Apple Watch compass & camera remote
A heading-up backtrack compass for your chosen route on the wrist, a whole-region vector overview map, and the watch as a tripod-safe camera remote.
Before you start
- The watch needs the paired iPhone to receive the route and the vector overview — the watch can’t run the full map engine or download regions itself.
- Plan or pick a route on the phone first (see route planning).
Do this — compass navigation
- On the phone, plan a route and tap Send to Watch.
- The route relays to the watch, which shows a heading-up backtrack compass pointing along your route.
- A whole-region vector overview (trails, peaks, roads, water) is available on the watch — turn the Digital Crown to zoom.
Do this — camera remote
- Start the camera on the phone (for example, a night long-exposure) and open the camera remote on the watch.
- See a live downscaled preview and control start / stop / timer from the wrist — useful to avoid shaking a tripod-mounted phone.
Good to know
- The watch is vector-only — the old phone-to-watch raster snapshot feature was removed, so the vector overview carries all the map context.
- The route and overview are relayed from the phone over Apple’s Watch Connectivity; keep the phone nearby.
If something’s off
- The watch map is blank → make sure the phone is nearby and a route was sent; re-send from the phone if needed.
- Camera remote shows no preview → the camera must be open and active on the phone.