The Apple Watch companion is a remote for the iPhone app. Use it to play or pause your prompter and start or stop a recording when your iPhone is out of reach on a stand.

Two controls on your wrist

  • Play / Pause starts or pauses prompter scrolling on the iPhone.
  • Record / Stop starts or stops a video take on the iPhone.

The labels follow the iPhone’s current state. The Watch does not display the script or a camera preview. Choose script, speed, camera, microphone, and effects on the iPhone.

What you need

You need Teleprompter Focus on an iPhone running iOS 18 or later and its companion app on a paired Apple Watch running watchOS 11 or later. The iPhone app must be open and reachable for the remote controls to work.

Set up the remote

  1. Install Teleprompter Focus on your iPhone.
  2. Use the Watch app on your iPhone to check that its companion app is installed on the paired Watch; install it there if needed.
  3. Open Teleprompter Focus on the iPhone, load your script, and leave the camera screen open.
  4. Open Teleprompter Focus on the Watch. Wait for the controls to become available.
  5. Try Play and Pause, then make a short test recording before a longer take.

Record from the Watch

Frame the shot and rehearse on the iPhone first. Tap Record on the Watch to start the normal iPhone recording flow, including its selected countdown. Tap Stop when you finish, then review the result on the iPhone.

See Recording a Video for countdowns, permissions, and saving.

If the controls are disabled

The hint Open Teleprompter Focus on iPhone means the connection is not ready. Open the iPhone app, return to its camera screen, and keep the paired devices near each other. Check that Airplane Mode is off and the devices can communicate.

If the Watch says Record but a take does not start, check the iPhone for a permission warning, script-length upgrade prompt, or unfinished save. The Watch cannot resolve those screens. If needed, reopen the companion app after the iPhone is ready.

For capture problems that also happen on the iPhone, use Permissions and Troubleshooting.