How to take a screenshot on Apple Watch

If you want to take screenshots of your Apple Watch screen, you must first turn this feature on. Here are the steps to enable screenshots. And after that, we will show you how to take a screenshot on the Apple Watch running any version of watchOS.

Apple Watch showing how to take screenshot

How to enable screenshots on Apple Watch

Starting with watchOS 3, taking screenshots on Apple Watch is disabled by default. This is because the buttons you need to press to take a screenshot are the same to pause or resume a workout in progress.

To avoid this clash, Apple turns off the feature to take screenshots on Apple Watch by default. And since Apple Watch is a fitness device, it makes sense. After all, except for bloggers like us, very few people want to take screenshots of the tiny watch screen.

If you are one among those, here is how to enable screenshots on Apple Watch.

On Apple Watch:

1) Press the Digital Crown to see all your apps and tap Settings.

2) Tap General.

3) Scroll down and tap Screenshots.

4) Turn on the toggle for Enable Screenshots.

Enable Screenshots on Apple Watch

On your iPhone:

If desired, you can enable screenshots on Apple Watch using the paired iPhone. Here’s how:

1) Open the Watch app and tap General.

2) Turn on the toggle for Enable Screenshots.

Enable Screenshots in Watch app on iPhone

Note: Here’s what happens to your workouts now.

How to take a screenshot on Apple Watch

Once you have enabled the screenshot feature, here’s how to take one:

1) Be on the screen whose screenshot you wish to capture.

2) Press the Digital Crown and the side button together and let go of them once the screen flashes. You have successfully taken a screenshot of your Apple Watch screen.

Press Digital Crown and side button to take screenshot on Apple Watch

FAQs related to Apple Watch screenshots

Here are some of the most asked questions related to this.

Where are my Apple Watch screenshots saved?

The Apple Watch has a Photos app, but the screenshots you take aren’t saved on the device. Instead, all Apple Watch screenshots are transferred and saved in the Photos app of the paired iPhone. You can find them in the Recents and Screenshots section of the iOS Photos app.

What to do if my Apple Watch screenshots are not appearing in the iPhone Photos app?

The screenshots appear almost instantly when both Apple Watch and iPhone are connected. But if they are disconnected because of physical distance or because Bluetooth is turned off on either device, the screenshots will not transfer to your iPhone. But when you enable Bluetooth again on both devices, the Apple Watch screenshots will show up automatically in the iPhone Photos app.

Please note that only when you turn off Bluetooth from the Settings app, the Apple Watch and iPhone disconnect. If you tap the Bluetooth icon in the iPhone Control Center, the Apple Watch isn’t disconnected. Doing so only disables your iPhone from searching for new Bluetooth devices until tomorrow morning.

For the quickest screenshot sync between your Apple Watch and iPhone, keep Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled on both devices.

What’s the format and resolution of Apple Watch screenshots?

Just like iPhone, your Apple Watch saves the screenshots in PNG format. And the resolution may differ per the watch model. On my Apple Watch SE, 44mm, the resolution of the watch screenshots is 368 x 448. On the old model, smaller 42mm watches, the resolution can go as low as 216 by 290 pixels.

What happens to workout pause and resume after enabling screenshots on Apple Watch?

As mentioned, watchOS 3 and later use a new shortcut to pause or resume a workout which requires you to press both the Digital Crown and the side button simultaneously (which is the same as taking screenshots).

If you enable screenshots, every time you pause or resume a workout, it will snap a screenshot as well. You can delete them from your iPhone’s Photos app.

Or, to prevent that from happening, watchOS 3 and later include a new feature that can automatically pause your workout when you stop moving and resume when you start moving, saving you from manually pausing or resuming. To automatically start or pause a workout on Apple Watch, go to watch Settings > Workout > Auto-Pause and enable its switch. You can do the same from the iOS Watch app > Workout > Auto-Pause.

Alternatively, if desired, you can disable pausing and resuming workouts using the Digital Crown and side button. To do that, turn off Press to Pause inside the Workout settings.

Auto-Pause and Press to Pause in Workout Settings on Apple Watch

How do I add my Apple Watch screenshots to a mockup?

Loved the watch images in this post? You can use the pro version of the Picsew app or free sites like MockUPhone to insert your Apple Watch screenshots into an Apple Watch mockup of your choice.

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