How to flip screen orientation on a smartwatch - The Verge

Some smartwatches, including the Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 lineup, will allow users to flip screen orientation. That makes it easier for lefties and anyone else who prefers wearing their smartwatch on their right wrist.

When it comes to watches, southpaws often get the short end of the stick. Unless lefties buy a destro watch, they have to learn to wear watches on their dominant hand instead of the nondominant hand as recommended. But that doesn’t have to be the case with all smartwatches. Because smartwatches have touchscreens, some watch manufacturers have given lefties the option of flipping the screen orientation so it appears “upside down.” This, in turn, gives users greater control over where the watch’s buttons are, making it easier to use a device worn on the right hand.

While not every smartwatch allows you to switch screen orientation, two of the biggest players — Apple and Samsung — do. For Wear OS, you currently have to use third-party apps to rotate the screen — although Google is purportedly adding the ability to flip screen orientation on future Wear OS watches. Unfortunately, it’s not currently possible on either the Fitbit Sense or Versa 3 or on more recent Garmin devices.

But hang on, you might say, didn’t my smartwatch prompt me during setup to choose the wrist I plan to wear it on? Often, yes — this is something many users are asked to do as soon as they power on a brand new smartwatch. However, keep in mind that this doesn’t always refer to screen orientation. Generally, this prompt is meant to help the watch run the correct fitness tracking algorithms, depending on whether you wear your device on your dominant or nondominant hand.

While it’s a shame that you can’t flip your screen orientation on every smartwatch, here’s how to do it on the Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 lineups. We’ll be sure to provide an update if and when other smartwatch makers decide to enable this feature in the future.

The Orientation menu on the Apple Watch.

    Image: Apple
  

Apple has long given users the ability to customize their watch’s screen orientation. You can tweak this setting from your phone or directly on the watch itself.

https://www.theverge.com/23279212/smartwatch-screen-orientation-how-to

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