I hope WWDC brings these two fixes in watchOS 12.
There’s been a viral clip going around X ever since the Siri fiasco took off.
A clip emphasizing simplicity.
A clip emphasizing stability.
It was about the new features in Snow Leopard back in 2009, and how Apple proudly announced zero new features.
Although there were new features, what Apple was trying to emphasize was software stability and how important it was to them to make sure, “it just works.”
The famous “it just works,” implying how seamless and unbelievable it is, and not the jerry rigged “it juuust (barely) works.”
Apple had a more recent instance similar to this with iOS9 in 2015, where Craig Federighi discussed how the focus was on “elevating the foundations” of iOS, such as extending battery life, improving performance, and enhancing security to protect customer data.
watchOS needs its Snow Leopard / iOS 9 moment. Have a few updates to wow the people and please Wall Street, but really hunker down and fix some key issues.
Two issues to be exact.
The first issue is the ability to swipe between your watch faces. This was a staple and stable feature starting with watchOS 3 before watchOS 10 had its huge overhaul with SmartStack. You would effortlessly swipe between watch faces and all your information was just there, present and up to date. In watchOS 10, that feature went away for a while, and I was not happy about it:
A barbaric touch and hold, followed by scrolling right or left in the edit screen. Even the original Apple Watch had a faster way to change watch faces with its Force Touch ability giving you almost instant access to the watch face edit screen.
Even Apple knew they had to bring this feature back since it made switching watch faces much faster, and they did bring it back as a hidden option with watchOS 10.2 under Settings > Clock > Swipe to Switch Watch Face.
It came back, but it came back the way Michael Jordan came back as a Washington Wizard instead of a Chicago Bull.
No longer the default option, the swipe came back as a 2nd string option due to its glitchy performance. On my 7 and a half year old Series 3 Apple Watch, with its latest software version (Watch OS 8), in the year 2025, you can swipe between watch faces and everything is in memory and seamless. Extremely smooth, with the hour, minute, and seconds hands perfectly in sync between swipes. It just works!
Somehow the architecture of watchOS 10 fundamentally changed some of the inner workings of the Apple Watch, and after almost 2 years now, it’s as if the watch face has to “load” each and every time you swipe watch faces. It feels and looks buggy, especially when you go from an analog watch face to a digital watch face that is full of data. It juuust (barely) works.
The Tips app on your iPhone even demos how to change your watch face, referring to the touch and hold method vs the swipe method.
I’m sure there are Apple Watch engineers who cringe every time they swipe from one watch face to another, knowing that this problem still exists and needs to be fixed. I understand why it’s not a high priority, but it’ll be two years in June when they announce watchOS 12.
Two years is long enough.
The second (more critical) issue that needs to be overhauled are the watch faces. I’ve said this multiple times already, but they need to be updated to support the Series 10’s always on display with seconds hand. To advertise this feature and then to only have it on 3 watch faces at launch is just embarrassing. The Unity Rhythm watch face was released recently with watchOS 11.3, but that is still 4 out of over 40 watch faces. In the Steve Jobs era, this would not have been acceptable. Heck, even Jony Ive would have put the hammer down on this one.
To complicate things further, there are plenty of complications such as the digital time and digital seconds complications that would make this feature pop even more on the watch. Your always on display would look more realistic, with ticking “components” constantly updating every second without sacrificing battery life. That “magical” touch would sell more watches, because we are visual creatures, and to see the Apple Watch acting like an actual watch that ticks and doesn’t stop moving will blur the line between digital and traditional watch faces.
Watch enthusiasts will appreciate it even more, and won’t scoff (as much) at us digital watch wearers. They will still scoff at us when they notice its quartz-like movement, but appreciate the technological step forward and will purchase one, probably a more expensive model to boot.
The real question is, was this a Wall Street move to keep this feature gimped the way Apple has? Perhaps it would have taken sales away from the higher profit margin of the Ultra 2? The Series 10 in 46mm technically does have a bigger display, and to make it more lively with its 1 sec refresh rate for $370 less does make it a much more compelling purchase from a visual standpoint.
