The 'friends' button is useless...here's how it SHOULD work

[Natzoo]

It still baffles me how Apple ended up putting a giant (for a watch) button on it. None of other smartwatches have such a big button, even the ugliest ones like Pebble/Time.

They must have a huge surplus of these buttons from other devices and decided to find use for them.

i would've been happy if they put a camera there.

 

[littlezumbo]

I think I'd have to respectfully disagree that the Friends button is useless:

* One click takes you to your Friends circle;
* Two clicks engages Apple Pay and even though it might not be available to some, those of us who use it invariably find it pretty cool;
* Long press takes you to power settings;
* Long press followed by a pause and another long press quits open app(s) and allows your watch to run smoother when bogged down with open apps;
* Clicked simultaneously with a click of the digital crown takes a screenshot which a whole bunch of people have been doing to share how they've personlised their app screens;
* Long press along with a long press of the digital crown and you can hard reset your AW.

Quite a bit for one button, I'd say.

 

[A MacBook lover]

Double tapping the digital crown switches back to the most recent app.

We're talking about the button below it

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I think I'd have to respectfully disagree that the Friends button is useless:

* One click takes you to your Friends circle;
* Two clicks engages Apple Pay and even though it might not be available to some, those of us who use it invariably find it pretty cool;
* Long press takes you to power settings;
* Long press followed by a pause and another long press quits open app(s) and allows your watch to run smoother when bogged down with open apps;
* Clicked simultaneously with a click of the digital crown takes a screenshot which a whole bunch of people have been doing to share how they've personlised their app screens;
* Long press along with a long press of the digital crown and you can hard reset your AW.

Quite a bit for one button, I'd say.

And it can still do all those things. Except replace friends circle with something else, PLEASE. Sleep/wake, make it customizable... whatever.

 

[littlezumbo]

And it can still do all those things. Except replace friends circle with something else, PLEASE. Sleep/wake, make it customizable... whatever.

So, your problem is with the Friends interface? Hmm, to each their own, I guess. Personally, I use it frequently whenever initiating a message/call via Siri feels slightly awkward in public. But with millions of people finding millions of unique ways to interact with their AWs, it's hardly surprising to read of varying preferences.

 

[mdmendoz]

Button should be configurable

Users should be able to use it as a shortcut to whatever they choose. For the fitness app for easy access while running. Or shortcut to an app like Passbook for quick access at a airplane gate or Starbucks checkout.

 

[mightyjabba]

I posted a thread similar to this a few days ago asking if anyone actually used the friends button for its intended purchase, and essentially no one did. The problem is that it's really not any faster than the alternatives (going directly to the messages or phone app, or using Siri). Also, if I am going to initiate a communication I tend to do it on the phone anyway -- the watch is for responding to things.

This is easily solved though -- just allow the user to assign an app or function to the button. I submitted feedback to this effect to Apple not long ago.

 

[littlezumbo]

Users should be able to use it as a shortcut to whatever they choose. For the fitness app for easy access while running. Or shortcut to an app like Passbook for quick access at a airplane gate or Starbucks checkout.

It's sort of "unApple-like" to include customisable buttons in their hardware designs. With that said, it's one of the reasons I've been a frequent jailbreaker with my iDevices.

 

[Sharkey311]

I use it more for Apple Pay than anything else...until more of my friends get the watch, I hardly use it to find contacts...I just use Siri, my phone, or wait until they text/call me.

 

[Bbqthis]

We're talking about the button below it

NO. Really? I was merely commenting that if you took away the second button, you would be either sacrificing function of the digital crown, or over crowding it.

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I think I'd have to respectfully disagree that the Friends button is useless:

* One click takes you to your Friends circle;
* Two clicks engages Apple Pay and even though it might not be available to some, those of us who use it invariably find it pretty cool;
* Long press takes you to power settings;
* Long press followed by a pause and another long press quits open app(s) and allows your watch to run smoother when bogged down with open apps;
* Clicked simultaneously with a click of the digital crown takes a screenshot which a whole bunch of people have been doing to share how they've personlised their app screens;
* Long press along with a long press of the digital crown and you can hard reset your AW.

Quite a bit for one button, I'd say.

Yup. 100% agree.

 

[venividivigor]

This friends button is going to be so much more useful once everyone starts getting their watches to use it for digital touch.

 

[NovemberWhiskey]

tap the screen with a finger to wake it up and tap your palm on the screen to sleep it. I do this countless times every day. I don't use the raise to wake feature.

Thank you for the Palm tap tip!!

 

[Trius]

I'd like if the button would take you back to the clock face

 

[Fortimir]

Seriously? What ridiculous nitpicking. The friends button is very useful for many of us. My entire family has Apple watches and I use it all the time to bring them up. It's way faster than Siri or going to the Messages app for me. And the multi-functions of it has been stated several times in this thread. I use it for Apple Pay and screen shots every day.

I'd like if the button would take you back to the clock face

The crown does that. Just press it until you're back at the clock face. It's usually 1-3 presses depending where you are. Or palm your screen. No matter where you are, it will default your watch back to the clock when you wake it.

 

[flur]

Even the ones I text frequently, it's just easier to go to the messaging app rather than use the friends 'button' and 'scroll' to the right person, then tap the message icon. Heck, doing it this way doesn't bring up the previous messaging thread!

