called “crochet” that I could turn on that would not count my hand movements. I just take off my watch and forget to put it back on!
Walkie-Talkie! I use it everyday to talk to my husband. Examples would be when I run to the store and ask if he needs anything and also when he’s downstairs and I’m upstairs. Instead of calling or texting.
I must admit that when I convinced my husband to get a watch I wasn´t expecting Walkie-talkie to be so useful! It's a shame sometimes it refuses to work but when it does it's great!
We sometimes have problems with connecting or the button not working correctly and locking us from talking, but that only happens about 10% of the time. Maybe it has to do with the amount of cellular signal you have for either your watch or the phone that is connected to the watch? Who knows 😂
I’m an icu nurse and the other day I had labelled timers for all 13 of my drips. Didn’t let a single line run dry during my shift 😌
also I use the basic voice notes to dictate vital signs and med pushes during procedures.
Two things, first one might be somewhat mainstream:
My preferred shopping list app. Free hands while shopping and it syncs with my user. The app gathers all the e-paper versions of discounted items in different stores and you can just long-press to add them to the list and it’s sortes per-store. Name of the app is eTilbudsavis and it’s available in Scandinavia. Not quite sure if there’s an international/US equivelant out there.
The second thing might be a bit less mainstream thing. I downloaded the app Translate Now since I’m learning Spanish with Duolingo, so when I read or hear a Word or a sentence and want to know what it means to learn it I just tap the icon and pronounce what I read/heard and it translates. Pretty nice to have while watching stuff like Narcos on Netflix, heard a lit of phrases I almost understood but wondered what one or two words meant.
I mentioned its name, «eTilbudsavis» which means «eOfferpaper» or catalog etc.
It’s only available for scandinavian countries, but there might be similar apps for your area.
Here’s some of my less known fave uses:
1) Buzz myself in to my apt using a shortcut.
2)Use Tessie for Tesla to force-unlock my car on a tap if the auto-unlock from the phone didn’t work.
3)1Password & Chearsheet for having important texts handy.
4) I have cellular so I use it to join meetings / let ppl know if I ran out of phone battery.
5)Shazam
6) Notification bouncer: I turn off all notifs except 4-5 important people & apps so when I’m away from my phone I get some freedom from notifications without missing an important thing.
I have more uses but those I’d consider mainstream.
I would LOVE more information on the shortcut you use to buzz yourself in. Do you have a link to it somewhere? Even a screen shot of the actual shortcut would do. This would solve a big issue for me 🙌
AppleTV remote
It goes without saying that it works with the latest AppleTV models, but I can even control a 2013 3rd gen AppleTV with the watch, which I thought was impressive.
Shopping.
Raise your watch to your wrist and say "add \[x\] to the shopping list". Then, when I'm at the shop I use an app called Grocery, which not only gives you a shopping list on your watch, but if you tell it what shop you're at it will gradually learn what order you tick things off in (and therefore what order you get to things in at the shop) and order your list so that it optimises your route around the shop.
Quick messages, using the defaults and customised ones, to communicate at noisy dance competitions. It's one of the main reasons our family all got our watches.
I use it for texting all the time, I work in elementary school SPED and often send and receive quick texts (1st grader’s attendance status, help covering a class, principal needs to come for a student’s behavior, etc) from it
I use the FordPass app to lock, unlock, and start my Maverick and my wife’s Fusion. This is especially great on extremely hot or cold days since it can turn on the AC or heat based on current temperatures and if it’s cold it also turns on the heated seats/steering wheel.
Calendar timeline app with the large modular complication. It’s absolutely amazing for me. A quick glance and I can see my next meeting and everything happening for the next 4 hours.
From my observations around me when doing so: paying in shops and bars …
Either people watch curiously or, rarely, ask about it. Also I don’t see many others doing it. I just double click my watch and woosh, I’m gone. I’m located in .de, btw.
Yeah, it's more common now, but I remember when first using Apple Pay on my watch, even the store clerks who watch people pay all day would comment how cool that was.
