Apple has unveiled a handy new feature in watchOS that helps Apple Watch wearers enjoy movies, plays, and other live entertainment in peace (and save battery life on newer watches).
As the new feature is called, Theater Mode lets users mute the volume and disable Raise to Wake on their Apple Watch in one easy tap — without navigating to separate menus to do so.
Remembering to mute our devices in a movie theater can be annoying — so it’s awesome that Apple has taken that into consideration with the release of this new feature.
- Swipe up on the Apple Watch screen to open the Control Center.
- Find Theater Mode, which is represented by a pair of Greek comedy/tragedy theater masks, located under Do Not Disturb in the left-hand corner of the Apple Watch screen.
- To toggle it on, just tap on the icon. When the mode is active, the toggle will be orange, and you’ll see a small mask icon at the top of the Apple Watch’s display.
- To turn it off, just repeat the steps and tap on the Theater Mode icon again.
An interesting note, rumor had it that Theater Mode would be a feature in iOS 10.3 — something akin to a dark mode that would make the iPhone’s screen easier on the eyes in dimly lit locales. Turns out that Theater Mode was actually an Apple Watch feature — and a useful one at that.
Theater Mode will roll out with the release of watchOS 3.2, which is currently only available in beta form for registered Apple developers. If you happen to be one — or you’d like more information on Apple’s developer beta program — visit the developer portal on Apple’s website.