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  • How Do I Take Screenshots on my Apple Watch?

How Do I Take Screenshots on my Apple Watch?

April 8, 2022 / Dave Taylor / Apple Watch Help / No Comments

Got a new Apple Watch and want to share some of its cool features with my family, but I feel silly taking photos of the watch on my wrist. Is there a way to capture the screen like I can on my iPhone?

There aren’t a lot of controls on the Apple Watch, but there are two features on the right side: The watch crown (the dial, Apple calls it the “Digital Crown”) and the side button. Push them both at the same time and… nothing happens. Why? Because you have to go into settings on the watch and enable screenshots. Unsure why since no other Apple product requires this step, but fortunately it’s pretty easy and a good chance to learn a bit more about the WatchOS interface.

I’ll be demonstrating on an Apple Watch Series 7 running WatchOS 8.5.1 but the screen capture feature has been the same for many generations of the watch and operating system. If you haven’t yet experimented with the Digital Crown, by the way, try spinning it when you’re viewing messages or content. Sometimes it’s a lot easier and more precise than dragging your finger along the face of the Watch.

FIND SCREENSHOTS SETTING ON APPLE WATCH

To start out, here’s my current watch face:

apple watch watchos 8.5 - time display

Big, bright, easy to read. I like it. To get to a specific app, I like to use that Digital Crown. A push and it’ll promptly display all the apps in a cheery grid view. Swipe around until you find the icon that looks like a watch gear, as shown below:

apple watch watchos 8.5 - apps grid view

You’ll become very familiar with that icon as the Settings app is endlessly helpful.  A tap on Settings and a long list of setting and preference categories are displayed:

apple watch watchos 8.5 - settings

To enable screenshots, tap on “General“.

apple watch watchos 8.5 - settings > general

Worth noting is that this is where you can check for a WatchOS software update with just a tap. We need to go a bit further down, however, so spin that Digital Crown to find “Screenshots“. It looks, well, like this:

apple watch watchos 8.5 - settings > general > screenshots

Almost there!

ENABLE SCREENSHOTS ON AN APPLE WATCH

Now that you’ve found the right spot to tap, it’s darn easy to enable this feature:

apple watch watchos 8.5 - enable screenshots

Simply tap to have the on/off switch show green and you’re done. Notice the explanatory text: “You can take a screenshot of your Apple Watch by pressing the side button and the Digital Crown at the same time. To view screenshots, open Photos on your iPhone, then go to Albums > Screenshots.”

In fact, they also show up in “Recents” too, as you can see when I peek on my own iPhone:

apple iphone 13 pro - photos - camera roll - apple watch screenshots

The last few are the images I’ve used in this tutorial. And that’s the scoop. Now you know how to enable screenshots on your Apple Watch, how to take them – simply push the crown and side button simultaneously – and where to find them (on your iPhone). Now, have at it!

Pro Tip: I’ve been writing about the Apple Watch since the release of the first unit. Please check out my Apple Watch Help area for lots more tutorials and guides while you’re here. Thanks!

About the Author: Dave Taylor has been involved with the online world since the early days of the Internet. Author of over 20 technical books, he runs the popular AskDaveTaylor.com tech help site. You can also find his gadget reviews on YouTube and chat with him on Twitter as @DaveTaylor.

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Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!
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