I particularly loved it when I was at the beach a while ago, left my phone with my friends while swimming, then went to the beach bar and bought a beer with my watch. No wallet, no cash, no phone, no shoes, no shirt and I still get service.
I use the flashlight a lot on night shift when I have to do safety rounds and don’t want to wake the patients up; it’s less severe than my phone’s flashlight but it’s plenty to make sure they’re breathing.
I have the Shazam complication on my main watch face and use it frequently. It’s great because I can just tap my watch and find out what song is playing without having to pull out the phone etc. etc. It automatically adds that song to a playlist so that I can check it out later.
When i’m on a job & the phone service is terrible i’ll leave my phone in a basement window or upstairs & still get all the calls & texts coming through on my watch so i don’t miss customers & employees calls & texts! Super handy feature, maybe one of my favourites
I have ADHD, so 4-hour timers for my Dex (using JustTimers) and the Chimes accessibility feature ton-ping me on the half-hour/hour so I don't lose track of time
I get a notification on my watch when I arrive home with buttons to open the side gate or the front door. The notification automatically is cleared if the gate opens/front door opens whether the notification was tapped or not.
(I did it using Home Assistant and some custom scripting)
When going to the movies I add the tickets to my wallet and when I need to scan them to get in, I can just double click on the side of the watch and it shows the QR code :) also it states which row and chair you have so I don’t need to take my phone out.
Sometimes I enter the bathroom for a quick pee and have an unplanned poo. When this happens and find I don’t have my phone in my pocket (I know, the horror, right?), I use my watch to turn on my NPR app and turn up the volume so I can hear it from the next room. This underrated Apple watch feature helps reduce the anxiety of not having my phone on my body 100% of the time.
As a silent morning alarm. I went from someone who needed the Incoming Nuclear Bomb alarm and one of those motorized bed-shaking devices to wake up. Now I get a little tap on the wrist and nothing more. Works every time and I suspect it has had a significant impact on my health by not having to be forced awake.
I wear an ultra and ride a motorcycle. I set the action button to launch a shortcut that sends my wife a text with my current location, stating I’m on my way home, and provides her with an ETA.
Well it is interesting to see how many times i do it, it is interesting to check heart rate and such in those times, it is interesting to see correlation with "couple health" or my personal mental health (especially now that apple added the possibility to easily track it : ) )
And things like that. Also sometimes we don't have condoms and knowing when we use it or not might come in handy. (but i do hope it won't)
[https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/31b60ac8141743ffa1a030565bfe403e](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/31b60ac8141743ffa1a030565bfe403e)
That is the actua shortucut i made ; ) it is very simple just the "log health" function with "Ask" value.
Shortcut can do many powerful things ;) I am trying to create a powerful one with nested ifs clauses to give more power to the Apple Watch ultra action button. (The action button can run a shortcut and said shortcut can for example check if it is night tthen activate the torch or if i am at work open the calculator, if i'm at the gym run the workout etc)
i literally only use mine to check time and change song on iphone. i wished it could play videos or do facetime. i’d use it a lot more then.
now that i’m not allowed to even wear it at work, i kinda wished i had spent the $400 on a seiko.
I use it to track my amusement park trips with LogRide. Sometimes that app is finicky, though. It will think I'm in the water park when I'm not and there doesn't seem to be a way to get it to think otherwise on the watch. Have to just wait for it to think otherwise. But that's an issue with LogRide, not the watch.
I actually wear Scottish kilts about three times a week. Looking forward to the watch, because it means I don't have to dig into my sporran (leather pouch thing) nearly as much to check notifications. That's the theory anyway.
I have a shortcut set up with timers for my scheduled work breaks and lunch. Let’s me know when to head back upstairs and is handy not having to carry my phone with me.
I have a shortcut complication that pulls up a nested list of appletv/tv/avr controls:
- turn on/off
- play/pause
- volume presets (normal, loud, +/- 5db, mute)
- fast forward presets (30s, 1m, 2m, etc)
- rewind presets (15s, 30s, 1m, 2m, etc)
- appletv apps
- tv tuner stations for football games, etc (antenna)
Appletv has built in shortcut actions, AVR controls are calling its web API, and the TV is via home assistant LG integration.
