Skip to main content

Walkthrough: Apple Watch app reveals how you’ll pair your watch and iPhone, gets apps, and more

The iOS 8.2 update released today introduced support for the Apple Watch to the iPhone and iPad. The app reveals some details about the device unmentioned at the keynote event today. For example, the app reveals how users will pair their watches with their phones using the iPhone’s camera…

As mentioned during the keynote, the Apple Watch app will serve as the portal for downloading watch-compatible apps. It will feature its own App Store section featuring apps that have been updated to work with the wearable device. The store isn’t live just yet, and will likely become functional closer to the release of the Apple Watch.

An Explore tab provides instant access to information about the Apple Watch in the form of three videos: the reveal and feature breakdown from last year’s original announcement, a health and fitness-focused video.

A feature that wasn’t mentioned today is the process for pairing an Apple Watch and iPhone. Rather than rely on NFC (which the iPhone 5 and 5s don’t support), the Apple Watch app takes advantage of the phone’s camera to initiate the process. The pairing screen prompts users to place a yellow frame in a camera viewfinder around their watch’s display.

It’s likely that the watch itself will display some sort of QR code to help the phonefind the necessary pairing details. If the camera isn’t working, an alternative manual option is also provided that lets users pick the watch’s name from a list on the phone.

iOS 8.2 is available as an over-the-air download now. The Apple Watch will be available next month.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

  1. Gazoo Bee - 9 years ago

    Interesting. But I notice there was also no mention today of using Apple Pay on the watch when you only have an iPhone 5. At the last event it was said this would be possible, but it would need an entirely secondary mechanism to work which they have not really explained (unless this is it). You can’t even “add a card” on an iPhone 5 so I don’t see how they are going to support ApplePay with it.

  2. Ernie Eastman - 9 years ago

    you can’t pair an apple watch with an iPad, at least I can’t.