As sleezy as it might be to keep the feature purposefully limited to drive Ultra 2 sales (I don’t think this was the plan), it would be reassuring to know they have the capability to make every watch face compatible with the 1 second refresh rate. I really do hope the Ultra 3 and Series 11 have full support for this feature, while updating the Series 10 to match.
Ideally, and this is truly my hope, Apple didn’t have time to fix the issues with the previous watch faces, and they are working diligently to update all watch faces for watchOS 12.
The updated watch faces could even be the main upgrade for watchOS 12 and it could actually revitalize interest in the Apple Watch. The timing would be perfect to coincide with the purported iOS 19 redesign.
There’s been a viral clip going around X ever since the Siri fiasco took off.
A clip emphasizing simplicity.
A clip emphasizing stability.
It was about the new features in Snow Leopard back in 2009, and how Apple proudly announced zero new features.
Although there were new features, what Apple was trying to emphasize was software stability and how important it was to them to make sure, “it just works.”
The famous “it just works,” implying how seamless and unbelievable it is, and not the jerry rigged “it juuust (barely) works.”
Apple had a more recent instance similar to this with iOS9 in 2015, where Craig Federighi discussed how the focus was on “elevating the foundations” of iOS, such as extending battery life, improving performance, and enhancing security to protect customer data.
watchOS needs its Snow Leopard / iOS 9 moment. Have a few updates to wow the people and please Wall Street, but really hunker down and fix some key issues.
Two issues to be exact.
The first issue is the ability to swipe between your watch faces. This was a staple and stable feature starting with watchOS 3 before watchOS 10 had its huge overhaul with SmartStack. You would effortlessly swipe between watch faces and all your information was just there, present and up to date. In watchOS 10, that feature went away for a while, and I was not happy about it:
A barbaric touch and hold, followed by scrolling right or left in the edit screen. Even the original Apple Watch had a faster way to change watch faces with its Force Touch ability giving you almost instant access to the watch face edit screen.
Even Apple knew they had to bring this feature back since it made switching watch faces much faster, and they did bring it back as a hidden option with watchOS 10.2 under Settings > Clock > Swipe to Switch Watch Face.
It came back, but it came back the way Michael Jordan came back as a Washington Wizard instead of a Chicago Bull.
No longer the default option, the swipe came back as a 2nd string option due to its glitchy performance. On my 7 and a half year old Series 3 Apple Watch, with its latest software version (Watch OS 8), in the year 2025, you can swipe between watch faces and everything is in memory and seamless. Extremely smooth, with the hour, minute, and seconds hands perfectly in sync between swipes. It just works!
Somehow the architecture of watchOS 10 fundamentally changed some of the inner workings of the Apple Watch, and after almost 2 years now, it’s as if the watch face has to “load” each and every time you swipe watch faces. It feels and looks buggy, especially when you go from an analog watch face to a digital watch face that is full of data. It juuust (barely) works.
The Tips app on your iPhone even demos how to change your watch face, referring to the touch and hold method vs the swipe method.
I’m sure there are Apple Watch engineers who cringe every time they swipe from one watch face to another, knowing that this problem still exists and needs to be fixed. I understand why it’s not a high priority, but it’ll be two years in June when they announce watchOS 12.
Two years is long enough.
The second (more critical) issue that needs to be overhauled are the watch faces. I’ve said this multiple times already, but they need to be updated to support the Series 10’s always on display with seconds hand. To advertise this feature and then to only have it on 3 watch faces at launch is just embarrassing. The Unity Rhythm watch face was released recently with watchOS 11.3, but that is still 4 out of over 40 watch faces. In the Steve Jobs era, this would not have been acceptable. Heck, even Jony Ive would have put the hammer down on this one.
To complicate things further, there are plenty of complications such as the digital time and digital seconds complications that would make this feature pop even more on the watch. Your always on display would look more realistic, with ticking “components” constantly updating every second without sacrificing battery life. That “magical” touch would sell more watches, because we are visual creatures, and to see the Apple Watch acting like an actual watch that ticks and doesn’t stop moving will blur the line between digital and traditional watch faces.
