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Apple Watch Series 4: How to Find, Install, Rearrange and Delete Apps on Your New Apple Smartwatch Running watchOS 5 or Higher. FAQs and Bonus Content Included.

Shudeep Chandrasekhar014 mins
apple watch series 4 hermes

Apple Watch Series 4 is the biggest Apple Watch yet, launched in September 2018 with a 44mm display size option alongside its 40mm sibling. It is the fifth generation of Apple Watch released to the market. It also introduced watchOS 5, the latest major iteration of the Apple Watch operating system.

In this article, we’ll show you how to find the best apps and install them on your Apple Watch Series 4, and also how to uninstall or remove apps that you don’t require. It’s a good practice to keep your Apple smartwatch clean of any unwanted apps, as this could slow down your experience even with the brand new S4 chip under the hood.

About Automatic App Install and How to Enable It

Apple Watch apps are not standalone mobile applications. They are typically packaged for your Apple smart watch along with the equivalent iOS app. That means if you download an app on your iPhone and it has a corresponding watchOS version, you can automatically have that installed on your Apple Watch directly from your phone. Here’s how to do this:

  1. Install the Apple Watch app on your iOS device

  2. Launch the application and tap on General

  3. Go to Automatic App Install and tap the slider to ON position

How to Enable and Disable Automatic App Install for Apple Watch in the Watch app on iPhone

And that’s it! Now when you buy and download an app to your iPhone or iPad, it will automatically install the watchOS version on your watch.

How to Find the Best Apple Watch Apps in the App Store

Now that you’ve set up Automatic App Install, go to the App Store on your iPhone and browse various categories you may be interested in. However, to make sure that you’re only seeing apps that have a watchOS version, go to the App Store through your Watch app on your iPhone. See the screenshot below:

Bottom of the Apple Watch app screen on iPhone, showing four tabs: the left tab is My Watch where you go for Apple Watch settings; next is the Face Gallery where you can explore available watch faces and complications; then the App Store where you can download apps for Apple Watch; and last is Search where you can find an app in the App Store.

This is a sort of filter that saves you a lot of time that you may otherwise spend going into each app in the App Store and seeing if it is compatible with Apple Watch.

How to Push an Installed App from iPhone to Apple Watch

If you already have apps on your phone when you buy your Apple Watch Series 4, you can manually push them to your watch by following the steps below:

  1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone and tap on My Watch.

  2. Scroll down to see all available apps. You will see all downloaded apps that have a watchOS version.

  3. Tap on the Install button against the apps that you want. They will be pushed to your Apple Watch.

How to Push an Installed App from iPhone to Apple Watch

How to Install a watchOS App On My iPhone and Add It to My Apple Watch Manually

Once you have found an app that you like, simply click on Buy or Get to download and install the app. It will be installed on your iPhone (iOS version) as well as your Apple Watch (watchOS version, if you’ve enabled Automatic App Install.) If you haven’t enabled it, then follow the steps below to push it to the watch.

  1. In the Watch app, go to My Watch and scroll down to Available Apps.

  2. If you’ve downloaded it to your iOS device, it should be visible here.

  3. Tap Install against that app to push it to your smart watch.

Change Your Apple Watch Home Screen from List View to Grid View

Apple Watch Home Screen List View and Grid View

If the apps on your watch’s Home Screen are in List View, you can change them to Grid View by doing this:

  1. Press the Digital Crown to go to the Home Screen.

  2. If the Home Screen shows you a list of apps, that would be the List View.

  3. To change to Grid View, firmly press your Apple Watch display and select Grid View.

BONUS CONTENTHow to Set Up and Use a New Apple Watch Series 4: A Beginner’s Guide to Functions, Navigation and watchOS Apps

How to Rearrange Your Apple Watch Home Screen Apps

You have the option of customizing your Apple Watch Home Screen in a particular manner. If you want your frequently used apps in a particular place, do the following:

  1. Tap and hold the one of the app icons until all the icons start jiggling.

  2. Drag an app you want to move to a different location and drop it there.

  3. Click the Digital Crown once you finish. The app icons will stop jiggling.

Grid View on Apple Watch Home Screen - how to rearrange your Watch apps in Grid View

