Hands-On With the New Theater Mode in watchOS 3.2

[BC2009]

On another note, I wonder about the water icon there. It's not there on my current watch. Is this a series 2 specific feature? If not, is it also new? What does it do?

The water icon sets a mode on the series 2 so capacitive touch is disabled while you are swimming. This prevents the screen from constantly interacting with the water. You turn the digital crown to take it out of this mode and then it uses the speaker to spit the water out of the speaker hole.

 

[Normandy_sr2!]

this is a feature that gets a highlight ?
How about full customisation of the watch faces, they are so plain, and uninspiring, also if I read a text on my iPhone or Mac then clear the notifications icon on the watch ( a sync feature between iPhone and watch) there are so many things they could update , or add.. but don't...

 

[Neodym]

Seems like a widely-deployed solution to a very small problem.

Apple is all about "widely-deployed solutions to a [seemingly] very small problem". The big total sum of this seemingly very small problems is what makes Apple devices so interesting to a wide audience, because everyone finds a few small solutions that perfectly fit his use case(s).

For example I could imagine that this is not limited to theater / cinema goers, but may also help e.g. when you want to use the watch at night. It's annoying always having to go to settings and switch off screen activation on wrist raise prior to do sleep tracking.

 

[ftaok]

"No one goes to watch movies in a cinema anymore" -- what planet do you live on? There were like 1.3B movie tickets sold in the U.S. alone last year. Sure that is off its peak in 2002 from 1.6B, but its still more iPhones than Apple sold in like 10 years and nobody says "no one carries an iPhone".

Right, and it's not just the cinema. Many (if not most) live performances are in darkened theaters too.

EDIT - I also don't get the hate on this feature. If you find it un-useful, then don't use it. What's the big deal? You don't see people that don't fly get upset at Airplane Mode.

 

[BC2009]

I have literally been wishing for this feature since the first day I had my Apple Watch at launch. I have no idea why someone would complain about it being added. The people who find their way onto these forums never cease to amaze me. You lose literally nothing with Apple adding this feature. You're a rude ass who doesn't care about distracting people in the theatre? Fine. Never tap that button. Never go to the theatre? Probably not a concern to you then. Don't own an Apple watch? Why do you think your opinion is valid?

All the existing buttons on the swipe-up panel are still there. They just made it taller. Nobody loses anything. Considerate theatre-goers get a nice boost in convenience.

Totally agree. Several times I have quickly moved to cover my watch face with my hand to prevent blinding myself in a dark theatre and disturbing the people behind me. I will love theatre mode.

 

[zacheryjensen]

haven't updated my watch yet but can anyone tell me what that "water drop" icon is for?

Wondering the same myself. I'm hoping it's a mode that disables the tap-to-activate functionality which is often triggered by water droplets. I have been out cycling in the rain and had my watch activated by rain drops after which various things are activated since so much of the screen can be tapped to activate apps or whatnot. I imagine swimmers would encounter similar issues and having this option for the series 2 would be especially relevant.

 

[Justjay27]

Wondering the same myself. I'm hoping it's a mode that disables the tap-to-activate functionality which is often triggered by water droplets. I have been out cycling in the rain and had my watch activated by rain drops after which various things are activated since so much of the screen can be tapped to activate apps or whatnot. I imagine swimmers would encounter similar issues and having this option for the series 2 would be especially relevant.

Just read its for activating the digital crown to eject the water out of the speaker, but im not 100% sure

 

[Icaras]

I don't get it at all - how this is remotely useful. Who is spending that much time in dark places to justify its own easily accessible setting for this feature?

I have my watch always on silent and I get haptic feedback all day, every day. When exactly was it ever an issue to have the screen light up, turning the situation into an inconvenient moment? Even in a theatre/cinema, it is not like my watch will light up the entire room.

Wow are you serious that your thinking can't expand beyond your own use case?
I love going to the theater and i annoy even myself just having my watch light up every single time I grab a bite of popcorn or take a sip of my icee. I can't imagine how annoying it must be for everyone behind me.

This is an excellent feature that I gladly look forward to. Can't wait.

 

[zacheryjensen]

Series 2 feature that uses the speaker's sound waves to push water back out of the speaker hole (part of the water-proofing enhancement of the Series 2).

Or...

The water icon sets a mode on the series 2 so capacitive touch is disabled while you are swimming. This prevents the screen from constantly interacting with the water. You turn the digital crown to take it out of this mode and then it uses the speaker to spit the water out of the speaker hole.

I hope the latter is right. It's much needed functionality for other situations too (I am cyclist and rain activates my watch and wreaks havoc at times.)

