Apple Watch Is Running Out of Storage
This issue is common and, most of the time, is our fault. The Apple Watch will automatically install any app on your iPhone that also has an Apple Watch app.
The bad news is that even if you delete an app from your iPhone, your Apple Watch won’t delete it automatically. This could result in many unnecessary apps on your Apple Watch.
The easiest way to delete these apps is via the Watch app on your iPhone:
- Open the Watch app.
- Scroll down and find a third-party app you want to delete and tap on it.
- Toggle off Show App on Apple Watch or Delete app on Apple Watch. Which option appears depends on whether you still have the app on your iPhone.
Another possible reason is pictures. By default, your Apple Watch will store up to 500 of your favorite photos from your iPhone. As you can probably guess, that can take up a lot of storage, but it’s easy enough to adjust these settings. Here’s how:
- Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
- Select Photos.
- Toggle off Sync Memories or Sync Featured Photos if you don’t want these photos added to your Apple Watch.
- Tap Sync Album to sync photos from a different album or disable photos sync entirely by selecting None at the top of the albums list.
- Choose Photos Limit and change the number to store 25, 100, or 250 photos from the selected album.
Apple Music and Podcasts can also store music and podcasts directly on the Apple Watch, so check these sections of the Watch app to ensure you’re not syncing more than you need. Be sure to check any other streaming apps you’re using, such as Spotify. You’ll need to use those apps to manage any content they’ve stored on your Apple Watch, but if you’re not sure how to do this, deleting the app and reinstalling it is often enough to clear out any locally stored content and let you start fresh.