All Apple Watch icons and symbols meanings explained


If you have just bought a new Apple Watch, you will likely notice at least one icon, known or unknown, at the top center of its display. Each icon on your Apple Watch, be it a status or a Control Center icon, serves as a shortcut to a unique function. While you might already be familiar with a few, some icons can be confusing, especially if you are a new Apple Watch user.

Apple Watch icons and symbols meaning

So, to help you out, I’ve prepared this definitive guide on the meanings of all the Apple Watch icons and symbols.

Apple Watch Status icons

1. Red Dot icon

The Red Dot icon at the top center of your Apple Watch signifies that you have at least one unread notification. You can swipe down on your Watch Face or long-press the top edge of the screen, then swipe down if you are within an app to access the notification center.

Red dot icon on Apple Watch

2. Green Lightning icon

The green lightning or flash icon means your Apple Watch is currently connected to a charger and is successfully charging.

Green charging icon on watchOS

3. Red Lightning icon

The Red Lightning icon appears when your Apple Watch’s battery is low. To use it again, you must attach it to its charging cradle. The icon usually appears when your Apple Watch battery falls way below the Low Power mode mark, i.e., 10%.

Apple Watch Low battery icon

4. Lock icon

If you notice a Lock icon, it means your Apple Watch is locked with the passcode lock you added to it while setting up the Apple Watch in the first place. With wrist detection enabled, the Passcode Lock automatically comes into action when you remove the Apple Watch from your wrist. Without wrist detection, you’ll need to manually activate the lock from the Control Center.

Simply enter your passcode to unlock your Apple Watch.

Blue lock icon on Apple Watch

5. Water Drop icon – Water Lock

The Water Drop or Water Lock appears when you turn on the Water Lock feature on your Apple Watch via the Control Center. When activated, it restricts your Apple Watch to respond to display touches to prevent any accidental touches from exposure to water.

To deactivate this feature, simply rotate the Digital Crown until you hear a beeping sound. The beeping sound helps eject the water out from the Apple Watch’s speaker.

Water Drop icon on watchOS

6. Crescent Moon icon

The Crescent Moon shows up when you activate the Do Not Disturb mode right from the Control Center on your Apple Watch or the paired iPhone if the Share Focus Across Device settings are on. Once enabled, the Do Not Disturb mode silences all the calls and other alerts; however, alarms will still ring.

Crescent moon Do not Disturb Apple Watch icon

7. Airplane Mode

If you see the Airplane icon on your Apple Watch, it means the Airplane Mode is active, and all the features requiring a wireless connection are unavailable.

Airplane mode icon on Apple Watch

8. Dual Face Mask icon

The Dual Face Mask represents the Theater Mode, which can be enabled and disabled via the Control Center. As the name suggests, the mode is intended to be used while you are in a place that requires zero distractions. The mode restricts your Apple Watch from lighting up whenever a new notification arrives and also disables the Always-on Display if your Apple Watch supports it.

Dual Face Mask icon on Apple Watch

9. Workout icon

This icon appears when your Apple Watch detects you are in a workout session or you manually start a workout in the Workout app. Tapping the icon will take you to the workout tracking screen in the Workout app, where you can pause and play the workout.

Workout icon on Apple Watch

10. Red Cross icon

This status icon signifies that your GPS + Cellular Apple Watch has lost the connection to the cellular network.

Red cross icon on Apple Watch

11. iPhone Disconnected icon

Represented by an iPhone with a slash mark over it, the iPhone Disconnected icon signifies that your Apple Watch has lost connection with the paired iPhone. To fix the issue, try bringing your Apple Watch and the paired iPhone close to each other, disabling the AirPlane mode if it is active, or restarting your Apple Watch.

Red disconnected iPhone on Apple Watch

12. iPhone icon

Represented by a green iPhone symbol, this icon appears all the time at the top center of the Control Center when the Apple Watch is connected to the paired iPhone.

Green iPhone symbol on Apple Watch

13. Location indicator icon

This Apple Watch icon signifies an app or the Watch face that requires location services to display information such as weather details used or currently using your location.

Location indicator symbol on Apple Watch

14. Wi-Fi icon

As obvious, the Wi-Fin icon appears when you connect your Apple Watch to a Wi-Fi network.

Apple Watch WiFi icon

15. Wireless Activity icon

This icon appears when a wireless activity is taking place or when there is an ongoing active process.

Wireless Activity icon on Apple Watch

16. Mic icon

The orange Mic icon appears when an app or service uses the Apple Watch’s mic to listen to external audio. This icon usually pops up when using Siri, recording a voice memo, talking on the walkie-talkie, and more.

Orange mic icon on Apple Watch

17. Now Playing icon

Represented by a stripped play button, the Now Playing icon appears when some music is being played on the Apple Watch or the paired iPhone. Tapping the icon will take you to the Now Playing screen, where you can control the media playback.

