If you or a loved one have trouble hearing, whether permanently or for a short time, take advantage of the Accessibility and touch features on Apple Watch.
With taps on your wrist, adjustments for earphones, and alternatives to dictation, your Watch can be just as wonderful with touch as it is with sound.
Apple Watch audio enhancement features
Taptic Time and Haptic Alerts
Using the Taptic Engine, you can receive taps for the time and alerts on your Watch. And with the flexibility offered, you can configure how you want to receive those taps.
Enable Taptic Time
You can turn on the Taptic Time feature in the Watch app on your iPhone or Settings on your Apple Watch.
Enable Taptic Time on iPhone
1) Open the Watch app and select the My Watch tab.
2) Scroll down and pick Clock.
3) Tap Taptic Time and enable the toggle.
4) Choose from Digits, Terse, or Morse Code for the feel. You’ll see a brief description how Taptic Time will work with each option.
To adjust the Taptic Time speed, open the Watch app and go to My Watch > Accessibility > Taptic Time Speed.
Enable Taptic Time on Apple Watch
1) Open Settings on your Apple Watch and select Clock.
2) Tap Taptic Time and enable the toggle.
3) Choose from Digits, Terse, or Morse Code.
To adjust the Taptic Time speed, go to Settings > Accessibility > Taptic Time Speed.
To test out the Taptic Time option you pick, tap and hold your Watch face with two fingers. Note: If you have Speak Time enabled in the Clock settings, you will hear the time announced rather than feel the taps on your wrist.
Enable Haptic Alerts
Like with Taptic Time, you can enable Haptic Alerts on your iPhone or Apple Watch.
Enable Haptic Alerts on iPhone
1) Open the Watch app and select the My Watch tab.
2) Pick Sounds & Haptics.
3) Turn on the toggle for Haptic Alerts and choose from the Default or pick Prominent Alerts for pre-announced alerts.
4) Optionally, you can enable the toggle for Crown Haptics which taps your wrist as you rotate the Digital Crown.
Enable Haptic Alerts on Apple Watch
1) Open Settings on your Apple Watch and select Sounds & Haptics.
2) Turn on the toggle for Haptic Alerts and choose from the Default or Prominent Alerts.
3) Optionally, enable the toggle for Crown Haptics.
Mono Audio
If it’s only with one ear that you have trouble hearing, Mono Audio is a good setting to use. Instead of balancing your earphone sound between each ear, this plays the audio on one side or the other.
Enable Mono Audio on iPhone
1) Open the Watch app and select the My Watch tab.
2) Select Accessibility.
3) Turn on the toggle for Mono Audio.
4) Use the slider beneath the toggle to adjust the volume balance between the left and right.
Enable Mono Audio on Apple Watch
1) Open Settings on your Apple Watch and select Accessibility.
2) Turn on the toggle for Mono Audio.
3) Use the slider to adjust the balance between the left and right.
RTT (Real-Time Text)
If you’re carrier supports RTT, you can enable it for your Apple Watch (cellular models). You can turn on this feature and adjust its settings on your iPhone.
1) Open the Watch app and select the My Watch tab.
2) Select Accessibility.
3) Tap RTT and enable the toggle.
4) Adjust the settings below the toggle for your Relay Number, to Send Immediately, and to configure Default Replies.
Scribble text messages
If you’re unable to use dictation for Message on your Apple Watch, Scribble is a handy feature for writing your texts.
1) Open the conversation and tap the Scribble icon.
2) Then, use one finger to write out your message. You can use the Space and Backspace buttons if necessary.
3) Tap Send on the top right when you’re ready to pass along your text message.
Wrapping it up
Audio or visual impairments don’t have to keep you from enjoying all that Apple Watch has to offer. And some of these features are convenient for most anyone!
What Apple Watch tips do you want to share with others who have trouble hearing?
For more, take a look at how to use visual enhancements on your Apple Watch.