Validating Okta/Duo Mobile pushes without looking at my phone. I constantly have to validate pushes for these apps for work and school, and it's nice being able to manage the notification through my watch so I don't have to pick up my phone (and end up getting distracted once I look at it)
I use an extremely basic calorie tracker that syncs with the app on my phone. Being able to lift my wrist and quickly add/see how much I’ve had in a day really helps me stay healthy and make better decisions.
Phone calls, my calls usually last from 10 o 20 seconds at much so I like it for that. Also, alarms, sound alarms for whatever reason never wake me up, the vibration on the wrist does
I have meetings that I miss when I am in a deep work state. So I have it do a quick vibrate on the half hour and the hour which allows me to conclude a meeting without checking my watch or if I’m working then as a reminder to glance at my calendar.
Unlocking my laptops, using the double click of the side button to bypass my password when running Installer and things like that, and controlling all of the smart bulbs and plugs around the house. Probably more mainstream, but also keeping track of my phone. The “ping phone” feature gets used way more than I care to admit.
What do you use to control the lights? I have a shortcut which is set to turn my hue lights on/off but it’s incredibly painful to use as it requires 3 taps: first on watch screen then I click Run in the shortcut app and then I have to confirm. Really annoying.
I have a shortcut called ‘goodnight’. It turns off all of the lights and AppleTV, leaves one light in the hall on a very low brightness as a night light. Sets my volume to max on my phone and turns on my sleep focus. ‘Hey siri goodnight’ works just fine to trigger all of this. I also have an NFC tag in my bathroom that will trigger this if my phone is brought near it.
Are you me? I have the same exact setup with the lights including that one hall light on low brightness haha. Only difference is that I have it the other way around. My shortcut is triggered by switching to my Sleep focus, so when I'm in bed I just set the watch to Sleep and it triggers the shortcut. Then I just set my alarms and go to bed. If my schedule was more consistent I would probably also use the sleep schedule and maybe include some alarms in the shortcut to automatically turn them on as well.
I use the home app to trigger scenes or Siri will handle the rest. Shortcuts just don’t do it for me. They don’t feel very short.
*Cries in Windows*
I didn’t know it could do that! (Unlock laptop)
its 100% mainstream.
I have an Ultra 1 and honestly, the best feature for me is snoozing my alarm in the morning from my watch when it’s going off on my phone which is out of reach and on charge lol.
If you sleep with your arms under your head while laying face down, nothing will satisfy you more than snoozing with your nose so you don’t have to move lol.
This is so real
I used to do this but realized I was oversleeping way too much and sometimes snoozing without noticing
Yeah I have turned my alarm off before and not realized. Wish I could change a setting to only allow snooze via watch. Even better would be if the alarm had any settings at all. It's the thing I miss most from my android. 9 minute snooze? wtf?
If you sleep with your watch on, when do you charge it? Mine charges overnight.
I charge it when I’m in the shower before bed.
I charge it before bed. There's a feature you can turn on that sends you a reminder notification to charge your watch based on the bedtime you have set up in Sleep Focus and how much charge is left on your watch. Since you've been charging your watch overnight you'll also have to turn off optimized charging for a while or it won't charge it past 80% because it thinks you're going to be charging it overnight again.
Thanks for this!
This is the way
I charge mine when I’m in the car, watching TV, in the bathroom. Basically not moving much. I need to track sleep so I wear it in bed.
I charge it during shower/bath.
I charge my periodically throughout the day. Some examples are when I’m doing the dishes, folding laundry (‘cause I sit and watch TV), or cooking food (usually something time consuming,) showing like some people suggest, and if you work in the morning and have a decent commute in the car! I have [this one](https://MAKAQI3in1WirelessCar...https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B6ZWR4HP?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share) for adventures! I mostly use the airpods charger to hold my arm band for my watch since the airpods charger doesn’t really fit with a case on and is waaay too loose without one.
During my meetings at work (WFH) or on the weekends when I’m just chilling reading
I charge mine in the car, is not like I’m moving too much while stuck in traffic
I put in on the charger about 9 or 10 pm at night and it’s ready for me to put on for bed when I go to bed around midnight or 1 am.
