What’s the ‘i’ icon on my Apple Watch and how do I use it with my iPhone? The short answer is that, when connected to your iPhone via Bluetooth, you can use the I icon on your Apple Watch to quickly send and receive messages with your iPhone, as well as add calendar events, set reminders, and make phone calls. This five-step guide will help you understand how to use the I icon on your Apple Watch with your iPhone in every scenario possible.
1) Finding out where you are and what’s nearby
The ‘i’ icon on an Apple Watch is a great tool for interacting with your phone without having to use your hands or pull out your phone. It can show you incoming emails, texts, and other notifications. You can also use it to find out where you are in relation to nearby places by tapping Where Am I? on the screen. This uses GPS data from your phone, and plots what’s around you on a map so that you know how close you are if something catches your eye.
2) Sending a message
The ‘i’ icon on an Apple Watch is the messaging app. You can send text messages and voice memos from your watch to other people’s phones that are running iOS 11 or higher. It also syncs messages you’ve sent and received across all of your devices. To use it, open up Messages (on either your watch or phone) and tap next to the text field. Your contacts should show up as round circles; a blank circle means they don’t have an iMessage account set up, so you won’t be able to send them a message this way.
3) Calling friends and family
Ever wonder what that ‘i’ icon does on your Apple Watch, or how it works? Well, here are five different ways you can use it with your iPhone. First and foremost, use Bluetooth from your phone to start a call by swiping up from either watch face. Next, after making a call for one-way communication, switch over to speakerphone by pressing in on the crown of the watch. While using speakerphone mode, walk around and keep in touch without ever losing the conversation.
4) Making dinner reservations
Use the voice activation features of the watch or phone (depending on which you have) and say What’s the nearest _____? Say Nearby restaurants then tap the restaurant of choice. Then, click Reserve. You can also look up an address and then click Find it. From there, you’ll be able to select whether you want a reservation for dinner or lunch. As always, it never hurts to ask a friend for a recommendation too!
5) Saving stuff to your watch list
For example, if you are at a grocery store and want to remember the list of things you need, open the Add items page in Siri. Tell Siri what items you need – for example, bread – and the list will automatically be saved to your watch list. When finished shopping, scan your wrist over the same terminal where you just scanned all of those groceries; this is a way for siri and apple watches to recognize each other (because there’s nothing more embarrassing than forgetting one box of bread). The screen on the terminal will then show all of the things that have been added to your watch list – no more shuffling through those grocery bags trying desperately not to forget that crucial ingredient!