Watch enthusiasts will appreciate it even more, and won’t scoff (as much) at us digital watch wearers. They will still scoff at us when they notice its quartz-like movement, but appreciate the technological step forward and will purchase one, probably a more expensive model to boot.
The real question is, was this a Wall Street move to keep this feature gimped the way Apple has? Perhaps it would have taken sales away from the higher profit margin of the Ultra 2? The Series 10 in 46mm technically does have a bigger display, and to make it more lively with its 1 sec refresh rate for $370 less does make it a much more compelling purchase from a visual standpoint.
As sleezy as it might be to keep the feature purposefully limited to drive Ultra 2 sales (I don’t think this was the plan), it would be reassuring to know they have the capability to make every watch face compatible with the 1 second refresh rate. I really do hope the Ultra 3 and Series 11 have full support for this feature, while updating the Series 10 to match.
Ideally, and this is truly my hope, Apple didn’t have time to fix the issues with the previous watch faces, and they are working diligently to update all watch faces for watchOS 12.
The updated watch faces could even be the main upgrade for watchOS 12 and it could actually revitalize interest in the Apple Watch. The timing would be perfect to coincide with the purported iOS 19 redesign.
Using a Series 3 Ceramic Edition Apple Watch is like driving a weekend car.
It’s like an old, weekend car you want to enjoy for a few days, but then you’re glad it’s over by Sunday afternoon because the car is nice and fun, but also a bit cumbersome, makes a few rattles, is missing many creature comforts, needs to be warmed up before you throw it around, and takes premium gas. 📓
I use my White Ceramic Series 3 occasionally, and it is a joy to look at that thing. Sure it’s an old Apple Watch, but it has that pearlescent white finish that just contrasts well with the black screen and colorful watch faces.
It is the most “Apple-like” color.
Playful…
Serious.
Band compatibility is also great with a white watch. Most color combos would work in my opinion, except for the Natural and Gold Stainless Steel, and Natural Titanium bands. Black Steel and Black Titanium would look amazing.
There’s a lot of work involved though in getting this watch up to speed even for just the weekend. I mentioned earlier that it takes about 9 minutes to boot and have the watch connect to my device, but in reality, it takes about 20-30 minutes for the watch to sync all the messages, weather information, email, etc., to my watch from the past week of living.
I was quite surprised last Saturday when I wore it, and my Messages counter on the watch went from “No new messages,” to 40 new messages, down to 22, and then eventually to “No new messages.”
It really is a device you need to be patient with unless you use it every day.
It’s like an old, weekend car you want to enjoy for a few days, but then you’re glad it’s over by Sunday afternoon because the car is nice and fun, but also a bit cumbersome, makes a few rattles, is missing many creature comforts, needs to be warmed up before you throw it around, and takes premium gas.
Apple found a good balance with this watch by stopping the updates at watchOS 8. I know people like to complain that new updates have slowed down their Apple devices and that’s probably true for the Series 3 on watchOS 8, but you can never please anyone, and you have to find that perfect balance where you can update a device with more features, while keeping it as zippy as possible.
If I wear the Series 3 for weeks on end (which I did earlier), then it doesn’t have to do a massive sync of all the data, and it runs just fine. Just don’t let it run out of battery for the love of God.
Once again, it is absolutely illogical to buy a Ceramic Edition Series 3 for productivity reasons. You’re buying this watch for nostalgia and aesthetics, and you’re trying to experience luxury at a discount. You can do the same with the Stainless Steel models, which were beautiful.
I’ll use Adam Savage’s analogy (also fitting for my line of work), and say that the Series 3 Ceramic and Stainless Steel models are like a gateway drug into experiencing Apple’s premium watches at a steep discount.
How to add the Apple logo to your Apple watch face.
Just like all watch brands that showcase their logo right below the 12 o’clock marker, you can brand your Apple Watch with a Monogram on several watch faces. 📓
Update 2/10/25 @ 8:14pm: added additional image for instructional clarity.
Just like all watch brands that showcase their logo right below the 12 o’clock marker, you can brand your Apple Watch with a Monogram on several watch faces.
