Beyond notable features like cycle tracking or measuring noise levels, probably the best part about watchOS 6 is fixing several age-old frustrations. Case in point, Apple Watch was completely reliant on the paired iPhone for downloading and updating apps. Even though the process wasn’t complex, it never felt straightforward either. Thankfully, those days are gone for the better! With watchOS 6 or later, you can now download and update apps directly on your Apple Watch – both manually and automatically. If you are yet to try it out, let me walk you through the quick guide.
Just like its iOS counterpart, watchOS also lets you check out the ratings and reviews of any app before downloading it so that you can make an informed purchase. Moreover, there is also an option to automatically update apps as well as download the Apple Watch version of an app that you install on your paired iPhone. With that said, let’s get started with the quick steps!
- To get started, open the App Store app on your Apple Watch. Alternately, you can also ask Siri to launch the app.
Dictation: It lets you search for apps using your voice.
- Launch the App Store and then scroll down to the bottom.
- On this screen, you should see the apps that need to be updated. To update a specific app, tap on the Update button that is right next to it. To update all the apps at once, hit the Update All button.
Many iPhone apps are available for Apple Watch as well for a seamless experience. And with the auto-download feature turned on, you can automatically download an Apple Watch version of an app that you install on your paired iPhone.
- Next, turn on the switch for Automatic Downloads.
Just in case, you don’t want to update apps manually or find it a bit tedious task, you can turn on auto-update to download the latest version of the apps on your smartwatch automatically.
- Now, make sure the switch for Automatic Updates is on.
Once in a while, I like to keep a track of the bought apps using the purchased list. Moreover, it also comes in handy for redownloading the previously deleted apps. So, I’m really glad that watchOS 6 makes viewing purchased apps as straightforward as iOS.
SEE ALSO: 17 Best Apple Watch Series 5 Accessories You Can Buy
