Don's Home Technology Mobile Devices Apple Watch
last updated 8 Jan 2018
Under Construction.

Contents: Apps | Battery/Charging: | Screen Protectors

Apps:
The best Apple Watch apps to download: Tested and rated

In 2018 Google pulled its Maps app for Apple Watch. This was actually part of the great Apple Watch app exodus earlier this year. Amazon, eBay, Instagram and Slack joined Google in pulling apps.

Why? Well, it was a combination of Apple requiring native watchOS apps and companies figuring out that not everything made sense on the wrist. For some companies, the development time invested in making a smartwatch app just wasn't worth it. So no Google Maps app for Apple Watch.

Battery/Charging:
I've had 2 cases recently where my Apple Watch would not charge (red lightning bolt in the upper left) even thought everything was working, Original Apple Cable, Charging brick and electrical outlet.
Both were at 6,200 ft. elevation.
I called apple support and they referred me to the genius bar at a store.
It started charging before I got there. They checked it out and found nothing wrong.
The 2nd time I did a restart as recommended below, but it still wouldn't charge.
I left the watch on the charger and after 15 minutes it started charging.

After talking to the genius bar and searching the internet here's the normal troubleshooting recommended:

Possible Problems:

  • Electrical outlet problem (Is there a switch that needs to be turned on? )
  • Wall Charger / Power adapter / power brick problem or not plugged in all the way.
  • 3rd party charging cable, many of which became incompatible after watch OS 6
Help in diagnosing:
If you get a red lightning bolt when attaching the charging cable, it means it has detected some current, but won't charge because of:
  • An incompatible cable
  • Defective wall charger.
  • Other Things to try
    • If the watach is in Power Reserve mode the screen will be blank and if you tap on either side button it will come up with the red lightning bolt and time after a few seconds. Mine stayed in this state for over 24 hours.
      The only thing to do in this state try to borrow another charger from someone
      or wait and it will may accept charging later.
    • If it is still in normal mode you can.
      • Restart - press and hold its side button until you see the Power Off slider, then swipe across this as directed.
      • Force restart - Press and hold the Apple Watch's side button and Digital Crown until you see the Apple logo, then let go of them both. It should take about 10 seconds.
        It must be disconnected from the charger.
      • Unpair
        1. Keep your Apple Watch and iPhone close together as you unpair them.
        2. Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
        3. Go to the My Watch tab and tap your watch at the top of the screen.
        4. Tap the info button the info icon next to the watch that you want to unpair.
        You can then repair and try charging again.
    Unpairing
    In 2018 Google pulled its Maps app for Apple Watch. This was actually part of the great Apple Watch app exodus earlier this year. Amazon, eBay, Instagram and Slack joined Google in pulling apps.

    Why? Well, it was a combination of Apple requiring native watchOS apps and companies figuring out that not everything made sense on the wrist. For some companies, the development time invested in making a smartwatch app just wasn't worth it. So no Google Maps app for Apple Watch.

    Screen Protectors:
    The Best Screen Protectors for the Apple Watch (Series 1-4) - Mobile Reviews Eh
    In general, the glass used in Apple Watches is quite poor. It doesnʼt take much effort to crack the glass along the edges of the product which means the glass is poorly tempered or not tempered at all. Certain companies will try to include a plastic rim around the glass which helps with the look of the product. However, the glass is still incredibly cheap, has a poor oleophobic coating and once it cracks, it looks awful.

    Most of the plastic screen protectors that weʼve seen are made from a TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) film.
    Every TPU film weʼve used has cheapened the feel of the Apple Watch. We personally like the smooth surface of the glass screen on the Apple devices

    Despite being our most preferred product, we’re not 100% sold on the Liquid screen protectors. Thereʼs a lot of marketing fluff that goes with Liquid screen protectors such as improved impact resistance, scratch resistance and oleophobic coating improvements. Out of those three, we were only able to show that liquid screen protectors improved the impact resistance the glass that we put it on.
    Liquid screen protectors technically will improve scratch resistance as you are adding a thin layer of glass to the device. However hereʼs the thing, once you scratch it, you canʼt take it off and replace it.
    Do you really need a screen protector?
    The older Apple Watches, despite being worn everyday for a year have no noticeable scratches to them and we bang our wrist on a wall on a daily basis.

    SOS Hard Fall
    When the watch detects a hard fall it opens a dialog to notify emergency contacts and Emergency Services.

    See Apple Watch SOS For emergency services notification after a hard fall