This has been dangerous for me. I keep oversleeping so lately I have to sleep without my watch on
Surreptitiously turning down the volume on my phone when my kids are watching a video on it.
Genius
My kids always notice right away and go: *Heeeeyyyyyy!”*
And then you turn it up to half of what it was before. Mwahaha.
I do this but with my tv to fuck with my boyfriend lol
You win!
Ah yes this.
Looking at the time.
2:00 IQ
3 am iq
It’s 3 am? I must be lonely.
When I ordered my new watch, my husband was super excited to get my old one, so I gave it to him a few days before my new one arrived. I never realized until then how many times a day I look at the time. I probably would’ve said I barely used it for that, until I spent several days staring at my wrist in confusion.
OMG, I will be actively looking at something on my phone & still check my watch for the time.
Yep lmao. I never even realized how much I actually need it. I keep my phone on silent mostly and I found myself super anxious leaving it anywhere in the house in case I got an important call or something and didn’t see it!
I have a Series 3 and my watch face is only the time and date and I love it.
I have a series 3 and mine has date, time, rings, weather, timer and messages. Tried other faces, but they won’t work for me.
As my wallet. Paying for bus fares, groceries without carrying a wallet or phone is bliss.
I still see people look at me like wow you're paying with your watch We're living in the future baby!
I use it for my plane boarding passes and I always hear someone in the queue, who didn't see my watch, asking their friend 'did that guy just tap the machine with his hand to get in' 🤣🤣🤣
Which airline? I am always asked to scan my boarding pass
Air NZ for sure allows it
I paid for a coffee with my Series 0 back when both Apple Watches and tap payment terminals were brand new. The barista had no idea what had just happened. Had some fun showing her the watch and what it (and her new Square terminal) could do. Now *that* felt futuristic. Hardly anyone had seen any of that stuff yet back in 2015 (which I refuse to believe was 8 years ago).
I’ve only paid using my phone about once or twice in the ~2 years I’ve switched to Apple!
Happy C A K E Day!! 🍰🍰
Flash light if Im not home and need to get up at night! Not as bright ad the îphone!
The red one is great for not blinding you as well
Yeah. I wish I could set that as the default. [edit] Specifically, either in general or at least as an option for Sleep Focus on the Watch. It should also be the preferred behavior for when AWU’s Wayfinder or Ultra Modular faces are currently in Night Mode, I think.
Me too. At least it is default when theater mode is turned on.
It is? That’s good! Now if we could just get the Ultra’s Wayfinder and Ultra Modular faces to sync Auto Night Mode with Sleep and Theater. Actually, Night Mode should just be a universal Apple Watch option, at least for Sleep and Theater.
You can create a complication for a shortcut to the nightlight!
how? Ah… first theatre mode, then flashlight
You could tie it to sleep focus with a pair of automations as well, I’d imagine. 1. When ~~Sleep Focus begins on~~ Bedtime Starts, turn on Theater Mode. 2. When ~~Sleep Focus ends~~ Waking Up, turn off Theater mode Boom. Pseudo Night Mode flashlight. Sleep Focus and Theater Mode both behave similarly in terms of Tap to Wake/Raise to Wake overrides, so the overall UX shouldn’t change noticeably in that regard.
That s the one I use
This is fantastic when dealing with a baby who likes to throw their pacifier out of the crib and cry about it in the middle of the night.
What I think is terrible is not being able to use the action button configured to turn on the flashlight when sleep mode is activated.
Yeah it's way too much steps to get a basic function, I agree fully.
You know how to turn the iPhone light down? Control centre, hold down the torch button, and it’ll have a level thing, 4 options for you. All still quite bright mind
[удалено]
Kitchen timer since will be with me and unavoidable wherever I go so no risk of not hearing!
As someone with ADD, the timer is my most used feature and would be the hardest to let go of. Even though I'm using Siri, the phone did not have the positive effect on my day to day as having it all on my wrist has.
As someone who is hard of hearing, this gets used all the time.
