Watch OS is... confusing?

[pika2000]

I read an article about the average time consumers spend on the Apple watch is on the home screen. This might mean that the home screen is "confusing" as people are spending more time trying to figure out what to do on it.

I tries playing with an Apple watch, and I have to agree. You have a small screen, and tiny icons. Not good. But since Android wear doesn't work as well on iOS than on Android, I might have to get an Apple watch sooner or later.

What do you guys think? Being objective, do you feel that watch OS is intuitive? Will one get used to it after a while. Right now I'm used to Android wear, and their list view + swiping feels a bit better than Apple's tiny icons.

 

[cosmogs]

It´s not as intuitive as an iPhone. But it works very well, and the home screen is perfect as soon as one knows what and where the icons are. Read the "all the little things" thread on this forum, and you know everything worth knowing fast.

 

[benzkid89]

I just got my Apple Watch yesterday and it was a bit confusing at first but it's making sense now. The one thing that was tough for me with smartwatches is clicking something on such a small screen. So far so good though.

 

[exxxviii]

I rarely use the home screen. Almost everything I do is from the clock screen or a glance. It is quick and easy.

IMHO, the only problem with the home screen is that Apple won't let you get rid of any of their apps, so your are forced to have a dozen apps, even if you will never use half of them.

 

[jasie02]

So you found Samsung/LG/Huawei watch is less confusion?
All smart watch are 1st generation new operation system on a tiny, tiny, tiny, screen, it will get better.
But most important for any potential buyer, it will not get better by "play with it for couple minutes". You can only get use to any new operation system by use it daily for extensive of time, at least weeks maybe months.

Imaging you are always an older mechanical car owner, never drive anything with high tech device inside, and you walk into Tesla dealer and test drive one of their high tech car, samething, you will be confused if you just "play with it for couple minutes". It needs daily driving time for weeks/months to get use to it.

 

[blairh]

I wish there was a way to get back to last app without having to double press the crown.

When I go food shopping and I'm using a list on my AW it's a PITA to have to keep hitting that damn crown twice.

 

[Julien]

I wish there was a way to get back to last app without having to double press the crown.

When I go food shopping and I'm using a list on my AW it's a PITA to have to keep hitting that damn crown twice.

Do you mean this?

 

[sean000]

I don't think it's confusing, but the home screen is a point of frustration for some. The app icons can be hard targets to hit for large fingers... especially if you install a lot of watch apps and the watch app icon isn't obvious about what app it goes with. I think the app screen is useful, and the way it works is very cool looking. That said if you have to use the app screen frequently, perhaps reconsider how you set up your faces, complications and glances.

If people treat the watch like an iPhone and install every single app that catches their eye, they will quickly grow frustrated. I tried a bunch of watch apps in the beginning, but after a few months I came to the conclusion that the watch is not a good platform for lots of apps. It's better to treat the watch like a platform for only the apps that are most useful to have on the watch. My most frequently used apps are my complications (at least when I'm using a face that offers complications). Fantastical Calendar and Carrot Weather are complications I always use. Depending on the watch face and the context, I usually have my other complications set to give me quick access to either my Task List (Things), Activity Rings, and/or Timer. I have a few more fairly frequently used apps set as glances, and then there are some apps I only access when I get a notification (and I tap the notification to open the app if I need to).

So I only visit the app screen unless I need to access a less frequently used app. Even if you have a lot of apps installed you can organize the icons so that the important ones are right there and the less important ones are either below them or on the edges.

Sean

 

[redman042]

I rarely use the home screen. Almost everything I do is from the clock screen or a glance. It is quick and easy.

IMHO, the only problem with the home screen is that Apple won't let you get rid of any of their apps, so your are forced to have a dozen apps, even if you will never use half of them.

This.

The watch is at its best when you focus on its core functions, and stick with functions that can be accomplished in a glance. Don't get too wrapped up in apps. Pick a watch face with complications and/or customize your glances to just the key ones you need. Load a few high-quality third party apps like Fantastical and Dark Sky, and bring those complications up on your watch face. Customize which apps can notify you on the watch. Keep it focused.

