Frequently asked
What is Ship's Bell?
A maritime ship's-bell clock for Apple Watch, iPhone and Apple Vision Pro. At sea the day was told by the bell: each four-hour watch is divided into eight half-hours, and at every half hour the bell strikes, counting up in pairs from one bell to eight.
What are the dog watches?
The two short watches between 16:00 and 20:00. They are split so the daily pattern of bells never repeats identically. The British convention resets the last dog watch to 1·2·3·8; the Continental convention (5·6·7·8) is also offered.
Which device actually rings?
Only one at a time — that's the "one bell aboard" idea. Vision Pro is the bell in the room; Apple Watch buzzes paired haptics on your wrist and rings when open; iPhone rings in your pocket. You choose which device is the bell, and the others keep quiet.
Why does the Watch only buzz sometimes?
watchOS can't play a custom sound from a background notification, so on the wrist the bell is delivered as paired haptics in the background, and the bell sound plays only while the app is open. The iPhone can ring in both the foreground and background.
What do I need for the Vision Pro bell?
Apple Vision Pro. The bronze bell hangs on a real wall using ARKit and stays where you left it across sessions, so wall placement works on the device rather than in the Simulator. You can pull the rope to ring it by hand, and double-pinch to turn it.
Can I silence it at night?
Yes. Quiet Hours silences everything automatic within a nightly window — only a manual rope pull still rings. There's also a Night Red mode, a red-on-black palette that comes on after dark to protect night vision.