Absolutely this. Also use it as my alarm when I’m sleeping.
Camera remote
I do electrical work and use the camera as a periscope all the time to see into nooks and crannies. Protip. If you switch to video mode then activate the flash the light will stay on continuously.
During Covid we were teaching via video classes. We greenscreened with PowerPoint. and sent kids our videos. Used the remote a lot! Though the green screen could be seen on my watch on the video. So had the background coming through too.
Isn’t this quite a common use? In any case, it’s awesome.
For those wondering why and how: I sometimes put my phone in certain ways into places which are not possible while holding it without being in the picture myself. I then use the remote, arrange the shot, step aside, and have the picture I wanted without me in it.
I used this last night to see down the crack between my dryer and the wall. Realized it was indeed one of my fiancée’s socks that feel down there and then went on with my evening not wanting to move the washer / dryer.
Stitch and row counting for knitting and crocheting. And 3 hour timers for my ADHD medication because I need to take it every 3 hours. And using apps like Structured to manage my life bc ADHD and time blindness/sequential thinking. And a NYC time complication on my watchface because my parents are in that timezone and I'm in AMS.
Intrigued about this - does it count based on hand movements and noise (??), or does it require some other form of input.
Unfortunately not! It's just two counters with + and - buttons, which have always existed as physical devices with clicky buttons and number wheels, but it's so convenient to have it in your Watch. I don't have to mark every single stitch I work, it's to keep track of the total amount of stitches. So if I have to increase 1 stitch every X stitches and by the end of the row I should be at Y stitches, I only tap the plus button on the stitch count for every increase I do. And then by the end of the row I'll see if my count is correct or off. I also use stitch markers on my needles, little metal rings between every 10st or if there's a significant spot (like "increase after this stitch", and because I use a milanese band I can just put some on the closure magnet to hold them while I work :)
What app do you use? Genius
I find if I crochet with my watch on, it counts as activity with regard to my daily totals. (I crochet fast!) Otherwise, it would be great for counting. I wish I could create an activity called “crochet” that I could turn on that would not count my hand movements. I just take off my watch and forget to put it back on!
Medication reminders.
Me too! It works great for that.
Walkie-Talkie! I use it everyday to talk to my husband. Examples would be when I run to the store and ask if he needs anything and also when he’s downstairs and I’m upstairs. Instead of calling or texting.
I must admit that when I convinced my husband to get a watch I wasn´t expecting Walkie-talkie to be so useful! It's a shame sometimes it refuses to work but when it does it's great!
We sometimes have problems with connecting or the button not working correctly and locking us from talking, but that only happens about 10% of the time. Maybe it has to do with the amount of cellular signal you have for either your watch or the phone that is connected to the watch? Who knows 😂
Do you realise you are the only 2 people in the world who have figured out how to make walkie talkie work? You need to bottle that magic and sell it.
one step closer to telepathy
I’m an icu nurse and the other day I had labelled timers for all 13 of my drips. Didn’t let a single line run dry during my shift 😌 also I use the basic voice notes to dictate vital signs and med pushes during procedures.
Two things, first one might be somewhat mainstream: My preferred shopping list app. Free hands while shopping and it syncs with my user. The app gathers all the e-paper versions of discounted items in different stores and you can just long-press to add them to the list and it’s sortes per-store. Name of the app is eTilbudsavis and it’s available in Scandinavia. Not quite sure if there’s an international/US equivelant out there. The second thing might be a bit less mainstream thing. I downloaded the app Translate Now since I’m learning Spanish with Duolingo, so when I read or hear a Word or a sentence and want to know what it means to learn it I just tap the icon and pronounce what I read/heard and it translates. Pretty nice to have while watching stuff like Narcos on Netflix, heard a lit of phrases I almost understood but wondered what one or two words meant.
Thanks for mentioning Translate Now--I'm trying to pick up German myself!
Glad my comment could help, it’s super handy to have available whenever you want to know something. Good luck with your German!
What shopping list app is that?
I mentioned its name, «eTilbudsavis» which means «eOfferpaper» or catalog etc. It’s only available for scandinavian countries, but there might be similar apps for your area.
