> ## 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.

# Apple Watch

> Voice notes from your wrist — capture when your phone is in another room, transcribe on iPhone, sync everywhere

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.

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  <div style={{ display: 'flex', gap: '30px', justifyContent: 'center', alignItems: 'center', flexWrap: 'wrap' }}>
    <div style={{ textAlign: 'center' }}>
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/cleft/B0o1wbXujQL7Ysu3/images/screenshots/watchos/watchos-s9-watch-face.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=B0o1wbXujQL7Ysu3&q=85&s=5e9f5238ca8906adfa79f8c1f37312a8" alt="Apple Watch Series 9 watch face with the Cleft complication" style={{ width: "100%", maxWidth: "260px", height: "auto", borderRadius: "20px", boxShadow: "0 10px 30px rgba(0,0,0,0.15)" }} width="540" height="880" data-path="images/screenshots/watchos/watchos-s9-watch-face.png" />

      <p style={{ marginTop: '1rem', fontWeight: '600', color: 'var(--text-primary)' }}>Apple Watch Series 9</p>
    </div>

    <div style={{ textAlign: 'center' }}>
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/cleft/B0o1wbXujQL7Ysu3/images/screenshots/watchos/watchos-ultra2-watch-face.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=B0o1wbXujQL7Ysu3&q=85&s=bcb94d5ab68a75c95b76cb01543f64b3" alt="Apple Watch Ultra 2 watch face with the Cleft complication" style={{ width: "100%", maxWidth: "260px", height: "auto", borderRadius: "20px", boxShadow: "0 10px 30px rgba(0,0,0,0.15)" }} width="600" height="940" data-path="images/screenshots/watchos/watchos-ultra2-watch-face.png" />

      <p style={{ marginTop: '1rem', fontWeight: '600', color: 'var(--text-primary)' }}>Apple Watch Ultra 2</p>
    </div>
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## Start fast

Three ways to begin a note without taking your phone out:

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>
  <ul style={{ marginTop: '0', marginBottom: '0' }}>
    <li><strong>Watch face complication</strong> — tap the Cleft icon on a customised face</li>
    <li><strong>App grid</strong> — press the Digital Crown, tap Cleft</li>
    <li><strong>Action Button</strong> (Apple Watch Ultra) — set it to "Open App → Cleft" so a single press launches the app</li>
  </ul>
</div>

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

<Steps>
  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>
</Steps>

For mic technique and language settings, see [Recording Voice Notes](/user-guides/recording-voice-notes).

## What Apple Watch is best at

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Phone-free capture" icon="microphone">
    Record straight from your wrist when reaching for your phone would break the moment.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Pause and resume" icon="pause">
    Stop mid-thought when life interrupts, pick up where you left off without ending the note.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Glanceable browsing" icon="list">
    Spin the Crown through your synced notes — the most recent ones are right there on your wrist, read-only.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Complications" icon="circle">
    Add Cleft to any watch face for one-tap access — inline, circular, or rectangular accessory styles.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Background sync to iPhone" icon="arrows-rotate" href="/user-guides/syncing-notes">
    Recordings transfer automatically once the iPhone is in range. Transcription happens on the phone, not the watch.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Battery-friendly" icon="battery-full">
    Just audio capture on the wrist — the heavy work runs on your iPhone.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## 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](/user-guides/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](/user-guides/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](/user-guides/widgets-and-action-button) 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](/user-guides/appending-to-notes) · [Daily Capture Routines](/user-guides/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](/user-guides/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](/user-guides/copying-notes#auto-copy-feature) 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

<Steps>
  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Tap to launch">
    Tap the complication from any watch face to open Cleft straight to the recording screen.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## 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:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Settings on your Ultra">
    Press the Digital Crown → Settings → **Action Button**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set Action to Open App">
    Choose **Open App** → select **Cleft**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Press to launch">
    A single press of the Action Button now opens Cleft. Tap record to start a note.
  </Step>
</Steps>

The iPhone Action Button (iPhone 15 Pro and later) can be set to start recording on the phone directly — see [Widgets and Action Button](/user-guides/widgets-and-action-button) for that setup.

## Audio

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="The watch microphone">
    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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Permissions">
    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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Tips for cleaner audio">
    * 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
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Sync and battery

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How sync works">
    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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Recording offline">
    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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Battery">
    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.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## 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

<Warning>
  **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](/user-guides/contact-support).
</Warning>

## Related guides

* [Recording Voice Notes](/user-guides/recording-voice-notes) — mic technique, languages, recording length
* [Syncing Notes](/user-guides/syncing-notes) — how notes move between devices
* [Widgets and Action Button](/user-guides/widgets-and-action-button) — iPhone capture surfaces, including the iPhone Action Button
* [Custom Instructions](/user-guides/custom-instructions) — shape how Cleft formats your notes
* [Daily Capture Routines](/user-guides/daily-capture-routines) — repeatable patterns for everyday capture
* [iOS](/user-guides/ios) — the iPhone surface where wrist recordings get transcribed
* [macOS](/user-guides/macos) — the keyboard-first sibling