Per Apple’s statement:
Choose up to five characters to appear in the Monogram complication on the Typograph, Infograph, Meridian, California, and Color watch faces.
You could add any five characters, but I find it best suited to put the Apple logo in the Monogram complication.
Also, Apple’s statement is wrong. You can also apply the Monogram to the Contour and Solar Analog watch faces (image below).
Go to your Watch App under Clock > Monogram and simply copy and paste this Apple logo:
Then go to one of the compatible watch faces, and for the “Sub-dial Top” complication, go to Personalization and add the Monogram.
You can have your Apple Watch faces looking like this:
The logo gives your watch face some class.
WatchOS 11 gets more well deserved criticism.
First it was Zac from 9to5Mac, and now John from Daring Fireball sharing my pain with their Apple Watch frustrations.
Here’s John’s Apple Watch Report Card:
APPLE WATCH: C (LAST YEAR: B)
Series 10 watches feature a new display that supports once-per-second updates while in energy-saving always-on mode. So the seconds hand on an analog face can “tick” once per second even when the display isn’t fully on. But Apple only enabled this ticking seconds indicator on two watch faces, both new to WatchOS 11: Flux and Reflections. Setting aside the fact that I personally don’t like either of those faces (Flux in particular seems deliberately obtuse), this is ridiculous. WatchOS 11 offers, by my quick count, at least 33 different watch faces that offer a non-digital seconds hand or indicator. And only 2 of them support the new 1Hz refresh rate? That’s bullshit. And it wasn’t just a launch thing, because here we are in February, with WatchOS 11.3, and zero additional watch faces have been updated to support it. This is not how a serious watchmaker treats its watches. I will admit to caring far more about always-on seconds hands than most people, but this isn’t how a serious watchmaker deals with technical breakthroughs like this new display with a 1Hz refresh rate. Not just most, but every single watch face should have been updated to support ticking seconds. Apple Watch is turning more into a fitness tracker that happens to show the time, and away from serving as a proper watch.
Also: no Ultra 3 this year. The year-old Ultra 2 did gain a very nice black titanium color option, but that’s it. Kind of weird for a watch that starts at $800 — and that seems quite popular — to skip a year of silicon improvements.
I really hope watchOS 12 fixes all previous watch faces and complications that are compatible with the 1Hz refresh rate, if not sooner.
As for the Ultra 2, marketing wise they get an A for selling the same watch at the same price with a worse color that everyone seems to love even though it rubs off worse than Jet Black.
First it was Zac from 9to5Mac, and now John from Daring Fireball sharing my pain with their Apple Watch frustrations.
Here’s John’s Apple Watch Report Card:
APPLE WATCH: C (LAST YEAR: B)
Series 10 watches feature a new display that supports once-per-second updates while in energy-saving always-on mode. So the seconds hand on an analog face can “tick” once per second even when the display isn’t fully on. But Apple only enabled this ticking seconds indicator on two watch faces, both new to WatchOS 11: Flux and Reflections. Setting aside the fact that I personally don’t like either of those faces (Flux in particular seems deliberately obtuse), this is ridiculous. WatchOS 11 offers, by my quick count, at least 33 different watch faces that offer a non-digital seconds hand or indicator. And only 2 of them support the new 1Hz refresh rate? That’s bullshit. And it wasn’t just a launch thing, because here we are in February, with WatchOS 11.3, and zero additional watch faces have been updated to support it. This is not how a serious watchmaker treats its watches. I will admit to caring far more about always-on seconds hands than most people, but this isn’t how a serious watchmaker deals with technical breakthroughs like this new display with a 1Hz refresh rate. Not just most, but every single watch face should have been updated to support ticking seconds. Apple Watch is turning more into a fitness tracker that happens to show the time, and away from serving as a proper watch.
Also: no Ultra 3 this year. The year-old Ultra 2 did gain a very nice black titanium color option, but that’s it. Kind of weird for a watch that starts at $800 — and that seems quite popular — to skip a year of silicon improvements.
I really hope watchOS 12 fixes all previous watch faces and complications that are compatible with the 1Hz refresh rate, if not sooner.
