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macdaddy43

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May 5, 2021
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So I have been running the WatchOS 10 Beta for around a month now and I have to say, I am not 100% sold on the new redesign. There are some things I like and some things I could certainly live without. I would love to hear what everyone else thinks so far.

Here are some things I am not fond of so far:

1. The movement of the Control Panel.

Before it was a simple swipe up, now I typically have to use more than one finger to open the control panel (If I press the side button with just my index finger it pushes my watch over too much. So I typically just hold the left side with my thumb and then press the side button with my index finger). First world problems galore. Not a huge fan of this and has taken some getting used to.

2. The addition of Widgets.

I was skeptical about this at first but thought it would be a cool idea. In practice, I already have all the information I need on my watch face and there is nothing in the month that I have used it that make me think 'Wow that was helpful' at all. The weirdest part is when you first swipe to the widgets section, it shows the time... as if you didn't already know the time from the watch face...

This has not been useful for me at all and I wish there was a way/setting that you could turn it off. YMMV.


Things that I have liked so far:

1. Obvious app redesigns.

Being that they have been redesigned to take advantage of the full screen, these updates have been pleasant and has removed some of the staleness I have felt in WatchOS for the last year or 2. They are a breath of fresh air.

2. I may be crazy, but I am pretty sure the time it takes to 'unlock' your watch out of Water Mode, or Sleep Mode - by holding the digital crown in, seems to be quicker. In WatchOS 9 and before it always seemed to be a little longer than necessary and WatchOS 10 certainly feels like it is just a second quicker. Maybe I really AM losing my mind...
 
2. The addition of Widgets.

I was skeptical about this at first but thought it would be a cool idea. In practice, I already have all the information I need on my watch face and there is nothing in the month that I have used it that make me think 'Wow that was helpful' at all. The weirdest part is when you first swipe to the widgets section, it shows the time... as if you didn't already know the time from the watch face...

This has not been useful for me at all and I wish there was a way/setting that you could turn it off. YMMV.




2. I may be crazy, but I am pretty sure the time it takes to 'unlock' your watch out of Water Mode, or Sleep Mode - by holding the digital crown in, seems to be quicker. In WatchOS 9 and before it always seemed to be a little longer than necessary and WatchOS 10 certainly feels like it is just a second quicker. Maybe I really AM losing my mind...
First - yes water lock and sleep lock is way faster and I love it! Use mine in a cold water plunge every day so pretty nice to go under and see temperature and quick unlock and start breathing.

But agree with the Widgets. Besides looking at it the first day, I haven't used it a single time at all - not even the additional complications (which has been pretty limited in options). And yeah the time and date is weird as it's on every watch face I have in rotation anyway
 
From what I’ve read cumulatively about the update, looks like a lot of your feedback is spot-on. The downgrade of not being able to quickly swipe between watch faces would/will bother me a ton - I know they’re trying to encourage use of widgets over complications on multiple faces, but it’s fixing a problem I didn’t have. It’s gonna take a bit for the dust to settle on the changes.
 
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I'm seriously considering not updating to watchOS 10 because of what I hear about no side swiping between faces. It's a fundamental part of how I use my watch. I'm also concerned about the change to how you access the control center. Swiping up is faster than pressing the side button. Being able to access the control center when in an app does sound useful, but then I can't remember if I ever wanted to access the control center while in an app. As other people have said, it's solving a problem I didn't have.
 
So I have been running the WatchOS 10 Beta for around a month now and I have to say, I am not 100% sold on the new redesign. There are some things I like and some things I could certainly live without. I would love to hear what everyone else thinks so far.

Here are some things I am not fond of so far:

1. The movement of the Control Panel.

Before it was a simple swipe up, now I typically have to use more than one finger to open the control panel (If I press the side button with just my index finger it pushes my watch over too much. So I typically just hold the left side with my thumb and then press the side button with my index finger). First world problems galore. Not a huge fan of this and has taken some getting used to.

2. The addition of Widgets.

I was skeptical about this at first but thought it would be a cool idea. In practice, I already have all the information I need on my watch face and there is nothing in the month that I have used it that make me think 'Wow that was helpful' at all. The weirdest part is when you first swipe to the widgets section, it shows the time... as if you didn't already know the time from the watch face...