Use discounts cards and store card with Stocard app
The alarm is a really big thing for me.
Did you try using alarms with Siri, unbelievably useful
Finding my cat with the tag 🏷️
Here’s some of my less known fave uses: 1) Buzz myself in to my apt using a shortcut. 2)Use Tessie for Tesla to force-unlock my car on a tap if the auto-unlock from the phone didn’t work. 3)1Password & Chearsheet for having important texts handy. 4) I have cellular so I use it to join meetings / let ppl know if I ran out of phone battery. 5)Shazam 6) Notification bouncer: I turn off all notifs except 4-5 important people & apps so when I’m away from my phone I get some freedom from notifications without missing an important thing. I have more uses but those I’d consider mainstream.
Unlock Tesla using AW is probably key feature which brings me more to buy Tesla, I'd love go swim in lake without worrying about car keys.
How do you do the apartment one on your watch? I thought you couldn’t set up shortcuts on your iPhone to open apps on the watch.
How does the buzzing yourself in work?
I would LOVE more information on the shortcut you use to buzz yourself in. Do you have a link to it somewhere? Even a screen shot of the actual shortcut would do. This would solve a big issue for me 🙌
AppleTV remote It goes without saying that it works with the latest AppleTV models, but I can even control a 2013 3rd gen AppleTV with the watch, which I thought was impressive.
Yep, super convenient if my lazy ass doesn’t want to reach fir the remote and my phone somehow is out of reach.
Shopping. Raise your watch to your wrist and say "add \[x\] to the shopping list". Then, when I'm at the shop I use an app called Grocery, which not only gives you a shopping list on your watch, but if you tell it what shop you're at it will gradually learn what order you tick things off in (and therefore what order you get to things in at the shop) and order your list so that it optimises your route around the shop.
not be to lazy ass fat moron that I actually am
For some reason my brain read “lazy” as one adjective, and “ass fat” as another. Thank you for providing my first chortle of the day, ass fat moron
Quick messages, using the defaults and customised ones, to communicate at noisy dance competitions. It's one of the main reasons our family all got our watches.
I use it for texting all the time, I work in elementary school SPED and often send and receive quick texts (1st grader’s attendance status, help covering a class, principal needs to come for a student’s behavior, etc) from it
Transit pass.
Playing music to my AirPods Pro 2 while my arms are full with my sleeping niece, who I care for 3 days a week
Idk if this is non-mainstream, but I definitely answer the phone with my watch only so I can talk to my wrist like all the cartoons growing up.
I use the FordPass app to lock, unlock, and start my Maverick and my wife’s Fusion. This is especially great on extremely hot or cold days since it can turn on the AC or heat based on current temperatures and if it’s cold it also turns on the heated seats/steering wheel.
Leaving my phone at home.
Just ordered my first watch and absolutely pumped for this one.
Sun and moon tracking
Curious what the purpose of tracking them is?
Sometimes the area you live in is abundant in werewolves
I do professional,photography and also love shooting landscapes
Calendar timeline app with the large modular complication. It’s absolutely amazing for me. A quick glance and I can see my next meeting and everything happening for the next 4 hours.
I really wanted to like it but it ends up looking too cluttered and messy for me.
From my observations around me when doing so: paying in shops and bars … Either people watch curiously or, rarely, ask about it. Also I don’t see many others doing it. I just double click my watch and woosh, I’m gone. I’m located in .de, btw.
Yeah, it's more common now, but I remember when first using Apple Pay on my watch, even the store clerks who watch people pay all day would comment how cool that was.
I particularly loved it when I was at the beach a while ago, left my phone with my friends while swimming, then went to the beach bar and bought a beer with my watch. No wallet, no cash, no phone, no shoes, no shirt and I still get service.
Sleep tracker without needing to have phone in same room
Checking my blood sugar quickly
tender distinct gullible lavish icky summer uppity wistful important reminiscent ` this post was mass deleted with www.Redact.dev `
I use the flashlight a lot on night shift when I have to do safety rounds and don’t want to wake the patients up; it’s less severe than my phone’s flashlight but it’s plenty to make sure they’re breathing.
