I write about the best smartwatches for a living, and have been wearing an Apple Watch on my wrist for the past decade, but recently I made my life a lot easier by tweaking the layout of my watch. If, like me, you find yourself scrolling through your grid, endlessly looking for your alarm, this is the article you need to read.
If you’re after more Apple Watch hacks, here’s how I added my daily step count to my watch face, and the steps to take to make your Apple Watch heart rate tracking more accurate.
I wear an Apple Watch every day, and this simple trick made my life a lot easier
Like most Apple Watch wearers, I only use about 10% of the features on my watch. In an attempt to get more out of my watch, I’ve been trying new apps and using my watch for my marathon training, rather than switching between Apple and Garmin.
Yet as I spent ages scrolling through the grid looking for Runna, the training app I’m using for my marathon plan, I realized I could make my life a lot easier by switching to the List View. To do that, just press the Digital Crown to go to the Home Screen. Then turn the Digital Crown to scroll to the bottom of the screen, then choose List View.
You can also go to the Settings app, tap App View and then choose Grid View or List View.
This sounds like a basic switch, but it allows you to see all of your apps alphabetically, to save that time-consuming scrolling, as you try to remember what the app icon looks like. You can use the Digital Crown to scroll up and down the list — handy if, like me, you find yourself wearing running gloves, which make it difficult to use the touch screen.
Of course, if you prefer the Grid View, it’s worth remembering that you can rearrange your apps to place the ones you use the most in the middle of the grid. To do this, touch and hold the app icon you want to move until it starts to jiggle, and drag it into a new position on your watch screen. Alternatively, you can use the Watch app on your iPhone, selecting My Watch, then App View, and selecting Arrangement, where you can drag and rearrange your apps.
Little tweaks like this can help personalize your Watch and make it easier to use every day. Keep an eye on Tom’s Guide for more simple Apple Watch tips and tricks, and check out the best Apple Watches to buy in 2026 here.
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