Mr. Assumption. Sometimes, new hardware is needed for new software features. Apple wants a baseline for how well new features work. If they can't meet that baseline, they are going to lock it to hardware that does. Does it help with sales? yes!
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watchOS 10.1 Beta 2 Adds Support for Double Tap
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MR folk are quick to dismiss the substantive amount of support old hardware gets, while complaining perpetually about new features. You are exactly right, a new processor has a method to do “accessibility” functions more efficiently, maybe more accurately, than prior versions. Needs to have zero impact to battery, very consistent, to be a top line feature not an optional setting.
I've been using the accessibility feature on my Apple Watch Ultra 2 since launch the other week and it is definitely not working as good as Apple showed in the keynote. That is probably why. The updated version uses an entirely new AI model to make sure that it works more effectively with nuanced sensor data. To more accurately react, it has to be fast, and a more complex model needs to execute within a certain amount of time or it will be laggy and unresponsive, which is what you don't want in UX design. Furthermore, the accessibility feature seems much more limited than what Apple showed. I'm not able to flip through items or other things, basically just dismiss things that pop up only, and it only works about 80% of the time for me. Just enough to be annoying.
In the keynote they literally said it was coming in a software update in the next month. What is false about that? The only false thing I see here is your fiancé's comprehension of what they watch or read.
There is just one gesture, and it's not a primary interaction method. It's mainly for when you are glancing your watch and want to dismiss something, or have your hands full and want to answer a call, etc. It's just tapping two fingers together, and it's virtually silent. Chillax.
Surely you can find better things to be offended by than someone double tapping their fingers together?
Just installed the beta on my AW Ultra Series 2, and surprisingly it works very well so far. It will probably take several months before I can train my brain to use the feature 
EDIT: Also, hoping future updates enable more customization for double tap feature. For example, reject an incoming call w/ double tap, rather than answer a call.
EDIT: Also, hoping future updates enable more customization for double tap feature. For example, reject an incoming call w/ double tap, rather than answer a call.
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If the final release of double tap works as horribly as the accessibility feature, I will be surprised, because quick actions suck pretty badly.
Yeah…. Still have my reservations. Remember how Apple also mentioned that Siri needed the A5 CPU in the iPhone 4S, only from the jailbreaking community to show us it actually work on an iPhone 4?
Not a gesture I would ever use regardless but still, sad that they recur to these tactics to differentiate their devices, instead of actually differentiating the devices.
Yea, I hated assistive touch with the large box that appeared and was highlighted.
They called out in the presentation that it was coming after launch and it’s also called out in documentation. Send her a screenshot and tell her, “Lawsuit over before it began.”
I had a jailbroken 4 with Siri. It was really bad at speech recognition in comparison to the 4S, because the iPhone 4S had an additional mic if I recall. Sometimes it's not that the older hardware isn't capable of performing the task, it's just that it doesn't do it consistently well enough for them to consider it acceptable.
Eh.. I just use my nose when my hands are full ... no need to upgrade on this end .. j/k but tbh im sticking with the iPhone 13 Pro for another iteration or so.
This was my experience too. When I heard that this feature was already available in the accessibility settings, I tried it for a couple of days, got frustrated with it and turned it off. If the 'new feature' is even half as unreliable as the accessibility settings, I'd be pretty annoyed with Apple for trying to make a feature out of an unreliable function.
Thumb and middle finger works or thumb and index finger both work reliably.
I also tried middle and index fingers which seemed to work maybe 70% of the time. Thumb and other fingers are far less effective but occasionally work.
I am going to be honest I am more concerned about the flickering screen issues with timers that occurs with the aw9 and ultra 2. hoping there is a fix with this software release
I use my feet before the nose... otherwise you can end up with smudges on the screen
But it does look a bit odd myself (hand, two feet and nose) all hunched over the Apple Watch on my wrist...
It’s so very similar though. I’m using it on my Ultra on WatchOS 9. As soon people post details for Ultra 2 on 10, I’ll post a detailed comparison. I’m not updating my watch to 10 anytime soon.
You’ll post a detailed comparison without using it?
Maybe just post it now then?
It's disappointing that the betas for the watch are so risky in the sense that you have to send your watch to Apple to downgrade. I really hate that they got rid of the Dock. It had my most used apps readily available. I don't know why they thought assigning one of the physical buttons to Control Center, which I rarely use and was already easily accessibly from any screen, was great idea. Some of these OS updates are ridiculous. How many generations of cars have we had and how many times have the gas and brake pedals been flipped? Pick something and stick with it.
Limited options now, but it does work pretty well on an Ultra 2.
I'm sure more fun will be added once it's sorted out.
I'm sure more fun will be added once it's sorted out.