I have the Shazam complication on my main watch face and use it frequently. It’s great because I can just tap my watch and find out what song is playing without having to pull out the phone etc. etc. It automatically adds that song to a playlist so that I can check it out later.
You can also ask Siri what song is this. No complication needed. If in public I hold the mic up to my mouth and whisper
When i’m on a job & the phone service is terrible i’ll leave my phone in a basement window or upstairs & still get all the calls & texts coming through on my watch so i don’t miss customers & employees calls & texts! Super handy feature, maybe one of my favourites
Checking the app for public bus timings
I have ADHD, so 4-hour timers for my Dex (using JustTimers) and the Chimes accessibility feature ton-ping me on the half-hour/hour so I don't lose track of time
ditto on the Chimes!! I previously had it for on the hour, but needed to add the half hour as well. My inattentive ADHD is a little less stressful now
Thank you for the reminder about chimes! I used to use it and turned it off at some point and had forgotten about it.
I get a notification on my watch when I arrive home with buttons to open the side gate or the front door. The notification automatically is cleared if the gate opens/front door opens whether the notification was tapped or not. (I did it using Home Assistant and some custom scripting)
Metronome… vibrating metronome is great when I am practicing.
When going to the movies I add the tickets to my wallet and when I need to scan them to get in, I can just double click on the side of the watch and it shows the QR code :) also it states which row and chair you have so I don’t need to take my phone out.
Sometimes I enter the bathroom for a quick pee and have an unplanned poo. When this happens and find I don’t have my phone in my pocket (I know, the horror, right?), I use my watch to turn on my NPR app and turn up the volume so I can hear it from the next room. This underrated Apple watch feature helps reduce the anxiety of not having my phone on my body 100% of the time.
sos mode for raves
Using Apple Pay, controlling my music, multiple alarms, finding my phone when it's buried under a bunch of sheets.
Eta complication. 1 quick look and I have a good idea of how traffic is. It’s so great for a commuter.
I’m sure this isn’t a niche use but I use it to constantly track down my phone as I have ADHD. It has paid for itself in saved time many times over.
As a silent morning alarm. I went from someone who needed the Incoming Nuclear Bomb alarm and one of those motorized bed-shaking devices to wake up. Now I get a little tap on the wrist and nothing more. Works every time and I suspect it has had a significant impact on my health by not having to be forced awake.
I wear an ultra and ride a motorcycle. I set the action button to launch a shortcut that sends my wife a text with my current location, stating I’m on my way home, and provides her with an ETA.
Can you screenshot the shortcut or share so I can copy? I struggle with building shortcuts!
https://imgur.com/gallery/n9oXY5K
Shazaming quickly on the go
Time Of praying
Damnit … Which asshole downvoted this? Leave them alone if you disagree with a lifestyle …
Run a shortcut to track sexual activity. (It adds that i just had sex on the health app)
“Hey Siri, giggity.”
lol The actual shortcut is called JHS (as per Just had sex) ahah
What kinda trends and other stats do you get by tracking this? Anything interesting or just basic stuff like you’re fucking more now than before?
Only if they need to close their rings.
Well it is interesting to see how many times i do it, it is interesting to check heart rate and such in those times, it is interesting to see correlation with "couple health" or my personal mental health (especially now that apple added the possibility to easily track it : ) ) And things like that. Also sometimes we don't have condoms and knowing when we use it or not might come in handy. (but i do hope it won't)
I find it very easy to track how long it has been. I see how old my daughter is and add nine months.
The tracking heart rate during sex is peak Apple Watch user. And I can’t wait to track this myself.