As for the Ultra 2, marketing wise they get an A for selling the same watch at the same price with a worse color that everyone seems to love even though it rubs off worse than Jet Black.
6 settings you must have for your Apple Watch
Whenever I get an Apple Watch (it’s a yearly thing for me), I always do these six things to give me peace of mind.
Note: You can setup most of these features on the Apple Watch under Settings, but it is easier to use the Watch app on your iPhone…
Whenever I get an Apple Watch (it’s a yearly thing for me), I always do these six things to give me peace of mind.
Note: You can setup most of these features on the Apple Watch under Settings, but it is easier to use the Watch app on your iPhone.
1. Add a passcode
This seems like a no-brainer, but our watches are now phones, whether we like it or not. There is too much sensitive data on our watches, and you don’t want anyone looking at your messages, emails, and photos, just to name a few apps. If you jump in the shower and take off your watch, all someone has to do is pick up your watch, and you just gave them access to your life.
You can choose between a simple 4-digit passcode, and go up to a 10-digit passcode. Pick what works for you, and get peace of mind.
Open the Watch app and go to Passcode, and follow the prompts to set up your passcode.
Adding a passcode is also the only way to get Apple Pay on your watch, which is #2 on my list.
2. Adding Apple Pay
I had an issue recently with my bank where I had a fraudulent transaction posted to my account. Someone somehow used my debit card and it was time to file a fraud claim. Of course I had to wait 5-7 business days to get my new card in the mail.
What I didn’t have to wait for was my digital card. I could login to my Bank’s app, and activate the digital card instantly. Having Apple Pay on my watch gave me the ability to purchase goods without having to resort to another credit card or bank account.
A more common occurrence is when you forget your iPhone or wallet, and now you can’t pay for anything. Having Apple Pay on your Apple Watch will bail you out in these all too common situations and once again, give you peace of mind.
Open the Watch app and go to Wallet & Apple Pay, and select which cards to add to your watch. If you scroll down, you can even Allow Payments on Mac and use your watch to confirm payments.
3. Unlock your Mac with Apple Watch
This is a handy feature that any Mac user can appreciate. It is compatible with macOS Sierra and onwards, so odds are it will work with your current Mac.
It works on my 2013 MacBook Pro.
On your Mac, go to Settings > Touch ID and Password and scroll all the way down to the Apple Watch section, where you can allow the Apple Watch to unlock your Mac. This is especially handy on older macbooks that don’t have Touch ID. Now you don’t have to be paranoid that someone might be watching you enter your password when your watch will unlock it for you, and give you peace of…you get the idea.
If you have an older mac with the older Settings menu, just search “Apple Watch” in Settings and you will see the option to unlock with Apple Watch.
4. Swipe to change watch faces
This used to be a staple feature of the Apple Watch, but now it is hidden. The draconian way of changing watch faces is to tap and hold your finger on the current watch face screen until it zooms out, swipe left or right to another watch face, and then tap your finger on the screen to select your new watch face. You can do this a lot faster and get access to more information by simply swiping from the edge of your screen to the next watch face, just like in the early days of the Apple Watch.
Open the Watch App and go to Clock, and toggle ON Swipe to Switch Watch Face.
5. Configure your Live Activities
This is a personal preference, but I would recommend setting up this feature from the get go so you’re not confused. Live Activities give you more upfront information about a particular activity, such as current media being played, workouts, parking timers, stopwatch, etc.
Think of it like Dynamic Island on your watch, except you get these cards at the beginning of your Smart Stack. This is nice when you’re playing a podcast and you want quick access to the pause and play buttons. However, it can also be annoying on other apps such as the ParkMobile app, where the information displayed is limited.
The ParkMobile Live Activity isn’t useful and clicking on the timer button on the right just tells you to “Open on iPhone.”
The great thing about Live Activities is you can customize which apps are shown.
Open the Watch App and go to Smart Stack. Here you can disable or enable Live Activities altogether, and if you do allow them, you can customize which apps get to have the Live Activity feature.