This has not been useful for me at all and I wish there was a way/setting that you could turn it off. YMMV.


Things that I have liked so far:

1. Obvious app redesigns.

Being that they have been redesigned to take advantage of the full screen, these updates have been pleasant and has removed some of the staleness I have felt in WatchOS for the last year or 2. They are a breath of fresh air.

2. I may be crazy, but I am pretty sure the time it takes to 'unlock' your watch out of Water Mode, or Sleep Mode - by holding the digital crown in, seems to be quicker. In WatchOS 9 and before it always seemed to be a little longer than necessary and WatchOS 10 certainly feels like it is just a second quicker. Maybe I really AM losing my mind...
Thanks for the write-up.
Maybe I will install 10 on my S7 and play with it and keep my Ultra on 9.
But then again, sooner or later will have to accept the “new way” as is…
 
First - yes water lock and sleep lock is way faster and I love it! Use mine in a cold water plunge every day so pretty nice to go under and see temperature and quick unlock and start breathing.

But agree with the Widgets. Besides looking at it the first day, I haven't used it a single time at all - not even the additional complications (which has been pretty limited in options). And yeah the time and date is weird as it's on every watch face I have in rotation anyway
Alright glad I was not the only one who thought the unlock was faster! lol

And yep, widgets have had zero functionality to my routine and I personally would love to remove it entirely from the OS. I really don't see what the developers from Apple were thinking here.
 
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I'm seriously considering not updating to watchOS 10 because of what I hear about no side swiping between faces. It's a fundamental part of how I use my watch. I'm also concerned about the change to how you access the control center. Swiping up is faster than pressing the side button. Being able to access the control center when in an app does sound useful, but then I can't remember if I ever wanted to access the control center while in an app. As other people have said, it's solving a problem I didn't have.
I agree. I already kind of wish I didn't install the Beta since I read that there is no way to downgrade AWs? I guess I am stuck with the 'future'...
 
Thanks for the write-up.
Maybe I will install 10 on my S7 and play with it and keep my Ultra on 9.
But then again, sooner or later will have to accept the “new way” as is…

If you just want to play on it I would definitely install it on your spare AW. It has certainly taken some getting used to. The more I use it, the more it doesn't make any sense to me.
 
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From what you said and other things I've read or seen reviewed in videos about WatchOS 10, I'm not terribly excited for it. Widgets don't seem very useful, I like my complications and have arranged my apps "just so" for easy access.

Quick swipe for the Control Panel is something I do at least twice per day to toggle Theatre Mode. More than that if I need the Flashlight or misplace my phone. That change sounds particularly unappealing.

Changing the watch face isn't something I do often, but I have a photo face with some quick reference information on it that I sometimes swipe quickly over to and back. Seems like that'll be made more difficult as well.

I appreciate app redesigns and such with the new WatchOS, but some of these changes to core functionality like accessing Control Panel or changing watch faces with a quick swipe just don't sound like the best user experience.
 
I've only had it on my watch for about a week now and my feelings are mixed. I like that I can scroll to see widgets and I don't have to load up my watch face as much, but having to hit a button to get to things like water lock and do not disturb just isn't as nice as swiping.
 
Alright glad I was not the only one who thought the unlock was faster! lol


With WatchOS7-8-9 I find it need to run it 2-3 times to get the speaker back to normal. Maybe I’m fussy, maybe I’ve had bad luck, maybe both. If this means I simply have to run it 6 times instead then that’s not an improvement.
 
And yep, widgets have had zero functionality to my routine and I personally would love to remove it entirely from the OS. I really don't see what the developers from Apple were thinking here.
Widgets are useful to me in two ways:
  • With watchOS 10, you can actually scroll up and see your widgets while in water lock mode. This is super neat and means I can just scroll up to see info on my upcoming calendar events without having to unlock and relock the watch.
  • Having the widgets makes me more likely to use new watch faces! I don't have to worry about making sure I have every complication I want. Now I can still access everything I need even on faces that don't support complications, like Nike Bounce. That means I can choose a face that looks cool or matches my outfit without having to worry too much about utility.
 