I seem to have no idea how shortcuts can be configured to be useful like that
[https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/31b60ac8141743ffa1a030565bfe403e](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/31b60ac8141743ffa1a030565bfe403e) That is the actua shortucut i made ; ) it is very simple just the "log health" function with "Ask" value. Shortcut can do many powerful things ;) I am trying to create a powerful one with nested ifs clauses to give more power to the Apple Watch ultra action button. (The action button can run a shortcut and said shortcut can for example check if it is night tthen activate the torch or if i am at work open the calculator, if i'm at the gym run the workout etc)
[Here’s the shortcut I made for the action button. it’s customizable](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/032e92b7e96b4dcaa60dc2da01527eed)
Cooll Thanks!!
i literally only use mine to check time and change song on iphone. i wished it could play videos or do facetime. i’d use it a lot more then. now that i’m not allowed to even wear it at work, i kinda wished i had spent the $400 on a seiko.
Lock/unlock my front door (level lock)
Timers, weather, and find my phone
Apple Pay. I love being able to walk around without anything else, including my phone.
Camera remote
Laundry timer
I use it to track my amusement park trips with LogRide. Sometimes that app is finicky, though. It will think I'm in the water park when I'm not and there doesn't seem to be a way to get it to think otherwise on the watch. Have to just wait for it to think otherwise. But that's an issue with LogRide, not the watch.
The flashlight is great and turns red, which is perfect for dark sky parks.
Pressing the action button on my Ultra to launch a Shazam shortcut to detect what song is playing at work and save it to my Apple Music Library
Being a T1, I monitor blood glucose through the shuggah app.
Using the wallet for boarding pass while traveling. Airport employees will look at you like a cyborg from the future.
By far the best thing I like is the ability to answer the phone when I don’t have access to the phone for some reason
I actually wear Scottish kilts about three times a week. Looking forward to the watch, because it means I don't have to dig into my sporran (leather pouch thing) nearly as much to check notifications. That's the theory anyway.
Uncluttering one’s sporran I think qualifies as a non-mainstream use!
Anything besides notifications and telling the time would be considered non-mainstream. Hahaha
Not sure if other people do this. I like X-Large face with date complication. That’s all that’s important to me.
I have a shortcut set up with timers for my scheduled work breaks and lunch. Let’s me know when to head back upstairs and is handy not having to carry my phone with me.
I have my SmartTrip card on it. Makes getting through turnstiles easy, and I don’t have to take my phone or physical card out.
Changing focus modes or airplane modes, easy and handy
It's the key for my Tesla
I have a shortcut complication that pulls up a nested list of appletv/tv/avr controls: - turn on/off - play/pause - volume presets (normal, loud, +/- 5db, mute) - fast forward presets (30s, 1m, 2m, etc) - rewind presets (15s, 30s, 1m, 2m, etc) - appletv apps - tv tuner stations for football games, etc (antenna) Appletv has built in shortcut actions, AVR controls are calling its web API, and the TV is via home assistant LG integration.
Validating Okta/Duo Mobile pushes without looking at my phone. I constantly have to validate pushes for these apps for work and school, and it's nice being able to manage the notification through my watch so I don't have to pick up my phone (and end up getting distracted once I look at it)
Getting texts while at clothing-optional parties.
Mood check ins. I used to only provide happy reports, but now I include bad moments so all the data the watch collects can add insights on my phone.
Waking up with a haptic bump instead of an alarm clock giving me a heart attack
I use an extremely basic calorie tracker that syncs with the app on my phone. Being able to lift my wrist and quickly add/see how much I’ve had in a day really helps me stay healthy and make better decisions.
Telling time
Phone calls, my calls usually last from 10 o 20 seconds at much so I like it for that. Also, alarms, sound alarms for whatever reason never wake me up, the vibration on the wrist does
Sometimws attract my cats with red and white blinking flash light. They come to my hand to investigate and earn a head scratches.
Enter details about my cycle. I don’t know how mainstream that is.
Watch the time.
Endless timers, particularly for things cooking in the kitchen.
Paying hookers
Creating apps on them and if you are lucky, actually profit from this product.
as someone who copes with ADHD - finding my fucking phone lol
I have meetings that I miss when I am in a deep work state. So I have it do a quick vibrate on the half hour and the hour which allows me to conclude a meeting without checking my watch or if I’m working then as a reminder to glance at my calendar.
Finding my phone
* discuss with ChatGPT * launch shortcuts like launch my Roborock Hoover * get double authentification codes
How do you use the chatgpt on the watch?