But do yourself a favor and disable Auto-Launch Live Activities. It’s just easier to access the Live Activities with a swipe up from your watch or by turning the Digital Crown when you want to, instead of fighting with it all the time when it pops up automatically.
There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to look at your watch and get some info from your complications (left), only to see that your Live Activities are automatically displayed with just the time and date (right).
6. Unlock your watch with your iPhone
Open the Watch App and go to Passcode, and toggle on Unlock with iPhone. Now once you unlock your iPhone, your watch will be unlocked as long as you are wearing it. This is great if you have a longer passcode for the watch.
Apple Watch compatibility with iPhones.
There’s a slew of iPhones and Apple Watches out there, but not every watch is compatible with every iPhone. How do you get around the confusion?
Apple has a convenient website that lets you know what is compatible, but the chart does not help you if you own an iPhone SE.
I am here to fill in the gap so you know what is compatible with your iPhone SE 1st, 2nd, or 3rd generation. This will be updated as new iPhones, watches, and software updates are announced.
Here’s the link: Apple Watch Compatibility Chart (updated 12-22-24)
To find out what iPhone SE or Apple Watch model you have check out these links:
Identifying your Apple Watch model
Updated 12/22/24 @ 8PM: Spreadsheet was updated with more accurate iPhone SE compatibility.
There’s a slew of iPhones and Apple Watches out there, but not every watch is compatible with every iPhone. How do you get around the confusion?
Apple has a convenient website that lets you know what is compatible, but the chart does not help you if you own an iPhone SE.
I am here to fill in the gap so you know what is compatible with your iPhone SE 1st, 2nd, or 3rd generation. This will be updated as new iPhones, watches, and software updates are announced.
Here’s the link: Apple Watch Compatibility Chart (updated 12-22-24)
To find out what iPhone SE or Apple Watch model you have check out these links:
Identifying your Apple Watch model
Updated 12/22/24 @ 8PM: Spreadsheet was updated with more accurate iPhone SE compatibility.
What watch faces are included with the Apple Watch?
Note: This information is based on watchOS 11.
This is a loaded question, and it really comes down to what Apple Watch you have.
Here are all the Apple Watch faces included with watchOS 11.
Not all of these are available on all watches, so let’s mention the exceptions and highlights:
If you have an Apple Watch Ultra or Apple Watch Ultra 2, congratulations because you have all of Apple’s watch faces, including the Wayfinder and the Modular Ultra watch faces which are exclusive to the Ultra lineup.
If you have a Series 7, 8, 9, or 10, you have all the watch faces, excluding the Wayfinder and Modular Ultra watch faces from the Apple Watch Ultra.
Lastly, if you have the Apple Watch SE 2nd generation or Series 6, you get all the watch faces from the Series 7 thru 10, excluding the Contour and the Modular Duo watch faces. These 2 watch faces were introduced with the release of the Series 7 that had bigger displays. The SE and Series 6 have the smaller 40mm and 44mm displays instead of the bigger 42mm, 46mm, and 49mm displays.
Now if these watches were not enough to satisfy your deep pockets, you can distinguish yourselves from your fellow plebeian and get the Apple Watch Hermès Series 10. You get all the watch faces from the Series 10, plus 5 additional Hermès exclusive watch faces: Radial, Circulaire, Hermès, Horse, and Circuit H.
If you opt for the Apple Watch Hermes Ultra 2, you get all the watch faces from the regular Ultra 2, plus 3 bonus Hermès watch faces: Hermès, Radial, and the new Maritime watch face. You do not get the Horse and Circuit H watch faces. I can’t seem to find any information if the Circulaire watch face is included.
Note: This information is based on watchOS 11.
This is a loaded question, and it really comes down to what Apple Watch you have.
Here are all the Apple Watch faces included with watchOS 11.
Not all of these are available on all watches, so let’s mention the exceptions and highlights:
If you have an Apple Watch Ultra or Apple Watch Ultra 2, congratulations because you have all of Apple’s watch faces, including the Wayfinder and the Modular Ultra watch faces which are exclusive to the Ultra lineup.
If you have a Series 7, 8, 9, or 10, you have all the watch faces, excluding the Wayfinder and Modular Ultra watch faces from the Apple Watch Ultra.
