Tips: Apple Watch Series 2's 'Wake Screen on Crown Up' lets you discreetly check the time
The newly released Apple Watch Series 2 boasts a unique feature that allows users to check the time in a more subtle way, without distracting people nearby, via the Digital Crown. Here's how to use it.
Dubbed "Wake Screen on Crown Up," the new feature allows users to slowly turn the Digital Crown on the Apple Watch Series 2 upward, without raising their wrist. Doing this slowly turns on the Apple Watch display at varying levels of brightness.
With just a small turn upward on the Digital Crown, users can view the watch face on their wrist at a much dimmer setting. While active, the user can raise their wrist to get a closer look at the Apple Watch while retaining the dim brightness.
This new capability will make it easier for Apple Watch wearers to check the time without bothering others --?such as in a movie theater, where the bright light of an illuminated screen is a distraction.
The key to using this feature is to begin to turn the Digital Crown without raising your wrist. In addition, if you roll the Digital Crown in the other direction without raising your wrist, the brightness decreases in the same manner until the screen goes black.
By placing your wrist back down, the Apple Watch display automatically turns off, as usual. Raising the wrist again, without touching the Digital Crown, will return to displaying the screen at its normal brightness level.
Roll the Digital Crown upward far enough and the Apple Watch Series 2 display will reach normal brightness and stay on, as if the wearer had tapped the screen or pressed a button.
It appears that "Wake Screen on Crown Up" is exclusive to the new Apple Watch Series 2 hardware, potentially tied to the capabilities of the new twice-as-bright display.
Users can enable or disable the feature by opening the Apple Watch app on a connected iPhone, choosing "General," and then "Wake Screen." By default, a new Apple Watch ships with "Wake Screen on Crown Up" enabled.
For another tip on how to be a polite time-checking moviegoer while wearing the Apple Watch, see our tip on how to create an unobtrusive, low-light movie theatre face.
Dubbed "Wake Screen on Crown Up," the new feature allows users to slowly turn the Digital Crown on the Apple Watch Series 2 upward, without raising their wrist. Doing this slowly turns on the Apple Watch display at varying levels of brightness.
With just a small turn upward on the Digital Crown, users can view the watch face on their wrist at a much dimmer setting. While active, the user can raise their wrist to get a closer look at the Apple Watch while retaining the dim brightness.
This new capability will make it easier for Apple Watch wearers to check the time without bothering others --?such as in a movie theater, where the bright light of an illuminated screen is a distraction.
The key to using this feature is to begin to turn the Digital Crown without raising your wrist. In addition, if you roll the Digital Crown in the other direction without raising your wrist, the brightness decreases in the same manner until the screen goes black.
By placing your wrist back down, the Apple Watch display automatically turns off, as usual. Raising the wrist again, without touching the Digital Crown, will return to displaying the screen at its normal brightness level.
Roll the Digital Crown upward far enough and the Apple Watch Series 2 display will reach normal brightness and stay on, as if the wearer had tapped the screen or pressed a button.
It appears that "Wake Screen on Crown Up" is exclusive to the new Apple Watch Series 2 hardware, potentially tied to the capabilities of the new twice-as-bright display.
Users can enable or disable the feature by opening the Apple Watch app on a connected iPhone, choosing "General," and then "Wake Screen." By default, a new Apple Watch ships with "Wake Screen on Crown Up" enabled.
For another tip on how to be a polite time-checking moviegoer while wearing the Apple Watch, see our tip on how to create an unobtrusive, low-light movie theatre face.
Comments
On the other hand I hope they don't listen to the vocal minority when it come to their computers and I hope they get rid of the jack for Lightning. If you are going to say wireless is the future then you also need Lightning consistency. It makes no sense that the bundled buds with your iPhone don't work with your Mac. The pros will deal with it—consistency should be the goal.
Besides the wireless future however, down the line I'd like to see USB become even smaller (as small as Lightning, or smaller) and Apple adopt it for everything. One standard connector across all technology products from all companies is the ideal. Wireless has standards—will eventually have one instead of two—a single wired standard is the wired future too. Our grand kids should have two options: wired or wireless. It should be that simple. Even wall outlets should use these ports. Kettles, sockets, everything.
Personally, I'd like the headphone jack to stay around longer, but if it has to go, I'm torn as to whether is should be replaced by Lightning or USB-C. If Lightnng, it then becomes single-purpose port like the port they removed, but it also means you don't need an adapter for the Lightning headphones. With USB-C you get an extra USB port and the future of the common headphone port is going to be USB-C, but Apple will need to supply a USB-C-to-Lightning adapter, and probably one with a DAC and amp built in as what I've seen indicates their included adapter with the iPhone doesn't have one. Neither of these are a great solution.
With the 12" MacBook, I'd like to see USB-C on both sides, not an analog headphone jack, if they re going to have only one port per side.
2) I don't foresee Lightning and USB-C side-by side on an iPhone. That adds back the redundancy, but in a much worse way for the customer and Apple.
I have a feeling Apple will add function to lightning in "lightning 2". It makes sense that apple go with Lightning as they control the technology and can advance it rapidly.