I'm using the Modular watch face (sometimes also Utility). My complications are Dark Sky, Fantastical, and the built-in alarm and timer functions. Using these are just a glance/tap away. I handle text notifications, quick replies, Due alarms, reminders, and a few other things with my watch on a routine basis. The taptic engine also allows my phone to notify me silently all the time.

The rest I do on my phone. If I'm bored and particularly if my daughter has my phone, I might launch Twitter on my watch to view recent tweets, or look at recent emails, but that is rare.

The watch UI was awkward to me at first as well, but I'm dialed in now, and the watch is an amazing companion to the phone.

 

[blairh]

Do you mean this?

Yes! Thank you for pointing this out!!!

 

[BarracksSi]

I think of the OS as having two modes: Watch mode, and Apps mode. The crown button switches between the two modes.

Notifications drop from the top just like on iPhone, and Glances swipe up from the bottom just like iPhone's Control Center (my most-used Glance is probably the one with mute/Do Not Disturb).

I think this approach makes the OS a lot simpler. It's a little different from iOS because it has a tiny screen, but it still has some iOS qualities -- but only where they make sense. For example, it doesn't make sense to default to a field of tiny icons, which is why the AW primarily goes to the Watch face.

The complications are a great way to rapidly access some common apps, too. Here, I can go straight to my calendar, timer, alarms, weather, and a game with one tap:

 

[Mac2me]

I just got my Apple Watch yesterday and it was a bit confusing at first but it's making sense now. The one thing that was tough for me with smartwatches is clicking something on such a small screen. So far so good though.

Like others here I don't use my Home Screen with all the little icons much. I either have things as a complication on a watch face or as a glance. Important stuff gets set as notification status. It does have a learning curve but honestly it didn't take me that long to feel comfortable with it.

You don't have to touch the icons to launch them if you feel they are too small for your finger tip. Just go to the icon screen, position the app icon you want to launch in the middle of the watch screen and slowly scroll the crown upwards and the icon will grow larger. You'll see a preview of the app as it grows larger. Doesn't take much of a movement on the crown to make this all happen and you'll get use to how much you need to move it. If it's the app you want, keep slowly rotating the crown upwards a little and the app preview will appear, moving the crown a bit more, and it will launch you into the app. If it's not the right app, release your finger on the crown when you realize it and the icon will shrink back down, and then just swipe the apps over a bit to reposition the one you want. It takes a little getting use to but really once you've got it down it's quick and comes second nature. Easier to understand if you have the watch in front of you reading this.

You can rearrange the icons to pretty much any position you want around the time icon. Stuff you don't find important to you can go to one side or however works best for you. I placed the ones I am most likely to use right around the clock icon so easy to spot and get to. I originally thought the icon screen looked rather dumb but after playing around with it a little and learning how I wanted to use the Watch, I saw the wisdom in it and actually like it quite a bit. It's really pretty quick to navigate when you need to get access to an app that you don't use that often and isn't accessible in another fashion.

The Apple Watch is the only smartwatch I have owned so I can't compare it to using an android version. Honestly I doubt I would ever consider using someone else's as I'm been pretty happy with this one (bought an AW SS).

 

[Armen]

I read an article about the average time consumers spend on the Apple watch is on the home screen. This might mean that the home screen is "confusing" as people are spending more time trying to figure out what to do on it.

I tries playing with an Apple watch, and I have to agree. You have a small screen, and tiny icons. Not good. But since Android wear doesn't work as well on iOS than on Android, I might have to get an Apple watch sooner or later.

What do you guys think? Being objective, do you feel that watch OS is intuitive? Will one get used to it after a while. Right now I'm used to Android wear, and their list view + swiping feels a bit better than Apple's tiny icons.

Im not a fan of the small icons on the home screen. They are difficult to touch if you are walking or moving.