Now playing icon on Apple Watch

18. LTE icon

The LTE icon represents the cellular signal strength on your GPS + Cellular Apple Watch model.

LTE icon on Apple Watch

19. Call icon

The green phone icon shows up when you are on an active call, either on the Apple Watch or the paired iPhone. Tapping the icon will take you to the calling, where you can transfer calls between your iPhone and Apple Watch.

Call icon on Apple Watch

20. Maps icon

Appears when the Apple Watch is being used to provide directions using the Apple Maps app.

Map icon on Apple Watch

21. Walkie Talkie icon

This icon shows up when you enable Walkie Talkie on your Apple Watch mode. Once the mode is active, your friends with Apple Watch can contact you via Walkie Talkie.

Walkie talkie Apple Watch icon

22. Navigation icon

It appears when a third-party app is being used to provide directions on the Apple Watch.

Apple Watch Navigation icon

23. Car icon

This car appears when you enable Car Focus on the paired iPhone, and the Share Focus Across Devices setting is enabled on it.

Car icon on Apple Watch

24. Yellow Circle (Low Power Mode) icon

The yellow circle represents the Low Power Mode icon on the Apple Watch, which can be enabled or disabled via the Control Center or the battery settings on the watch.

Yellow circle icon indicating low power mode on Apple Watch

Apple Watch Control Center specific icons

25. Cellular icon

Tapping on this icon disables and enables cellular connection on your Apple Watch, which has eSIM functionality.

Cellular icon on Apple Watch Control center

26. Wi-Fi icon

Tapping the Wi-Fi icon toggles through Wi-Fi connectivity on your Apple Watch.

WiFi icon on Apple Watch

27. Ping iPhone

This control center icon helps you quickly locate your misplaced paired iPhone. When you tap this icon, the paired iPhone makes a loud beeping sound, hearing that you can locate the iPhone.

Ping iPhone icon on Apple Watch

28. Battery Percentage

This icon shows the current available battery level on your Apple Watch. Moreover, you can enable low power mode on your Apple Watch by tapping this icon and choosing the appropriate option.

Battery percentage on Apple Watch Control center

29. Silent icon

As the name suggests, tapping this icon puts your Apple Watch in Silent Mode. Once enabled, the bell icon will transform into a crossed bell icon and vice versa.

Cross bell icon on Apple Watch

30. Flashlight

This Control Center button transforms your Apple Watch display into a flashlight. There are three flashlight modes, and you can switch between them by simply swiping across the display.

Flashlight icon on Apple Watch

31. AirPlay icon

The AirPlay icon in the Control Center lets you choose the audio output device you want to use with your Apple Watch.

Airplay icon on Apple Watch

32. Sleep Mode Icon

As you may presume, the icon says your Apple Watch is in sleep mode. When in this mode, the display will turn off, and when you tap on the screen, the sleep timer will appear in front of you. You can set the time for sleep mode from the settings app.

Teal bed icon for sleep mode on Apple Watch

33. Work Focus Mode icon

Appears when the Work focus is enabled on your Apple Watch or any of your Apple devices. This Focus is aimed at limiting distractions caused by the Apple Watch during your work hours, and the Work Focus icon appears at the top center and in the Control Center when enabled.

Work Focus Mode Icon on Apple Watch

34. Personal Focus Mode icon

Similar to Work Mode Focus, Personal Focus also appears when enabled on your Apple Watch or other Apple devices. The icon shows up on your Watch Face and in the Control Center.

Personal Focus Mode icon on Apple Watch

35. Double A icon

This icon represents the Dynamic Type feature, which lets you choose the text size displayed on your Apple Watch.

Double A icon on Apple Watch Control center

36. Bell with wavy lines icon

This icon represents the Siri Announce feature, which reads out all incoming notifications aloud when the Apple Watch has the supported headphones connected (AirPods or certain Beats models). However, you must allow Siri to announce notifications on the Apple Watch and paired iPhone settings.

Bell with wavy lines icon on Apple Watch

37. Ear Shaped icon

This icon on the Apple Watch represents the Hearing Devices options that appear when the decibel level of the headphone volume is above a certain threshold, which could affect your hearing.

Ear icon on Apple Watch Control center

38. Compass icon

This icon appears when you use the Backtrack feature on the supported Apple Watch models. The feature helps you backtrack your steps and traveled routes in case you are lost.

Compass icon on Apple Watch

Signing off…

And that’s it; these were all the icons and symbols you might have noticed on your Apple Watch at one point or another. While most icons are self-explanatory, some icons, like Location Indicator or Red Dot, can confuse new Apple Watch users. We tried covering almost all the icons and symbols that may reflect on your Apple Watch screen. If we missed something, please let us know in the comment section below.

Read More :


Discover more from reviewer4you.com

Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.

We will be happy to hear your thoughts

Leave a reply

0
Your Cart is empty!

It looks like you haven't added any items to your cart yet.

Browse Products
Powered by Caddy

Discover more from reviewer4you.com

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading