Skip to main content

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://learn.cleftnotes.com/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Cleft on Apple Watch is for the moments your phone isn’t in your hand. Mid-run, hands in the sink, kid on your hip, sat across from someone — raise your wrist, talk for thirty seconds, and the formatted note is waiting on your iPhone next time you check it.
Apple Watch Series 9 watch face with the Cleft complication

Apple Watch Series 9

Apple Watch Ultra 2 watch face with the Cleft complication

Apple Watch Ultra 2

​
Start fast

Three ways to begin a note without taking your phone out:
  • Watch face complication — tap the Cleft icon on a customised face
  • App grid — press the Digital Crown, tap Cleft
  • Action Button (Apple Watch Ultra) — set it to “Open App → Cleft” so a single press launches the app
A subtle haptic confirms the recording started. Talk, pause, resume — when you’re done, the audio transfers to your iPhone in the background and Cleft transcribes and formats it there.

​
Record a note

1

Tap record

Open Cleft from the complication, app grid, or Action Button, then tap the record button. A haptic tap confirms it’s running and the timer starts on screen.
2

Talk — pause if you need to

Pause and resume mid-recording without ending the note. A haptic tap confirms each transition. Tap stop when you’re done; another haptic confirms it saved.
3

Pick it up on your phone

The audio syncs to your iPhone in the background. Cleft transcribes and formats it on the phone — by the time you check, the note is in your list with a summary, key points, and action items.
For mic technique and language settings, see Recording Voice Notes.

​
What Apple Watch is best at

Phone-free capture

Record straight from your wrist when reaching for your phone would break the moment.

Pause and resume

Stop mid-thought when life interrupts, pick up where you left off without ending the note.

Glanceable browsing

Spin the Crown through your synced notes — the most recent ones are right there on your wrist, read-only.

Complications

Add Cleft to any watch face for one-tap access — inline, circular, or rectangular accessory styles.

Background sync to iPhone

Recordings transfer automatically once the iPhone is in range. Transcription happens on the phone, not the watch.

Battery-friendly

Just audio capture on the wrist — the heavy work runs on your iPhone.

​
Wrist moments worth stealing

​
Mid-stride, mid-workout

You’re three miles into a run when an idea lands. Tap the complication, talk for fifteen seconds, drop your wrist. The recording syncs to your phone the next time it’s in range — by the time you’re stretching, the formatted note is sitting in your list. Pair with Custom Instructions to shape mid-run rambles into something you can act on.

​
Hands full at home

Kitchen, kids, dog, laundry — the moments your phone is in another room are exactly the moments thoughts arrive. Raise your wrist, talk for thirty seconds, get back to whatever you were doing. Pair with Daily Capture Routines for repeatable patterns.

​
Pause when life interrupts

Mid-recording, someone asks you a question. Tap pause — haptic confirms — answer them, tap resume, finish the thought. The note is still one note, not three fragments.

​
A daily note you append to from anywhere

Pin one note on your iPhone — a journal, a project log, a workout diary — and use the Continue Last Note widget on the phone to append to it. From the watch, start a fresh note; on iPhone, hit the Continue widget. Same vault, two surfaces. Setup: Appending to Notes · Daily Capture Routines.

​
Walking meetings

Step outside with a colleague, talk through a problem on the move. When something lands, tap the complication and capture the decision in your own words — without breaking the rhythm of the walk. Repeatable structure: Meeting Notes System.

​
Apple Watch Ultra at the desk

Set the Action Button on your Ultra to Open App → Cleft (in Settings → Action Button). One press launches Cleft on the watch — tap record, talk, the note hits your iPhone. Combine with auto-copy to clipboard on iPhone and the transcribed text is ready to paste straight into the email or doc you’re working on.

​
Glance at your last few notes

You vaguely remember capturing something earlier and want a sanity check before the meeting starts. Open Cleft on your watch, scroll the list with the Crown, tap a note to read it. Edits happen on iPhone or Mac — but quick read-back on the wrist is enough most of the time.

​
Set up the complication

1

Install Cleft on your watch

Open the Watch app on iPhone, scroll to Available Apps, find Cleft, tap Install. The watch app needs the iPhone app installed first.
2

Add Cleft to a watch face

Press and hold your watch face → tap Edit → swipe to Complications → tap a slot → choose Cleft → press the Digital Crown to save.Cleft offers inline, circular, and rectangular accessory styles — pick whichever fits the face you’re using.
3

Tap to launch

Tap the complication from any watch face to open Cleft straight to the recording screen.

​
Browsing notes on your wrist

Cleft on Apple Watch is read-only for synced notes. You can:
  • See your recent notes in a list, newest first
  • Scroll the list and the body of long notes with the Digital Crown
  • Open a note to read the full transcript and summary
Editing, sharing, and exporting all happen on iPhone or Mac. The watch is for capture and a quick read-back, not full editing.

​
Apple Watch Ultra Action Button

The Apple Watch Ultra’s customisable Action Button can launch Cleft directly:
1

Open Settings on your Ultra

Press the Digital Crown → Settings → Action Button.
2

Set Action to Open App

Choose Open App → select Cleft.
3

Press to launch

A single press of the Action Button now opens Cleft. Tap record to start a note.
The iPhone Action Button (iPhone 15 Pro and later) can be set to start recording on the phone directly — see Widgets and Action Button for that setup.

​
Audio

Apple Watch records through its built-in microphone. It’s tuned for voice and works well outdoors and in mixed environments — but it sits at the wrist, not the mouth, so a quick lift of the arm helps in noisy spots.
The first time you record on watch, watchOS asks for microphone access. If recording fails, open the Settings app on your watch → Privacy & Security → Microphone → make sure Cleft is enabled.
  • Bring your wrist closer to your mouth in busy environments
  • Step away from blasting speakers when you can
  • For longer or more important recordings, capture on iPhone instead — the phone mic and processing are stronger

​
Sync and battery

Recordings transfer from watch to iPhone via Apple’s wireless connection — Bluetooth or shared Wi-Fi, whichever is available. Transcription runs on the iPhone once the audio arrives. From the iPhone, notes sync to your other devices through your Cleft account.
You can record on the watch even when your iPhone is out of range. The audio queues locally and transfers the next time the phone is nearby.
Recording on the watch uses local audio capture only — no transcription, no AI processing on the wrist. The heavy work runs on your iPhone, so battery impact on the watch is small.

​
Supported devices

  • Apple Watch Series 7 and later
  • Apple Watch SE (2nd generation and later)
  • Apple Watch Ultra and Ultra 2
  • watchOS 10 or later, paired with an iPhone running Cleft and signed in to the same account

​
Troubleshooting

Recording not syncing to iPhone? Open Cleft on both devices, make sure they’re connected (Bluetooth or the same Wi-Fi network), keep them close while sync completes.Can’t find Cleft on the watch? Install it from the Watch app on iPhone. The iPhone app needs to be installed first; check the Available Apps section.Complication not appearing? Remove and re-add the complication, or restart the watch.Microphone not working? Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone → make sure Cleft is enabled.Still stuck? Contact support.