The Apple Watch offers numerous capabilities, none of which need to be tackled in a specific order. Feel free to jump to any topic below, although I do recommend that you start with the first chapters.
New to the watch? Start with the Apple Watch First Tasks for my recommendations on settings that improve your experience.
Read Understand the Apple Watch to get an idea of how to think about it and how it can become part of your everyday life.
If you don’t yet own a watch, hit up Which Watch? for details on models, materials, sizes, and bands.
The watch introduces new ways of interacting with an Apple device, so be sure to read Interact with the Apple Watch.
Start with what you’ll see the most and Personalize the Apple Watch Face with different themes and complications (additional elements that display information on the face).
Add frequently used apps to Access the Dock and quickly access system-wide features using Use Control Center.
Install and run apps from the iPhone or the App Store on the watch in Work with Apps.
To take a deeper dive into the setup process, read Customizations and Important Settings
Aside from checking the time, you’ll probably interact the most with the Apple Watch through Manage Notifications; learn how to view the most important ones and limit which of the others get through so that you’re not overwhelmed.
In Communicate with Friends, discover how to send text and audio messages, as well as Digital Touch taps and drawings, place and answer phone calls, and use Walkie-Talkie to chat directly in bursts.
Manage, reply to, and compose email messages in Communicate Using Mail.
In Stay Fit with the Apple Watch, learn how to track daily activity and how to use the watch with workouts.
Stay on top of your personal health: Monitor Your Heart Health, Monitor Your Hearing, and Track Your Cycle.
The Apple Watch can help you get around using Use Maps and Directions. It can also keep you on task with Manage Calendars and Reminders.
Listen to Music, Podcasts, and Audiobooks directly on the watch, from your iPhone, or streamed from Apple Music.
Since the watch is always on your wrist, it becomes a universal remote that won’t get lost in the living room. Read Control Media Remotely and start controlling playback from your Apple TV, Music or iTunes on a computer, and iPhone.
The watch can control the camera in your iPhone, and you can view photos on the watch; see View (and Capture) Photos.
Read Use Apple Pay and Wallet and start buying goods and redeeming tickets with the press of a button.
Don’t neglect the Care and Feeding of Your Apple Watch, which involves everything from cleaning the case and bands to resetting the watch to its factory defaults if necessary.