The Unofficial Guide to Using Apple Watch (9 page)

Every Apple Watch does come with AppleCare; for extended service, however, AppleCare also offers AppleCare+.

What’s the difference? The free level care includes a one year limited warranty for hardware repairs and 90 days of free technical support. AppleCare+ extends the warranty for two years. For the pricier Apple Watch Edition, this warranty is extended an additional year. With AppleCare+ you get two incidences of accidental damage (fees do apply).

Before paying for AppleCare, one thing you should consider doing is checking the services your credit card offers; some credit cards will offer warranty extensions if you use their card for purchase. Some even consider loss or theft (which, by the way, AppleCare+ does not cover).

So is AppleCare+ worth it? Personally, I like it for peace of mind; I don’t have to worry about expensive cases or banging the watch on something. Apple Stores have terrific customer support when it comes to AppleCare+.

As companies learn about what makes the watch tick, then services are bound to pop up that offer repairs more cheaply than what AppleCare charges, but Apple will always be the simplest way to repair your watch.

This book has covered all the apps already on the phone, but for a quick overview, here they are again.

• Messages - This is where you will send and receive text messages (and also send and receive animated emojis).
  
• Phone - This is, obviously, where you make and receive calls, but it should be noted that when you are using the phone on your wrist, you can also transfer that call to your iPhone, so if you step into a place where speakerphone is frowned upon, you don't have to hang up and call back.
  
• Mail - You can read your mail message, but it's not for replying--it's more for managing mail (i.e., deleting, reading, flagging, and moving).
  
• Calendar - this app lets you quickly browse through your calendar and also accept and decline invitations.
  
• Activity -- this app is a bit of motivational workout app--it gives you a summary of how much you are standing, exercising, moving...in short it makes you feel guilty about how lazy you are.
  
• Workout -- when you are working out, you tell your watch what you are doing (running, walking, cycling) and then it shows you how far you've gone, and how fast you are going.
  
• Maps -- a turn-by-turn map...with a twist--when it's time for you to turn, it taps you on the wrist.
  
• Passbook - This is essentially a micro version of Passbook for the iPhone, but instead of holding your phone to the scanner, you hold your wrist.
  
• Siri - Siri is one of the most important apps on the Apple Watch because with no keyboard, you need it to find things quickly; to use it, just lift your wrist and say "Hey Siri"--no buttons need to be pressed to bring up Siri.
  
• Music- The music app is what you'd expect...unless you expect to plug in headsets; there's no audio input on the watch so you have to use Bluetooth headphones to listen.
  
• Camera Remote - The watch has no built in camera; what it has in its place is a viewfinder, so if you want to take a selfie with your phone then you can use the watch to take the photo.
  
• Remote - If you have an Apple TV, this app lets you control it from your wrist; you can also use it to control your Mac or PC's iTunes library.
  
• Weather - Lets you see a visual summary of weather where you are or anywhere else in the world.
  
• Stocks - With this app you can see stock performance for up to six months.
  
• Photos - This is where you will view all your favorite photos.
  
• Alarm / Stopwatch / Timer - These are three relatively simple apps that do exactly what you'd expect them to do.
  
• World Clock - while the watch’s time face screen is the main feature, it does have a second app for tracking time around the world.
  
• Settings - This is where you can turn off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.
  

Chances are you’ve heard about all the popular apps for the Apple Watch already. I’m talking about Twitter, Instagram, etc. So below, I’m putting some of my favorite apps that you might not have heard of.

SwipeSpeare

SwipeSpeare puts Shakespeare’s words into modern English with a swipe; when you launch the app, you pick your play and then you are asked if you want to read it in modern English or the original language. Any time you want to see what the passage says in the other translation, you just swipe your finger across the passage. It includes a free copy of Romeo and Juliet too! The watch app syncs your notes, bookmarks, and highlights.

SwipeBible

There aren’t a lot of Bible apps for the watch yet. You probably know about all the popular ones, but one you might not have heard of is SwipeBible; it’s from the makers of SwipeSpeare and it’s entirely free. It lets you open up to nine Bible translations at the same time and toggle between the translations by swiping over the verse. The companion app is much like SwipeSpeare and lets you manage notes, bookmarks, and highlights.

Do Button

Always forgetting to do things like turning off the lights? Try this app, which helps keep your life a little more organized.

Dating

Your love life is now on your phone. Two popular dating apps (OkCupid and Match Dating App) have already figured out a way to put your dating life on your wrist. Looking for love? Try these apps!

Games

Games are not ideal for Apple Watch; however, a few have already figured out how to do it. One is BoxPop, which is both challenging and addicting. Word games are also a great fit; one word game that has already figure out how to make a nice game for the wrist is Letter Zap.

PowerPoint

Apple has, of course, promoted their own software’s app: Keynote. Not as much attention has been given to PowerPoint; the Microsoft app lets you use your watch as a remote to your PowerPoint slides on your iPhone.

CALC

Calculator is more than a calculator app; it also lets you figure out how much to tip at a restaurant. It’s easy to use and pretty powerful for a watch app. It’s free to download and $1.99 for premium features. If all you want to do is tip, then another nice app is Cow Tipper.

Tasty Recipes

Reading is not always easy on the watch; while I don’t recommend reading a book on the watch, recipes are a perfect fit; this lets you leave your watch in another room while making all your favorite dishes by giving you a step-by-step guide right on your watch.

The Johnson & Johnson Official 7 Minute Workout

Apple has you covered with a  great workout app—but if you want to change it up a little, or just looking for something that gets you exercised a little…quicker—then try this app. As the name implies it gives you an intense workout in just seven minutes.

Day One

Writing is not what the watch was made for—so a journal app (priced at $4.99) seems like an odd thing to make an app for; still, this app is surprisingly intuitive and easy to use. You can make quick notes about where you are or use the watch’s Mic to include writing.