How to Display Apple Watch Screen on iPhone

Apple has always championed a wireless future. It is the Cupertino company that is pushing the popularity of wireless charging and synchronizing all its devices using Wi-Fi and cellular network. At one time, the Apple TV set-top box became one of the first devices with which you can display the screen of your iPhone, iPad or Mac on a TV . Then the technology was still a little bit raw, there were frequent disconnections, but over time everything was stabilized.

And in the continuation of the development of AirPlay technology, along with the iOS 16 update and watchOS 9, Apple launched the ability to display the Apple Watch screen on the iPhone . The most interesting thing is that the functionality is not limited to displaying an image. Let’s see how the innovation works and see why this might be needed.

AirPlay on Apple Watch

Thanks to the enlarged picture, it will become more convenient to interact with the watch.

Apple has been developing wireless interaction between them for more than one generation of its devices. And over the past two years, AirPlay technology has received quite a serious development. Last year, along with the release of iOS 15 and macOS Monterey, it became possible to display an image from an iPhone or iPad on a Mac computer screen. We talked about this in a separate article.

In the same year, Cupertino went even further. It is now possible to display an image from the Apple Watch on the iPhone . And not just display a picture, but interact with the watch through the smartphone screen.

This feature is originally advertised as part of accessibility . Not every user will be able to find it there, so I assume that it was clearly not made for daily use, since it is hidden so deeply. Unfortunately, not all watch models support the new feature. Here is a list of Apple Watch that can display image on iPhone:

• Apple Watch Series 6.
• Apple Watch Series 7.

The rest of the models rolled by. In this regard, many people have a question. And why might you need to display the clock screen on a smartphone ? Actually, it has an application. For example, if you are teaching someone how to use the Apple Watch , it is much more convenient to do it with the iPhone. After all, all the actions that you will show on the iPhone will be performed on the watch.

Thanks to this innovation, it is finally possible to record the Apple Watch screen to demonstrate some applications or functions. Often a screenshot does not convey everything that you want to show, but there will be a whole video. In general, there are more options for interaction between iPhone and Apple Watch.

Mirroring Apple Watch

All buttons on the Apple Watch virtual model are clickable.

To use the new feature, you need to fulfill several conditions:

• The desired Apple Watch model with watchOS 9 installed.
• iPhone with iOS 16 .

Please note that iOS 16 and watchOS 9 are currently in beta only. These versions of operating systems are not stable and may cause problems with device performance. If iOS 16 can be relatively painlessly rolled back to iOS 15 , then with watchOS 9 such a feint will not work. Therefore, we do not recommend installing beta versions on mainstream devices. If you decide to install, then do not forget to create backups.

To enable Apple Watch Screen Mirroring on iPhone , follow these steps:

• Make sure your Apple Watch on watchOS 9 is paired with your iPhone on iOS 16.
• On iPhone, open Settings.
• Go to the “Universal Access” section.
• Go to “Apple Watch Mirroring” and activate the switch.

After that, an image of a clock will appear at the bottom, on which a screen will be displayed after a few seconds. At the same time, please note that the Digital Crown and the Power button on the iPhone screen are also clickable and perform their direct functions.

The good news is that Apple continues to develop AirPlay 2 between its devices. Let’s hope that over time there will be even more new opportunities. Personally, I’d like to see the ability to output iPhone screen to iPad .