You can also do this from your iPhone. In the Watch app, do the following:

  1. On your iOS device, go to the Watch app and click on My Watch and App Layout.

  2. Rearrange the apps the way you want them by simply dragging and dropping them to a different spot.

  3. When you’re done and you exit the app, the changes will be pushed to your Apple Watch.

Rearrange Watch apps from iPhone Watch App

BONUS CONTENTWhy Apple Watch Series 4 Will Pair Really Well with AirPods 2 – Bluetooth 5.0 Explained and More

How to Delete Downloaded Apps from your Apple Watch

If you accidentally turned Automatic App Install on, then every app you download on your iPhone that has a watchOS version will be pushed to your Apple Watch. If you don’t want that, you can disable Automatic App Install. To remove any app that might have already been pushed to your smart watch, follow these steps outlined below:

  1. To do this on your Apple Watch, press the Digital Crown and go to the Home Screen. Make sure your display is in Grid View, or you won’t be able to uninstall apps.

  2. Tap and hold the icon for the app you want to remove. 

  3. Once the icons start to jiggle, click the x on the top left of each app icon.

  4. Confirm removal in the pop-up window and click Delete App.

  5. Exit by pressing the Digital Crown.

Delete apps from Apple Watch - Grid View Only

You can also delete apps from Apple Watch through your iPhone or other iDevice. See below for an out line of the steps involved:

  1. Launch the Watch app on your iPhone and go to My Watch.

  2. Go down to the section that says Installed on Apple Watch.

  3. Tap the app you want in uninstall, and then toggle the Show App on Apple Watch option to the OFF position.

Delete watchOS apps from Apple Watch on iPhone Watch app

How to Delete Built-in (Native) Apps from My Apple Watch

The default apps that come with your Apple Watch can also be deleted. You must have a device running iOS 10 or higher in order to be able to do this. To delete them from another device, do the following:

  1. On your iOS device, tap and hold the app to be deleted until all app icons start to jiggle.

  2. Click on the x at the corner of the icon and confirm that you want to delete the app.

  3. Press the home button to exit.

  4. The same app will also be deleted from your Apple Watch.

Note: Built-in apps cannot be deleted from Apple Watch itself. You will need a paired iOS device in order to do this. The app will be removed from the watch as well as your iOS device.

BONUS CONTENTApple Watch: The Psychology behind the “Close Your Rings” Feature on the Activity App, and How to Achieve Your Daily Goals

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can I delete apps from my Apple Watch in List View?

No, you cannot. You can only delete an app from the Grid View. Instructions are provided in this article.

What built-in apps can I remove from my Apple Watch?

If you have iOS 10, you can remove these apps from your Home screen:

  • Calculator

  • Calendar

  • Compass

  • Contacts1

  • FaceTime2

  • Find My Friends 

  • Home

  • iBooks3

  • iCloud Drive

  • iTunes Store

  • Mail

  • Maps3

  • Music3

  • News (where available)

  • Notes

  • Podcasts3

  • Reminders 

  • Stocks

  • Tips

  • Videos or TV

  • Voice Memos

  • Watch app4

  • Weather

 

  1. If you remove the Contacts app, all of your contact information will remain in the Phone app.

  2. If you remove the FaceTime app, you can still make and receive FaceTime calls in Contacts and the Phone app.

  3. If you remove the iBooks, Maps, Music, or Podcast apps, they won’t be available to use with CarPlay.

  4. If you try to remove the Watch app from an iPhone that’s paired with an Apple Watch, an alert asks you to unpair your Apple Watch before you can remove the app.

Will removing built-in apps affect my device’s performance?

In certain cases, it might. For example, if you remove the Music app from your Home screen on your iOS device, some of your songs might not play on third-party apps connected to certain models of stereo receivers or car stereos. If you remove the Weather app from your iPhone, you won’t see it in the Glance feature on your Apple Watch. Ideally, if you aren’t worried about memory space, leave built-in apps installed on your iOS device and your Apple Watch.

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