Lastly, if you have the Apple Watch SE 2nd generation or Series 6, you get all the watch faces from the Series 7 thru 10, excluding the Contour and the Modular Duo watch faces. These 2 watch faces were introduced with the release of the Series 7 that had bigger displays. The SE and Series 6 have the smaller 40mm and 44mm displays instead of the bigger 42mm, 46mm, and 49mm displays.
Now if these watches were not enough to satisfy your deep pockets, you can distinguish yourselves from your fellow plebeian and get the Apple Watch Hermès Series 10. You get all the watch faces from the Series 10, plus 5 additional Hermès exclusive watch faces: Radial, Circulaire, Hermès, Horse, and Circuit H.
If you opt for the Apple Watch Hermes Ultra 2, you get all the watch faces from the regular Ultra 2, plus 3 bonus Hermès watch faces: Hermès, Radial, and the new Maritime watch face. You do not get the Horse and Circuit H watch faces. I can’t seem to find any information if the Circulaire watch face is included.
My beef with watchOS 10
Ever since watchOS 3, Apple has provided us with a very useful and convenient feature: The ability to easily swipe left and right to change watch faces.
Not anymore.
With watchOS 10, that feature is long gone, and doesn’t seem to be coming back anytime soon. It was missing from the earliest of watchOS 10 betas, and I was thinking that it will eventually come back in a future update. I naively kept waiting and waiting, but it seems to be gone forever.
A key navigation technique that millions have been using for years on their watches, and not a single peep about it from the tech community. Heck, even regular people should be pissed.
WatchOS 10 officially has the slowest method available ever to change watch faces.
A barbaric touch and hold, followed by scrolling right or left in the edit screen. Even the original Apple Watch had a faster way to change watch faces with its Force Touch ability giving you almost instant access to the watch face edit screen.
If Apple had used the swipe right and left gestures for a different function, that would have been one thing, but they completely removed the gesture altogether. I find it hard to believe that the gesture was in some way not compatible with Apple’s new control interface.
Currently a swipe up from anywhere on the watch face takes you to your Smart Stack. Maybe there could be some software "collisions" in detecting a swipe up from a left or right swipe? If that were the case, the Smart Stack gesture should only work when swiping up from the bottom of the display and not anywhere on the display. With this setup, you could easily avoid issues with left and right swipes.
Quite frankly, I don’t think that it is a software issue, since there are hundreds of apps with much more complex touch controls and gestures.
Hopefully Apple will bring back this gesture once they realize how much people miss the ability to switch watch faces on a whim.
Ever since watchOS 3, Apple has provided us with a very useful and convenient feature: The ability to easily swipe left and right to change watch faces.
Not anymore.
With watchOS 10, that feature is long gone, and doesn’t seem to be coming back anytime soon. It was missing from the earliest of watchOS 10 betas, and I was thinking that it will eventually come back in a future update. I naively kept waiting and waiting, but it seems to be gone forever.
A key navigation technique that millions have been using for years on their watches, and not a single peep about it from the tech community. Heck, even regular people should be pissed.
WatchOS 10 officially has the slowest method available ever to change watch faces.
A barbaric touch and hold, followed by scrolling right or left in the edit screen. Even the original Apple Watch had a faster way to change watch faces with its Force Touch ability giving you almost instant access to the watch face edit screen.
If Apple had used the swipe right and left gestures for a different function, that would have been one thing, but they completely removed the gesture altogether. I find it hard to believe that the gesture was in some way not compatible with Apple’s new control interface.
Currently a swipe up from anywhere on the watch face takes you to your Smart Stack. Maybe there could be some software "collisions" in detecting a swipe up from a left or right swipe? If that were the case, the Smart Stack gesture should only work when swiping up from the bottom of the display and not anywhere on the display. With this setup, you could easily avoid issues with left and right swipes.
Quite frankly, I don’t think that it is a software issue, since there are hundreds of apps with much more complex touch controls and gestures.
Hopefully Apple will bring back this gesture once they realize how much people miss the ability to switch watch faces on a whim.