NEW YORK, January 26, 2026, 07:03 EST
On Monday, a Tom’s Guide contributor shared a checklist of Apple Watch settings that users should adjust right away. The advice includes restricting which iPhone apps can send notifications to the wrist and enabling health and safety features that often remain off by default. Sanuj Bhatia also highlighted competitors like Samsung and Garmin but emphasized that Apple’s watch performs best when paired with an iPhone. 1
The urgency comes from Apple’s health features relying on users opting in—and then being patient. According to Apple, its hypertension notifications monitor patterns tied to chronic high blood pressure over 30-day spans, using data gathered from the watch’s optical heart sensor. This feature targets people aged 22 and up who aren’t pregnant and haven’t been diagnosed with hypertension. 2
The advice comes amid a jam-packed wearables market, where brands race to pack in health tracking without overwhelming users with alerts or draining batteries. According to Omdia, global wearable band shipments jumped 13% year-on-year in Q1 2025, with Xiaomi edging out Apple as the top vendor. Analyst Cynthia Chen noted the industry is moving away from a “hardware-led” focus toward an “ecosystem-driven” approach. 3
Apple has tweaked how notifications work, letting you choose which apps are allowed to send alerts. Notifications show up on your Apple Watch or iPhone, but never both. You can either mirror your iPhone’s notification settings or disable alerts from certain apps by adjusting the “Mirror iPhone Alerts From” list in the Watch app. 4
Screen behavior offers another adjustment point. According to Apple’s user guide, you can set the display to stay active longer after waking — with an option to “Wake for 70 Seconds.” Users can also customize Always On settings to decide what remains visible on the watch face, including “complications,” which are the small widgets displaying info like weather or calendar. 5
Bhatia’s list also calls out the Activity nudges that many users find nonstop. Apple explains the Activity app monitors stand hours and lets users manage Activity reminders and alerts—like disabling “Daily Coaching”—through the watch’s Settings app or the iPhone Watch app. 6
If you want your watch face to switch automatically, Tom’s Guide highlights Focus modes—Apple’s tool for filtering notifications based on context like Work or Sleep. According to Apple’s Watch user guide, you can set a particular watch face for each Focus right from your iPhone, letting your watch swap faces whenever that Focus kicks in. 7
Bhatia pointed out sleep apnea detection as a feature worth turning on early, though it needs enough nights of data to be effective. According to Apple, the watch uses its accelerometer to monitor breathing disruptions during sleep, requiring at least 10 nights of sleep data within a 30-day window. After that, it analyzes the data every 30 days for steady signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea. 8
Bhatia pointed out fall detection as a key safety feature, which can trigger an emergency call if the wearer doesn’t respond. According to Apple, the watch sounds an alarm and shows an alert after detecting a hard fall. If the wearer remains still for around a minute, it can automatically contact emergency services. On the Apple Watch Ultra 3, this alert might even be sent via Emergency SOS by satellite in certain areas without cellular or Wi-Fi coverage. 9
Health alerts like these come with clear limitations, including the risk of false reassurance or missed diagnoses. Apple warns that its hypertension notifications “will not detect all instances” of hypertension and advises users to verify readings with a blood pressure cuff and consult a clinician. Cardiologist Heather Ross highlighted that improved screening remains a major hurdle since hypertension “frequently goes undetected.” 10
In certain markets, regulators have classified the feature as a medical device. According to Reuters, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the nod to Apple’s hypertension feature in September 2025. Apple said it plans to launch it in around 150 countries and regions. The algorithm analyzes data collected over 30 days before alerting users to persistent signs of hypertension. 11
