Apple Watch has a lot of icons and symbols throughout the UI, many of which are not marked. Why? Because the screen size is small. Here is the definitive guide on all Apple Watch icons and symbols and their meaning and purpose. Let’s begin.
Control Center Icons Meaning
Pressing the side button will open the Control Center on your Apple Watch where you can quickly enable and disable features and settings like network, sound, modes, etc.
- Wi-Fi symbol: Enable or disable Wi-Fi. Long-press to choose a different Wi-Fi network.
- Find my phone: Pressing this will make your iPhone ring a sound helping to locate it even in silent mode.
- Percentage: Apple Watch’s current battery charge level
- Bell icon: Enable/disable silent mode on your Watch. Long-press to select duration.
- 2 face masks: Enables theater mode which will not only enable silent mode but also keep the screen dark until you press the digital crown button. Useful when you are watching a movie or in a meeting and don’t want to be disturbed.
- Circle in a square icon: Use walkie talkie feature.
- Half moon icon: Choose to enable DND (do not disturb) or sleep modes. Here are more tips and tricks on using focus modes on iPhone.
- Water drop: Going for a swim? Use this to avoid unwanted taps due to water droplets on the screen and eject water from your Apple Watch using sound vibrations.
- Torch icon: Turns Watch screen completely white so you can use it as a torch. Swipe left to use it as flash light in emergencies.
- Airplane icon: Enable airplane mode if boarding a flight.
- Triangle with circles: That’s the AirPlay icon which allows you to choose an audio output you want to use with Watch.
- Ear icon: Hearing Device icon will beep gently if the noise levels in your surroundings are above the accepted threshold such that your hearing could be impacted. You can also increase and decrease your connected AirPods or any headphone’s volume.
13. aA: Increase or decrease the font size in supported apps.
14. Person raising hand: Activates schooltime feature that will enable DND and block all apps and notifications except emergency services.
15. Bed icon: Sleep mode is activated.
Status Icons Meaning
These icons and symbols appear at the top of your Apple Watch’s home screen. They are tiny in size but intimate about what app is running or which option/feature has been enabled.
Here’s an example. The airplane icon appears in the status bar of my Watch. It means airplane mode is enabled. Let’s take a look at all possible icons and symbols you may see on your Apple Watch and their meanings.
- Red lightning: It means Watch’s battery is low and needs to be charged.
- Green lightning: That means Watch is currently being charged.
- Red dot: You have unread notifications.
- Yellow circle: Low power mode is enabled.
- Pad lock icon: Watch is locked and needs a passcode to unlock.
- Water drop: Water lock is enabled. Press and hold the crown button to release water and unlock Watch.
- Half moon: DND mode is enabled so you won’t receive calls or other notifications. Screen will not light up. However, alarms will go off on time.
- Purple man: Personal focus mode is enabled.
- White man: Work mode is enabled.
- Bed icon: Sleep mode is enabled. Press and hold the crown icon to use Watch.
- Theater mode: Theater mode is enabled so screen won’t light up and no notifications will pass through.
- Running man: A workout is in progress.
- Red cross: Only on Apple Watch with cellular networks. This means the network is lost.
- Red phone with bar: Watch is no longer paired with its iPhone. Reasons could include theft or iPhone being out of range.
- Green phone: Watch is connected to the iPhone.
- Mic icon: Microphone is on.
- Arrow symbol: An app on your Apple Watch is using GPS.
- Dots in a circle: Wireless activity is happening.
- Green bars: Signal strength in a cellular Apple Watch.
- Walkie Talkie: Walike Walkie is enabled and you can be reached.
- Compass red arrow: You are using the Backtrack feature.
- Arrow pointing right: A third party app is being used to navigate.
You may see some app-specific icons in the status bar. For example, music streaming apps like Spotify or Apple Music, calling app when you are on a call, navigation app icons when you are using Apple or Google Maps, and so on.
Similarly, you may see other focus mode icons that you may have running like gaming (blue rocket) or driving mode (car). A look at different focus modes on your iPhone’s Settings > Focus and then tap on the Plus + icon.
Home Screen Icons
The icons you see on the home screen of the Apple Watch will largely depend on the chosen watch face with the set of complications. Let’s go through some common and basic ones that most people use to track their health metrics as an example.
- Cloud or sun icon: That’s the weather icon. Tap on it to see a detailed weather report.
- Green man running: Workout icon. Tap on it to choose a workout to measure it before starting.
- Three rings: It shows how active you are. Tap on it to open the Fitness app which is also installed on your iPhone.
Other Icons:
Some other icons that you may or may not encounter depending on your usage.
| 1. |  | This is the remote icon that allows you to control your Apple TV. Works only if you have Apple TV Remote app on your iPhone too. |
| 2. |  | If you own iPhone and AirPods along with Apple Watch, you can announce calls and notifications using the Announce with Siri feature. You can listen to and respond to these notifications using Siri. |
| 3. | Heart with an arrow through it | We have not seen this icon but Apple Support thread has a theory. This icon means that Watch was unable to find a heartbeat. Causes may include loose worn Watch, water or sweat, or dust. Please tighten the strap after cleaning the sensor and hand and try again. |
Found an icon on your Apple Watch that you don’t know the meaning of? Reach out to us on X (formerly Twitter) and we will update the list.
