Is your Apple Watch running low on local storage space? In this tutorial, we’ll share five easy ways to make space on your watch for newer apps, media, and more.
Your Apple Watch is like your other devices when it comes to storage space: it has its limits.
We’ve previously shown you how to check your Apple Watch storage and see how much space apps are using. Once you determine what’s consuming the most storage on your Apple Watch, you can take some actions to free up space.
1. Uninstall unused apps
Since your Apple Watch is different from your iPhone, it’s likely you have some apps installed that you simply don’t need on your wrist. Just because an app supports Apple Watch doesn’t mean you want it there.
1) To remove an app from your Apple Watch, open the Watch app on your iPhone.
2) Select the My Watch tab and scroll down to the section Installed on Apple Watch.
3) Tap an app you want to remove and turn off the toggle for Show App on Apple Watch. If the app is an Apple Watch-only app, tap Delete app on Apple Watch and then confirm by tapping Delete.
Once you remove an app, it’s still available if you decide to reinstall it later. Scroll to the bottom under Available Apps and tap Install to use it on your wrist again.
Disable automatic app installs
If you have the setting enabled to automatically install apps on your Watch that you download to your iPhone, then this can fill up your Watch with those unnecessary apps mentioned above. If you prefer to pick and choose which apps to install, you can disable this setting.
1) Open the Watch app on your iPhone and select the My Watch tab.
2) Pick General.
3) Turn off the toggle for Automatic App Install.
Moving forward, apps you download to your iPhone that are available for Apple Watch will be available for you to install only if you want. You’ll see these apps on the main screen of the My Watch tab. Scroll to the bottom under Available Apps and tap Install for those you want.
2. Remove audiobooks from Apple Watch
As you can see in the earlier screenshots, a large amount of storage space on my Apple Watch is used by Audiobooks. If you have this on your list, too, remove them to free up space.
1) Open the Watch app on your iPhone and select the My Watch tab.
2) Scroll to and select Audiobooks.
3) Tap Edit on the top right to delete an audiobook.
4) Tap the minus sign next to the book you want to remove and tap Delete.
If you have Reading Now and Want to Read enabled on this screen, you may want to disable those, too. While convenient, you’ll notice that these settings allow items from those categories to fill available space on your Watch.
3. Remove music from your Apple Watch
Just like on your iPhone, songs, albums, and playlists consume storage space. So, if you’ve downloaded music to your Apple Watch, you can remove it to regain space.
1) Open the Watch app on your iPhone and select the My Watch tab.
2) Scroll to and select Music.
3) Tap Edit on the top right to delete an album or playlist.
4) Tap the minus sign next to the item you want to remove and tap Delete.
5) If you have a playlist set up as your Workout Playlist, you’ll need to confirm the deletion by tapping Remove. And remember, that playlist will no longer play when you begin a workout.
If you have Recent Music enabled on this screen, you may want to disable it as well. When enabled, Apple Watch will automatically add music you’ve listened to recently. And if you don’t have recent music, recommendations will be added.
4. Customize podcast episode downloads
Podcasts can take up significant space on your Apple Watch. If you don’t regularly play them there, removing the shows and episodes is a sure shot way to make space.
1) Open the Watch app on your iPhone and select the My Watch tab.
2) Scroll to and select Podcasts.
3) Tap an entry under the Add Episodes From section and select Off.
4) If you have manually added shows using the Add Shows button, tap one and then hit Remove Show from the next screen.
Also, keep in mind that after you play a podcast episode on Apple Watch, it will be removed.
5. Disable photo syncing or change the photo limit
You can set up your Apple Watch to sync Photos for albums you select and choose the photo number limit. And like music, photos take up space. To disable photo syncing or change the photo limit, follow these steps.
1) Open the Watch app on your iPhone and select the My Watch tab.
2) Scroll to and select Photos.
3) You can turn off Photo Syncing altogether. Or, you can turn off Sync Memories, Sync Featured Photos, and then tap Sync Album and choose None.
If you do want some photos on your watch, set an album for Sync Album and then tap Photos Limit and set it to 25 Photos in place of 250 or 500 Photos.
Hopefully, these tips will help you regain some storage space on your Apple Watch. You don’t have to do every one of them. Just look for what’s taking up the most space on your Watch, especially those apps you don’t use, and make the adjustments that work best for you.
What tips here or of your own have you used to free up space on your Apple Watch?
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