The Force Touch feature on Apple Watch is similar to a right mouse click in Windows. It allows you to quickly access contextually-specific options on the watch. We’ll show you 10 useful ways you can use Force Touch in different apps on your watch.
Change and Customize Watch Faces
This is probably the most common use for Force Touch. Press firmly on the watch face to access the interface that allows you to change to a different watch face and customize the different watch faces.
NOTE: You can also use a single photo or photo album to create a custom watch face and make the Modular watch face multi-colored.
Change the View in the Weather App
When you open the “Weather” app on your Apple Watch, it displays the weather conditions by default. However, you can use Force Touch to change the view.
Press firmly on the watch face to access the three options for viewing the weather in the app. Tap on one of the options to change the view.
NOTE: You can also tap on the current view to cycle through the three different views.
Change the View in the Calendar App
By default, when you first open the Calendar app on your watch, the “Day” view displays. After that, the last view used is the one that displays when you open the app. Use Force Touch to quickly change the Calendar view. In the current view, press firmly on the watch screen.
Tap “List” to view the events for “Today” in list form.
NOTE: Tap the “Today” link in the upper-left corner of the watch screen to view the whole month at a glance. Tap the monthly calendar to return to the “Today” view (“Day” or “List”, whichever format was last being viewed).
Pressing firmly again allows you to go back to the “Day” view.
Flag and Delete Email, Mark Email as Unread, and Reply to Email in the Mail App
The “Mail” app on Apple Watch allows you not only to view your email messages, but also take action on them using Force Touch. When you open the mail app, tap on the email you want to flag, delete, mark as unread, or reply to.
Once the desired email message is open, press firmly on the watch screen to access the options for dealing with the current email message.
Clear All Notifications
This is handy if you get a lot of notifications at once. Rather than dismissing each separate notification, you can quickly and easily clear all notifications. When you get notifications, open the main list of notifications and press firmly on the watch screen. Tap the “Clear All” button to dismiss, or clear, all the notifications.
Create a New Text Message
One nice feature of the Apple Watch is the ability to create and send a text message using the watch. It still gets delivered through your iPhone, but you don’t have to take out the phone to create it. Simply use Force Touch in the “Messages” app to create a new message.
Open the “Messages” app and press firmly on the main “Messages” screen.
Tap the “New Message” button that displays and use the “New Message” screen to add a contact and create your message.
When creating your message, you can either choose from the list of default messages, speak your message, or send an emoji.
NOTE: You can create custom messages for use when sending new messages or replying to messages you receive.
Send Your Location in the Messages App
If your meeting someone, instead of trying to describe where you are, send them your location in a text message. They can use the location they receive to get directions to where you are. This is easily accomplished using Force Touch in the “Messages” app.
We’ve already covered how to quickly share your location using “Messages” on your Apple Watch.
Add a New Alarm
Just like multi-function watches such as Casio, your Apple Watch also has an Alarm function. When you open the “Alarms” app, all alarms you have added display in a list and slider buttons indicate whether they are on (green) or off (gray). Alarms that are off also display in gray text rather than white.
The Force Touch feature is used to create new alarms in the app. Press firmly on the main “Alarms” screen.
Tap the “Add Alarm” button that displays and set the options for the alarm.
Shuffle, Repeat, and AirPlay Controls and Change Source in the Music App
Your Apple Watch allows you to control music on your iPhone as well as music directly on watch itself. The Force Touch feature provides access to the different options on the different screens in the app.
Open the “Music” app and press firmly on the main “Music” screen.
Tap the “Source” button to specify whether you want to play music on your iPhone or on the watch.
NOTE: You can transfer up to 2GB of music to your watch and play it directly from there using Bluetooth headphones or speakers. See our article to find out how.
Additional options are available when you go to the “Now Playing” screen and use Force Touch. Press firmly on the “Now Playing” screen.
The “Shuffle”, “Repeat”, and “AirPlay” options display. You can also change the “Source” of the music from this screen.
Search for Locations in the Apple Maps App
You can use your Apple Watch to search for locations in the “Maps” app, rather than taking out your phone, using Force Touch. When you open the “Maps” app, your current location displays. Press firmly on the watch screen.
Tap the “Search” button to search for a specific location. You can speak the address you want to find using the “Dictation” button or you can select a location from the “Recents” list.
NOTE: You can also get the location of any contact for which you have an address, using the “Contacts” button and get maps for and directions to transit systems using the “Transit” button.
There are other ways to use the Force Touch feature on the Apple Watch, such as changing the stopwatch and timer modes, changing the move goal in the “Activity” app, and even changing the color of the emojis in the “Messages” app. You can also try Force Touch in third-party apps to discover additional options, if any are available.