New Apple Watch owner looking for answers and/or tips

[thomasliveshere]

Hi everyone,

I received my first Apple Watch today, the Apple Watch Series 2; pretty excited!
I have a few questions as I've never used an Apple Watch before:

- In regards to the use of background app refresh on the watch, is it essential that I have it enabled? For example, if I turn off the background app refresh for weather, does that mean when I view the weather stats on my watch face that it'll be old info?

Furthermore, if I turn off background app refresh for an app on my iPhone, does that also affect the same app on the watch? I'm a bit confused about the advantages and disadvantages of having background app refresh turned on or off, in general, and particularly on the apple watch.

- How does the heart rate feature work? Is it constantly measuring my heart rate even when the app isn't open?

Also, is there any tips or tricks that a new, first time Apple Watch owner should know or would benefit knowing?

Any help/suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

[erichards2]

"In regards to the use of background app refresh on the watch, is it essential that I have it enabled? For example, if I turn off the background app refresh for weather, does that mean when I view the weather stats on my watch face that it'll be old info?"
I personally only have the refresh activated for apps i constantly use or want quick updates from when i open them; otherwise the app will update when you open it. Advantage of turning some of them off is less communication with phone leading to more preserved battery.

"How does the heart rate feature work? Is it constantly measuring my heart rate even when the app isn't open?"
It checks your heart rate every 10 minutes; if exercising (starting an exercise on the watch) it constantly checks it during the workout.

"Also, is there any tips or tricks that a new, first time Apple Watch owner should know or would benefit knowing?"
Tips:
-You can control a lot of the settings from the app on the phone; this makes it easier to change settings without fumbling with the watch. Personally, I change my watch face colors based off my clothing color; this makes it easier and faster.
-Apps you install on your phone will automatically download to the watch; delete them if the notifications get too irritating.
-I mainly use mine for fitness purposes and messaging, I don't use many apps on the watch itself. Its more of a luxury item, not a necessity. Easy to pursue the apps on the phone.

 

[simplylaurakb]

Aside from the fitness stuff, which I love, Siri on the Watch is AWESOME!! I use it constantly to create reminders, set timers, add things to my shopping list, and so on.

As for the fitness part - if you just want to track how long you're working out, regardless of whether the watch thinks you're working hard enough, choose 'other' for the activity.