The Apple Watch can be used to access so many things, from your instant messages to your calendar, photos, and more. There are so many tricks to using the Apple Watch. One thing it doesn’t have, however, is a web browser. Or does it?
Technically, the Apple Watch doesn’t have a web browser like Safari built in that would allow you to search a web page. But there is a clever, hidden way to view web-based content on the smartwatch. This is through a hidden watchOS browser, delivered via Apple’s WebKit engine. It requires a simple workaround, but once you know you can do it, you’ll wow all your friends by showing them.
How to open web links on Apple Watch
- Find the web link you want from your iPhone, iPad, or MacBook.
- Copy it (tap and hold and select Copy on an iPhone or iPad or Command + C on a MacBook).
- Open the Messages app and start a message to yourself.
- Paste the web link into it (tap and hold and select Paste on an iPhone or iPad or Command + V from a MacBook).
- Hit Send.
- Go to Messages app on your Apple Watch and open the message you just sent once it’s delivered.
- Tap the web link and it will open.
How to use the web browser on Apple Watch
Once you have a website up on the Apple Watch, there are a few ways you can interact with it.
- Move your finger up and down to scroll or use the Digital Crown and turn up and down.
- When on a webpage, tap the URL bar to switch from Reader View (set as the default, which removes ads, navigation bars, and displays just text with a few images) to Web View and vice versa.
- You can also tap the URL bar to Reload the page if it didn’t load correctly.
- Tap the URL bar as well to go back to the Previous page.
How to access Google Search on your Apple Watch
Want to look something up on Google from your Apple Watch? There’s a workaround for that, too!
- Send the Google.com link to yourself via an iMessage.
- Open the Messages app on the Watch. Then go to the message you sent, and tap the live link.
- Type a search query into the Google Search Bar (or select the mic and speak your query).
- You’ll see results on the Google search page and can click any of the links to learn more.
What else should you know?
In addition to sending web links to yourself via Messages, you can also use the Mail app. If somebody else sends you a message or e-mail with a hyperlink, you can click on it directly from the Apple Watch and it will open. You can also click on hyperlinks from within websites once you’ve managed to open one on the Watch. However, you can’t click the URL bar once the browser is open and type another website address to navigate to: it won’t work. You’d need to revisit the steps above or use the aforementioned Google trick.
Navigation when viewing websites on Apple Watch is simple, though you’ll need to remember you’re manipulating a very tiny screen. This means you’ll likely only use this feature sparingly. But by and large, you can interact with websites much the same way you do on your phone once you get one up and running on the Watch.
It’s worth noting that the web browser feature only works on the best Apple Watch models, including the Apple Watch Series 3 and later. The QWERTY keyboard for typing search queries in Google only works on Series 7 models and later, including the newest and most premium model, the Apple Watch Ultra. There is the alternative to type the search query into your iPhone instead (a notification will pop up on the device if it’s connected to the same network and account), though this defeats the purpose. The best method is to use voice.
You may also find that particularly complex websites don’t load properly and that Reader Mode is the cleanest, most pleasant-looking experience. Whatever your choice, the limited web browsing support on Apple Watch is a very cool feature you might not have known about.