Apple Watch tips: Jump to last task, delete watch faces, organize glances and more

Posted:
in Apple Watch edited June 2015
The Apple Watch's user interface is unlike any that has made before, and there are more than a few tricks to using it efficiently. AppleInsider shows you how to quickly jump to your last task, delete watch faces, organize your glances, and remove third-party apps.


Jump to your last task from the watch face




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By default, the Apple Watch will return to the watch face after 30 seconds of inactivity. There are some exceptions -- such as tracking a workout -- and you can change the default behavior in Settings → Activate on Wrist Raise → Resume To, but there's also a quick shortcut to jump back to your last app.

Starting from the watch face, just double-press the Digital Crown, the same way you would double-click the iPhone home button to access the multitasking menu. Double-pressing again will jump back to the watch face.

It's worth noting that this feature will actually let you switch between any two Watch apps.

Delete a watch face




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You can delete any watch face in much the same way that you manually quit apps on the iPhone. Use Force Touch to access the face selector, then swipe up on a face --?tap the trash can icon that appears afterward to delete the face.

Organize your Glances




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The Apple Watch's glances are useful, but if there are some that you don't use or benefit from, they can be disabled and reordered through the Apple Watch companion app on iOS. Open the app, then navigate to the Glances section.

From here, you can manage Glances just like you manage Notification Center widgets. Grabbing the handle on the right allows them to be re-ordered, while tapping the plus or minus icons allows you to add or remove Glances, respectively.

Remove third-party apps




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To remove an unwanted third-party app from the Apple Watch, press the Digital Crown to return to the Watch home screen. Tap-and-hold on any app until the icons begin to shake, then tap on the app you want to remove --?it's the same process as the iPhone.

Note that you don't need to tap the tiny X in the corner; tapping on the icon itself is sufficient, and will prompt a dialog asking you to confirm that you want to delete the app.

You can also remove apps using the Apple Watch iOS app. Open the app, then choose the third-party app you want to remove, and slide "Show App on Apple Watch" to the off position.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member
    umping to the last task will be useful, I'll probably reorder my glances to get weather higher up but in the meantime that's a quick fix.

    Thanks! BIG user guide to get through....
  • Reply 2 of 9
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member

    Re. jumping to the last task, I am surprised that Apple hasn't implemented some type of simple swipe left or right feature (swiping up or down takes you to notifications), or enable something like "Hey Siri, last task."

     

    Having to double-click on the crown, while not a huge pain, is a tad clunky.

     

    Perhaps it will happen with a future software update.

  • Reply 3 of 9
    robin huberrobin huber Posts: 3,949member
    I got apps that just showed up, and I don't recognize them. When I touch them, nothing happens. What's up with that?
  • Reply 4 of 9
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Robin Huber View Post



    I got apps that just showed up, and I don't recognize them. When I touch them, nothing happens. What's up with that?



    Maybe apps that are on your phone that got a watch capable upgrade in the background? And I have noticed "new" apps can take a while to load initially. Take a look inside the apps section of the Watch app on your phone? I deselected a bunch on there I never need on my watch.

  • Reply 5 of 9
    suddenly newtonsuddenly newton Posts: 13,819member
    I got apps that just showed up, and I don't recognize them. When I touch them, nothing happens. What's up with that?

    Try uninstalling and reinstalling. I had my Amazon app stop working and the icon changed into something weird. Reinstalling it fixed it.
  • Reply 6 of 9
    nolamacguynolamacguy Posts: 4,758member
    Re. jumping to the last task, I am surprised that Apple hasn't implemented some type of simple swipe left or right feature (swiping up or down takes you to notifications), or enable something like "Hey Siri, last task."

    Having to double-click on the crown, while not a huge pain, is a tad clunky.

    the split second it takes to double-click the crowd is faster and far less clunky than trying to trigger it via "Hey Siri, last task"
  • Reply 7 of 9
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member
    nolamacguy wrote: »

    the split second it takes to double-click the crowd is faster and far less clunky than trying to trigger it via "Hey Siri, last task"

    I guess you don't cook a lot (if you did, you might realize that one's fingers can get dirty), or use the timer while you do, or have the default setting as the watch face.

    Usage differs, dude. It's probably not much more than a software fix anyway.
  • Reply 8 of 9
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post

     

    Re. jumping to the last task, I am surprised that Apple hasn't implemented some type of simple swipe left or right feature (swiping up or down takes you to notifications), or enable something like "Hey Siri, last task."

     

    Having to double-click on the crown, while not a huge pain, is a tad clunky.

     

    Perhaps it will happen with a future software update.




    But you can simply say "Hey SIRI Start "Insert name of APP you last used here"".

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