Having the widgets makes me more likely to use new watch faces! I don't have to worry about making sure I have every complication I want. Now I can still access everything I need even on faces that don't support complications, like Nike Bounce. That means I can choose a face that looks cool or matches my outfit without having to worry too much about utility.
This does seem like a benefit of widgets. I never use any of the cool, decorative watch faces that have no complications, or support only 2-3 complications, because I'm always using faces that let me see lots of info at a glance. But how much info can we see in a widget? For instance, I have a "weather" face that shows me weather condition, temperature, air quality, chance of rain, and sunset/sunrise time in one view. Does the weather widget show all this info in one view? Is it customizable?
 
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With WatchOS7-8-9 I find it need to run it 2-3 times to get the speaker back to normal. Maybe I’m fussy, maybe I’ve had bad luck, maybe both. If this means I simply have to run it 6 times instead then that’s not an improvement.
Even though the screen animation to unlock and activate the display is faster, doesn't mean the sound and water eject feature has changed
 
So far, the only thing I'm hearing that I don't like is the removal of side swiping to change watch faces. I only use 6 complications so the widgets should compliment that well, but I'll have to wait and see when it's out.
 
I think this is one of the best updates yet. Everything works better and looks better. The redesigns of apps are a big improvement. The widgets are decent and will get better. I happy to be rid of the self-organized app screen. For me, all the functionalities work better. My Airpods Pro 2 connect much better, the management of audiobooks is much better. I am really glad I decided to go with the Beta this time around.
 
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No, it's a situational thing. I want to use the timer, I swipe to my timer face. I want to check the weather, I swipe to my weather face. I want to call or text my partner, I swipe to my communications face.
Hopefully with widgets you shouldn’t have to do that anymore. Pin the widgets for whatever specific faces you have set up and then you can access them from anywhere.

I used to have specific home, work, and workout faces, but the widget system has replaced the need for those.

Now I just use a simple face with one complication and swipe up for those other needs.
 
Hopefully with widgets you shouldn’t have to do that anymore. Pin the widgets for whatever specific faces you have set up and then you can access them from anywhere.

I used to have specific home, work, and workout faces, but the widget system has replaced the need for those.

Now I just use a simple face with one complication and swipe up for those other needs.
What do the widgets look like? Could someone post or point to any pics of them? I'm especially interested in timer, weather, and heart rate. Thanks.
 
What do the widgets look like? Could someone post or point to any pics of them? I'm especially interested in timer, weather, and heart rate. Thanks.
Here are the ones I have pinned. You can customise those three small complications (I wish I could get 6, but maybe that will come with custom widgets).

At the moment, the options are pretty limited, but once watchOS 10 is out and 3rd party apps can take advantage of them, I suspect it will get quite a bit better.

incoming-E98C62A6-95BA-4458-8944-6ED9BC60B8E2.PNG
incoming-EF07C448-B44D-4F87-92AE-C08268257A79.PNG


EDIT: here's a screenshot with heart rate and a timer widget too. This is the only heart rate widget so far but you can pick different options for timers (preset timers, custom presets, etc).

incoming-18DF9D62-41F4-425C-8918-3289628EB383.PNG
 
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Here are the ones I have pinned. You can customise those three small complications (I wish I could get 6, but maybe that will come with custom widgets).

At the moment, the options are pretty limited, but once watchOS 10 is out and 3rd party apps can take advantage of them, I suspect it will get quite a bit better.

View attachment 2256363 View attachment 2256362
Thanks. It looks a lot less functional than my current setup, which is like 3-4 Modular watch faces, each loaded with complications.
 
Thanks. It looks a lot less functional than my current setup, which is like 3-4 Modular watch faces, each loaded with complications.
I have been struggling with some of the new features too, so you might want to watch the video on MR that goes over those, I just did today. Not sure still that I will change my mind but at least it gives you a better feeling for what's coming.
 
TL;DR: give the new interface a chance, it is a more well thought out interface that eliminates extra button pushes and allows for certain features to alway be simply a scroll away.

For me, the big advantage of the new widget system, is that I can put the widgets I always want available in “the tray” and be able to enjoy watch faces that have no, or next to no complications in them. I get the best of both worlds: Snoopy AND Complications/widgets.

Additionally, the new way of allowing the All Apps Icon view to be the more logical rows and columns that fill from left to right, top to bottom, rather than inscrutably weird radial mess that is pre wOS10 is a real step up. It essentially combines both the app view and the button drawer by putting everything in front of you but allowing to EASILY arrange them in order of preference.
 
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