You don't need to scroll if you don't want to - you can just tap the circle of the contact you want to call/message.

 

[Banich2]

It's sort of "unApple-like" to include customisable buttons in their hardware designs. With that said, it's one of the reasons I've been a frequent jailbreaker with my iDevices.

That's not true. On an iPad, you can set the slide switch as an orientation lock or mute/unmute

 

[jjp007]

I think I'd have to respectfully disagree that the Friends button is useless:

* One click takes you to your Friends circle;
* Two clicks engages Apple Pay and even though it might not be available to some, those of us who use it invariably find it pretty cool;
* Long press takes you to power settings;
* Long press followed by a pause and another long press quits open app(s) and allows your watch to run smoother when bogged down with open apps;
* Clicked simultaneously with a click of the digital crown takes a screenshot which a whole bunch of people have been doing to share how they've personlised their app screens;
* Long press along with a long press of the digital crown and you can hard reset your AW.

Quite a bit for one button, I'd say.

I can't get #4 to work. All it does is bring up the power settings then back to home face. I was wondering how to close out apps...

 

[Cuyler]

tap the screen with a finger to wake it up and tap your palm on the screen to sleep it. I do this countless times every day. I don't use the raise to wake feature.

Yes.. and for that matter you can also wake the screen by pressing the digital crown. You don't even need to press a button to sleep the screen since it times out quickly.

I suppose Apple could allow people to chose an app that would activate whenever the side button was pressed —*the default being the current "contacts" or "friends" (which I don't think is really a separate app right now). I guess that might be good for people who don't have any friends. Personally, I think it's fine just the way it is.

Maybe they'll add a camera in a future version of the watch (although I don't know where they'd fit it).

 

[A MacBook lover]

Seriously? What ridiculous nitpicking. The friends button is very useful for many of us. My entire family has Apple watches and I use it all the time to bring them up. It's way faster than Siri or going to the Messages app for me. And the multi-functions of it has been stated several times in this thread. I use it for Apple Pay and screen shots every day.



The crown does that. Just press it until you're back at the clock face. It's usually 1-3 presses depending where you are. Or palm your screen. No matter where you are, it will default your watch back to the clock when you wake it.

Nitpicking? So you think the Apple Watch is perfect? Best smartwatch by far, but also far from perfect.

I'm not calling for the removal of any button, all the functions of the button would remain the same. Either fix friends circle so that you can view conversation threads or move it somewhere else, or make the button customizable.

 

[flur]

I can't get #4 to work. All it does is bring up the power settings then back to home face. I was wondering how to close out apps...

That's it. If you're in an app and do this, it force closes.

 

[jclardy]

Can't they coexist like the home button and multitasking?

If anything - friends should have a dedicated complication or glance...not a physical button

I disagree with friends button being a waste - I use it quite a lot. But someone else had the idea on here that rather than "Friends" it should just be "Favorites" - the difference being that it is essentially a shortcut wheel to anything on the watch, so apps and contacts. For me I find a lot of glances suck right now, and they are the only way to shortcut things on the watch without going through the app home screen or having a glance.

 

[kupkakez]

I use the friends button as a shortcut to my contacts who have an apple watch and so I draw inappropriate pictures quickly all with a couple of touches.

 

[tonoboon]

i'm using side button a lot

 

[Trius]

Seriously? What ridiculous nitpicking. The friends button is very useful for many of us. My entire family has Apple watches and I use it all the time to bring them up. It's way faster than Siri or going to the Messages app for me. And the multi-functions of it has been stated several times in this thread. I use it for Apple Pay and screen shots every day.



The crown does that. Just press it until you're back at the clock face. It's usually 1-3 presses depending where you are. Or palm your screen. No matter where you are, it will default your watch back to the clock when you wake it.

I realize, I'm fully familiar with the watch. One press would be more convenient than the several presses it currently takes, for me. I would use that function way more than the friends button.

Considering it's a watch first and foremost, a dedicated clock button doesn't seem out of line.

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I can't get #4 to work. All it does is bring up the power settings then back to home face. I was wondering how to close out apps...

After you get the power down screen, release and hold again until you're back at the app screen. That's it, it closed out the open app.

 

[Bromeo]

Precedent

iPod lock switch was rotation lock only at first. An update to iOS later provided a configurable setting of lock or mute, with mute being the new default. I still have it set to lock as I find that most useful for me. Now with control center, the iPad side switch has gone the way of the dodo bird. Change happens.

I use the contacts button, but like the idea of it being configurable to a favorites, or a launch shortcut for a common app (especially useful for enterprise users). Write to Apple here:

https://www.apple.com/feedback/watch.html

 

[J.gerbes]

And you can still use this feature, but a physical button for it is unnecessary. I use my watch to text, I text ALOT. But usually from 1-5 unique people a day. Some of them I'll never talk to.


Even the ones I text frequently, it's just easier to go to the messaging app rather than use the friends 'button' and 'scroll' to the right person, then tap the message icon. Heck, doing it this way doesn't bring up the previous messaging thread!

The button is essential for Apple Pay (the watch doesn't have enough batter capacity to keep NFC powered up).

If you think you have a better single click use for the button, why not suggest it to apple