Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Do you use the Digital Crown or Screen to scroll?

  • Digital Crown almost always

    Votes: 50 61.7%
  • Screen almost always

    Votes: 14 17.3%
  • I just use either.

    Votes: 17 21.0%

  • Total voters
    81

Traverse

macrumors 604
Original poster
Mar 11, 2013
7,712
4,492
Here
One of my favorite features about the Apple Watch is actually the Digital Crown. I thought it was classically Apple to use this as a primary interaction method and I found that I naturally used the DC for everything accept actually tapping icons.

However, I was reading several opinion pieces on the Apple Watch from sites varying from individual blogs to an arcticle on BusinessWeekly and one thing I notice is people repeatedly calling the Digital Crown "useless" or "just a button" and one writer said that Apple should lose it all together because the screen is how you interact with it.

I don't like using the screen because:
(1) scrolling with a finger is actually pretty suttery and laggy while using the DC is silky smooth or some reason,
(2) scrolling with my finger means that I block part of the screen as I scroll, and
(3) I hate finger prints on my watch, it's the one thing I hate about smart watches. If I use my finger to scroll, my screen is going to get smudged really fast.

So I'm just curious if you agree that the DC is unnecessary or if you use the DC as your primary input method too.
 
I almost always scroll via the crown. Maybe 95% of the time or more if I put a number on it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Simche
I almost always use the screen to scroll. I only use the crown as a button to get to the main screen.
 
i use the crown so much because i forget i can use the screen lol


This is true. Even when I first opened the watch I also used the crown and actually forgot that I could scroll with the screen. :/.

I do wish we could make the "friend button "the home button. I don't really like pressing the digital crown.
 
  • Like
Reactions: xDKP and kcellup
i do... a bit... but only use the crown for things that require it, like changing colors and complications.

another thing that i used like 3 times in months is that button, completely useless to me. wish the watch did not have it and the crown was centered.
 
another thing that i used like 3 times in months is that button, completely useless to me. wish the watch did not have it and the crown was centered.

If so, then how do you access Apple Pay quickly? Fortunately, i have a few places around me that i frequent that accepts Pay. For me, that side button is basically Apple Pay button. I don't use it to get contacts/friends.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Arran
I was gonna say, when I'm in line at the cash register and I want to try Pay, I want to be able to access it as quickly as possible. Double-clicking the side button is much better than fishing around the screen for an app (or even Passbook).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Arran
If so, then how do you access Apple Pay quickly? Fortunately, i have a few places around me that i frequent that accepts Pay. For me, that side button is basically Apple Pay button. I don't use it to get contacts/friends.
Make it a double press of the crown and get rid of the (very inconsistent) 'back to where I just was' behavior.
 
I'm actually not sure... I know that I use both, but I'm not sure what I use by default. Both are convenient. Now when my hands are occupied and I must use my nose, I definitely scroll with the touch-screen :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: Newtons Apple
Always Digital Crown. Unless, as mentioned if my hand is occupied I use my nose on screen.
 
I use the crown for scrolling so much that it bothers me that my 6s Plus doesn't have one.

I always use the crown to launch apps too. I center my app and do the zoom to open with the crown. I started doing that right after I got my watch and my fat finger opened the wrong app. If you use the crown you can see which app is being zoomed and abort opening if you need to.
 
Crown. It's much more intuitive to scroll with that instead of the screen. I also hate fingerprints on my screen, so I very, very rarely use the screen to scroll.
 
Crown. It's much more intuitive to scroll with that instead of the screen. I also hate fingerprints on my screen, so I very, very rarely use the screen to scroll.

This. Crown as much as is possible. I use my knuckle to scroll if I have to, to avoid prints.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Flow39
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.