How to Surf The Web From Your Wrist – Guide

The Apple Watch features a web browser, but the company doesn’t say where to find it or how to use it in one of three ways:

  • You can use it as a normal watch face device by opening the app store and searching for “applewatch” on the main screen;
  • You can use it as an assistant watch by pairing it with an iPhone or iPad; or
  • You can use it as a standalone device by connecting to your home Wi-Fi and using the included cellular connection.

Apple’s Watch has a web browser feature which is less known but is sophisticated enough to integrate with a web browser. This is useful if you’re using a mobile-capable Apple Watch and your iPhone isn’t readily available.

Apple created a tiny browser for the Apple Watch, but it doesn’t show up in the app store. Instead, if a link is tapped, it will be displayed when needed. Using Siri, Messaging or Mail, there are at least three simple ways to access Apple Watch’s secret browser. It’s a matter of making a link appear on the screen. A list of web results will appear after a search on Siri and clicking on any of the links in the list will open the browser. The browser defaults to Reader mode in some circumstances. If this happens, pressing the website address at the top and selecting ‘Web View’ will display the page in a more iPhone-like format. By tapping on the address, you can also access Back, Forward and Reload buttons.

More ways to open the Apple Watch browser

There are a few third-party browser apps, but the selection is limited and some aren’t as highly rated. Although the integrated browser is a step ahead, it will probably be the most reliable solution and can take advantage of features that third-party developers may not have access to. Tapping a link in an email or message also opens the page in the Apple Watch browser. A batch of links can be sent to serve as landing pages like Bing, DuckDuckGo or other search engines. Google’s search engine doesn’t work like the button that starts the search is replaced with an ‘X’ to clear the text, if desired, and there is no way to proceed after entering the keywords. You can also type a link directly into the watch using Messages, and after sending it, it can be opened.

Apple may have kept the browser as an indirect application due to the Apple Watch’s lack of on-screen keyboard in the first seven models. The Apple Watch Series 7 is the first to include a keyboard and also has a significantly larger screen. It’s unclear whether this will inspire Apple to make its browser more easily accessible as a separate app. For now, the Apple Watch hidden browser can be opened via Siri, Messaging and Mail.

Final note

How to Surf the Web From Your Wrist: A Guide for Beginners