 

[rikscha]

"No one goes to watch movies in a cinema anymore" -- what planet do you live on? There were like 1.3B movie tickets sold in the U.S. alone last year. Sure that is off its peak in 2002 from 1.6B, but its still more iPhones than Apple sold in like 10 years and nobody says "no one carries an iPhone".

And yes, when your Apple Watch light comes on when you reach for your drink or your popcorn and shines right in your face in a dark theatre it is disturbing the person wearing the watch. This is way better than using power-save mode since it takes forever to come out of power-save mode.

I am glad they are providing this feature. If it it wasn't in control center, it would be worthless. Putting it wear you can get to it quickly when the lights dim is right on the money.

Seems to be the same 10 people going over and over again ! Can you share your source - I'd be interested to read about it. My subjective feeling tells me a different story. A new Star Wars movie is out for a week and I can walk into the busiest cinema in central London on a Saturday and buy tickets at the counter. 1999 Star Wars Episode 1 comes out and I have to queue for an entire day to buy tickets and even after that the movie was sold out for the first couple of weeks.

Maybe in the USA cinema is still a thing.

 

[2010mini]

but that's the point - who is like you anymore? No one goes to watch movies in a cinema anymore with all due respect. This is indeed a feature for the cinema enthusiast and therefore pretty pointless to put this on all our watches.

update: I will also stand to what I said before - the light is hardly strong enough to be an annoyance to anyone. also, my watch usually disappears under my sleeves anyway ?

update2: I can't get over your comment - you are being distracted in a cinema all the time by people being loud and standing up or arriving late. This is way more distracting/disturbing than a tiny light. I disagree with what you said. This is also one of the reasons why I don't like to go - there is always someone not behaving him/herself.

Really?!?? No one? Then all the box office receipts of tickets sold are all made up?

 

[rikscha]

That damn "Emergency Exit" Sign over the escape door right next to the damn screen needs a theater mode! Annoys me every time.

and that's probably brighter than 10 Apple Watches..

 

[RodoBobJon]

This makes perfect sense given how easy it is for Apple it implement. It's basically just a combination of disabling sound and disabling raise-to-wake, which are both existing features.

I disable raise-to-wake every time I go to bed with my watch on so it doesn't light up in the middle of the night when I move. It'll be much easier to just swipe up and enable Theater Mode (Do Not Disturb is already enabled on a schedule).

 

[atomic.flip]

but that's the point - who is like you anymore? No one goes to watch movies in a cinema anymore with all due respect. This is indeed a feature for the cinema enthusiast and therefore pretty pointless to put this on all our watches.

update: I will also stand to what I said before - the light is hardly strong enough to be an annoyance to anyone. also, my watch usually disappears under my sleeves anyway ?

update2: I can't get over your comment - you are being distracted in a cinema all the time by people being loud and standing up or arriving late. This is way more distracting/disturbing than a tiny light. I disagree with what you said. This is also one of the reasons why I don't like to go - there is always someone not behaving him/herself.

Sorry to burst the bubble of your extremely limited world view but there are more than enough adults who attend not only a CINEMA but also Theatre (as in plays and shows and symphony orchestra or ballet or what have you) where the audience is extremely particular about the experience. These are more subtle and quiet events where people are expected to shut up and keep still. And ushers prevent late arrivals from going in and disturbing the audience on and don't forget the performers. And yes the light from the watch is noticeable and if you have IDk say 500 or 1,000 people in an auditorium with Apple watches all lighting up like tiny camera flashes it can be very distracting on stage. Someone might miss a cue or what have you.

So yes. People do go to the Cinema and the theatre. And we have another 50 years of that culture left. You may choose to never attend such events and if so that is your choice. But don't try and impose your standards on everyone else. Thanks!

 

[Wombat-man]

Seems to be the same 10 people going over and over again.

And proposing the opposite point of view is one person (i.e. you) going over and over and over and over again.

 

[rikscha]

Right, and it's not just the cinema. Many (if not most) live performances are in darkened theaters too.

EDIT - I also don't get the hate on this feature. If you find it un-useful, then don't use it. What's the big deal? You don't see people that don't fly get upset at Airplane Mode.

Not sure where you have the hate coming from - I am pretty relaxed about it. I am just interested to hear why people think this is useful. I don't buy into the cinema argument that's all.

 

[anonymous13579]

but that's the point - who is like you anymore? No one goes to watch movies in a cinema anymore with all due respect. This is indeed a feature for the cinema enthusiast and therefore pretty pointless to put this on all our watches.

update: I will also stand to what I said before - the light is hardly strong enough to be an annoyance to anyone. also, my watch usually disappears under my sleeves anyway ?

update2: I can't get over your comment - you are being distracted in a cinema all the time by people being loud and standing up or arriving late. This is way more distracting/disturbing than a tiny light. I disagree with what you said. This is also one of the reasons why I don't like to go - there is always someone not behaving him/herself.

