Was it a bit diabolical of me to give my father his first Apple Watch without any instructions? But I did it thinking that my father, who doesn't have a smartwatch expert on his speed dial, would surely have a lot of questions And I thought at least some of his questions covered things I had not previously thought to address in Tom's Guide

While the How to Use the Apple Watch page covers most of what a newbie should know, there are plenty of quirks and personal curiosities that you might face with your new smartwatch My father, for example, is a health fanatic who is trying to make the Apple Watch 6 his daily fitness tracker He's not so much interested in managing notifications or mastering the messaging features revamped in watchOS 8

Frankly, he surprised me by single-handedly mastering most of the basic functions; while the Apple Watch is famously user-friendly, he has never worn a wearable with as many apps as Apple (There's a reason it's voted best smartwatch every year)

Still, after working out alone with the Apple Watch for a few days, he came back with some fair questions

These questions kinda pissed me off If my father had actually read my Apple Watch 7 workout test and Apple Watch 7 review, he would know that a) there is an automatic pause feature for outdoor bike rides and b) it does not automatically activate You have to go to Settings > Workout > Auto Pause and toggle Auto Pause on; the Apple Watch currently offers Auto Pause for the running and outdoor cycling workout types (unfortunately not for walking), each of which can be separately You can opt-in separately

My father's daily cycling routine includes a break for push-ups and triceps dips on a public bench When he got off the bike, he paused tracking his ride after his Apple Watch displayed the prompt "Finished your workout" However, he forgot to unpause his workout later in the ride, so he was unable to accurately gauge his effort at the end At least there's a move for next time

With the exception of the Apple Watch SE, all Apple Watches since the Apple Watch 4 can manage electrocardiograms (ECGs) on the wrist Of all the Apple Watch's native apps, ECGs interested my father the most He wondered if it could really warn him of a heart attack

While there are many tools for managing heart health on the Apple Watch, it cannot reliably detect a heart attack Instead, it can identify irregular rhythms that suggest atrial fibrillation (AFib); if the Apple Watch detects signs of possible AFib, you can see a doctor to see what is wrong

In any case, the Apple Watch's ECG sensor is a preventative tool for those who want to closely monitor their heart activity My father constantly monitors his heart rate for exercise, so he has a pretty good idea of what is going on even without the ECG app But if he wants to learn more about how to use it, check out our guide on how to use the Apple Watch ECG app

Like a typical retiree, my father's free time is often spent playing golf As such, his previous experience with connected watches comes from using the best Garmin watches with golf-specific features, such as the Garmin Approach S62 and the Garmin Approach S20 However, he rarely wears them outside of the fairways So he can wear his new Apple Watch on the links instead

The answer is yes: some of the best Apple Watch apps, like SwingU, V1 Game, and The Grint, can turn your Apple Watch into a digital caddy, complete with GPS, swing, and score tracking However, certain features expected from a traditional golf watch usually come at an additional cost

Then again, even if you are paying for a premium experience, battery life can be a major issue The best GPS watches can last just as long in GPS mode as the Apple Watch can without the constant location tracking most golfers are looking for If your Apple Watch makes it through 18 holes without dying, you won't be able to use it for a long time before you have to leave it to recharge I would recommend reverting back to Garmin when golfing

If I have one last piece of advice for my father and others new to the Apple Watch, it is that if you know your way around a smartwatch, you will master it There are all sorts of customizable settings, hidden features, and additional apps at your disposal, as long as you know where to look

In the meantime, if you have a specific Apple Watch question you'd like answered, send it to my email address below Yes, it applies to Dad, too