Make texting more bearable with custom Apple Watch folds

Apple Watch text messages aren’t fun, no matter how you slice them. But it can be much easier if you spend a few minutes setting up pre-made messages so that you can immediately reply to them later. This makes texting much easier. Here’s how to set it up.

Texting on the Apple Watch is a bit of a nightmare

Sending text messages on the Apple Watch is a challenge, no matter which method you try. If you have a newer Series or Ultra watch, you can use the on-screen keyboard… with probably mixed results. It’s a small screen. You can try using dictation, but that often messes up proper nouns and homophones.

The Apple Watch is large when alerting the field – it is one of the biggest strengths of the device. You can look at your wrist and see what’s going on, who’s calling, who’s texting. But the answer is not very good.

Apple includes a default list of messages you can send. Just scroll through the list and tap on one. But I wasn’t too surprised by the possibilities.

Fortunately, it’s dead easy to set up a few custom pre-made responses. This makes texting on Apple Watch much easier and more personal.

Add new text replies on Apple Watch

Open the file on your iPhone Watch application (Located in the Utilities folder in the application library.) Scroll down to the Newsand then tap on Default responses. Here you can change the options.

Tap Add a reply… add your own. Some of the ones I added are:

• “Sorry, I can’t talk right now,” a more natural and normal way to say you’re unavailable.
• “Good!” a more emotional human way of writing than “OK” without punctuation.
• “That sounds good,” another practical phrase I use a lot.
• “I don’t know,” a useful option missing from Apple’s default set of answers.
• “Maybe,” when you want to say ‘No’ without being so direct.
• “I’m leaving now,” a convenient message to send as I walk to my car.
• “What should we have for dinner?” a question I often post much later in the day than I should.
• “Sorry for the typos, I’m watching,” a quick canned message I can send when dictation or the tiny keyboard have completely failed me.

Remove and reorder default Apple Watch responses

Tap Edit at the top of the screen and you can remove some of the built-in ones like “OK” and “Can I call you later?” which I would never use. You can also change the order by dragging the grab bar to the right. The ones above will ship faster and easier, so put your most used ones there.

Tap Done (check mark in the upper right corner) to save changes.

More tips for Apple Watch

1. How to use Water Lock on Apple Watch
2. How to silence Apple Watch, use Do Not Disturb and Theater Mode
3. An easy Apple Watch hack will keep you on time even if you’re running late
4. How to track activity rings on Apple Watch and pause streaks
5. How to Connect Apple Watch to Planet Fitness Treadmill
6. How to Find a Lost iPhone Using Apple Watch

D. Griffin Jones is a writer, podcaster and video producer for Cult of Mac. Griffin has been an avid computer enthusiast since he got his first PC in 2002 – but hasn’t turned back since he got a Mac in 2008. His graphic and web design skills, along with video and podcast editing, have been self-taught for over 20 years. Griffin has a bachelor’s degree in computer science and has written several (unpublished) apps for Mac and iOS. His vintage computer collection consists of over 40 desktops, laptops, PDAs and devices dating back to the early 1980s. All of these creative and technical skills, along with a deep knowledge of Apple history, he brings to his work for Cult of Mac.