Then if you don't care about this feature why are you freaking out over it, some people may use it and some people won't, it's just there. If you have no use for it then why say anything, some people may want to use it

 

[windywalks]

This is just stretching a thin argument - are you having dinner in a dark room? In a normally lid up room, you wouldn't even notice your watch turns on. People try to make this into way more than it is I think

It's irrelevant if it's supposed to be an intimate dinner or a meeting with a client - having the ability to shut it up is not enough as it attracts attention to itself and if it's more than one notification in a row it's plainly rude.
Seeing as Britain is "dimly lit" all year long the Watch screen lighting up would seem like a bigger problem, huh?

 

[Icaras]

Seems to be the same 10 people going over and over again ! Can you share your source - I'd be interested to read about it. My subjective feeling tells me a different story. A new Star Wars movie is out for a week and I can walk into the busiest cinema in central London on a Saturday and buy tickets at the counter. 1999 Star Wars Episode 1 comes out and I have to queue for an entire day to buy tickets and even after that the movie was sold out for the first couple of weeks.

Maybe in the USA cinema is still a thing.

2016 was a world record for box office. Just US only but still. Record.

2016 Box Office Hits Record $11.4B in North America Despite Angst - The Hollywood Reporter
https://apple.news/AGf6vxYOBRQKlBfwcbyExig

Yea....let's just ignore an 11.4 billion annual revenue raking industry.

 

[nutmac]

I wear my watch to bed every night - can't tell you how many times my wrist has blinded me as I change sleeping positions.!

Not to mention unnecessary stress on the battery as tossing and turning will turn the display on and off constantly.

I sleep with the watch on for (1) alarm and (2) sleep tracker (AutoSleep is awesome), quickly charging it soon after while I take shower. So I welcome any measure to help my watch charge to full 100% during that quick break.

 

[klymr]

I hope the latter is right. It's much needed functionality for other situations too (I am cyclist and rain activates my watch and wreaks havoc at times.)

Your answer is here, my friend: https://support.apple.com/en-us/ht206951

 

[rikscha]

Sorry to burst the bubble of your extremely limited world view but there are more than enough adults who attend not only a CINEMA but also Theatre (as in plays and shows and symphony orchestra or ballet or what have you) where the audience is extremely particular about the experience. These are more subtle and quiet events where people are expected to shut up and keep still. And ushers prevent late arrivals from going in and dustirbing the audience on and don't forget the performers. And yes the light from the watch is noticeable and if you have IDk say 500 or 1,000 people in an auditorium with Apple watches all lighting up like tiny camera flashes it can be very distracting on stage. Someone might miss a cue or what have you.

So yes. People do go to the Cinema and the theatre. And we have another 50 years of that culture left. You may choose to never attend such events and if so that is your choice. But don't try and impose your standards on everyone else. Thanks!

I was referring to cinemas/movie theatre. At no point did I mean Theatres in a more traditional way. Not sure why you are full of 'hate' to quote the guy from previous comments. You are also insulting me for no reason. Not sure I can therefore take your comment serious, although I appreciate the point about going to a classic concert or an opera. That did not come to my mind. People at those locations actually do behave!

Update: I did have to laugh about your limited world view comment. This is hilarious, how quickly people think they found some justification to insult someone they don't know based on absolutely nothing.
[doublepost=1485814970][/doublepost]

2016 was a world record for box office. Just US only but still. Record.

2016 Box Office Hits Record $11.4B in North America Despite Angst - The Hollywood Reporter
https://apple.news/AGf6vxYOBRQKlBfwcbyExig

Yea....let's just ignore an 11.4 billion annual revenue raking industry.

So now you are saying that those 10 people are willing to pay a million times more for their tickets! True cinema enthusiast, I told you that before !

 

[zacheryjensen]

Your answer is here, my friend: https://support.apple.com/en-us/ht206951

So it's an existing feature only on series 2 watches, but, at least it's the feature I hoped it would be. Thanks for the link.

 

[rikscha]

Then if you don't care about this feature why are you freaking out over it, some people may use it and some people won't, it's just there. If you have no use for it then why say anything, some people may want to use it

It must be the case that people develop some sort of sensitiveness posting in online forums. No one is freaking out about this. This is absurd. Why would anyone 'freak' out about this. I asked for a use case out of interest and I got some good responses. You are not adding anything to this conversation hence why I don't even understand why you would bother to comment at all. Are you bored?

 

[Icaras]

So now you are saying that those 10 people are willing to pay a million times more for their tickets! True cinema enthusiast, I told you that before !

I never mentioned "10 people" at all. How is that even related to the evidence I presented?