watchOS 11: Smart Stack Gains Live Activities and Suggested Widgets

[MacRumors]

Introduced in iOS 16, Live Activities changed the way users interact with their iPhone. Instead of getting multiple notifications when tracking a delivery or a sports score, for example, users see a single, dynamically updating Live Activity with real-time information right on their Lock Screen.

Starting in watchOS 11, when a Live Activity begins on your iPhone, it now automatically shows on your Apple Watch at the top of the Smart Stack, allowing you to keep tabs on it just by raising your wrist. (Notably, Apple has also made it so that the design of clock at the top of the Smart Stack aligns with your current watch face.)

Apple Watch users will know that the Smart Stack is usually accessed from the watch face by turning the Digital Crown. But in watchOS 11, the Smart Stack can now open automatically when a Live Activity starts, and will remain visible when you lower your wrist.

When you tap on the Live Activity, it opens the relevant app, and if there's no associated Apple Watch app, it turns into a convenient fullscreen view with a button to open the app on iPhone.

If a Live Activity begins while you are in another Apple Watch app, it will appear in a special compact version at the bottom of the display. If you pull up on the compact view, it enlarges into the full widget, and if you tap on it, you'll be taken to the app or fullscreen view.

In watchOS 11, Apple is also introducing "Suggested widgets," or widgets that the system intelligently adds or removes in the Smart Stack based on what's relevant in the moment.

For example, if it's about to rain in 15 minutes, a new precipitation widget will appear in the Smart Stack ahead of time, and then disappear when the sky clears. Cues for suggested widgets can include location, date, sleep, fitness, and more.

Another example is the Shazam widget. It automatically appears in your Smart Stack when there's music playing around you so that you can use it to identify the song, and it will disappear when the music stops.

Lastly, Smart Stack widgets can now be interactive, and developers can bring toggles and switches into play, allowing users to perform quick actions without launching an app. An individual widget can be used to turn smart lights on and off, for example.

watchOS 11 is currently available to developers for testing purposes, with Apple planning to release the software to the public this fall.

Article Link: watchOS 11: Smart Stack Gains Live Activities and Suggested Widgets

 

[JulianL]

Those look like some pretty nice enhancements. I've been wanting live activities to come to AW for ages, it goes some way to making up for companies like Uber dropping its native Watch app. The only thing I have a slight concern about is that I hope Shazam appearing whenever music is playing is an option because I have music playing around me most of the time so it could be quite annoying. Actually, a geo-option would be nice so that I could disable it auto-appearing when I am at home because it's usually my own music playing so I'm never going to want to Shazam it.

- Julian

 

[Prince Akeem]

The Smart stack is probably the least welcome feature on my watch (Apple watch user since Series0). I am left handed so I wear my watch on my right wrist. The digital crown is facing away from my hand. This means, certain clothes often slightly touch/rotate the crown. Up until watchOS 10 no problem, but since 10 this often activates Smart Stack unwantedly, with no way to disable it. Let's hope watchOS brings some way to disable this.

 

[Reason077]

I never really use the "smart stack" on my Watch, to be honest. Too small and convoluted to be of much use. The Watch is pretty good at putting the apps you're using/need on the screen automatically, so Smart Stack seems like a mediocre solution for a problem that doesn't exist?

My main wish for WatchOS is better watch faces and complications. In particular, watch faces that clearly display active timers in a large font, without having to do any interactions to see the timer other than raising your wrist!

This is something that iOS does very well, why not WatchOS? Why is it so difficult?

 

[allenvanhellen]

We need minute marks and seconds display on analogue and digital clocks in the Smart Stack! And why can’t we pick between the two?

 

[FloridaScrubJay]

I hope you will be able to swipe it away. For example, a precipitation widget could last hours or all day here in Florida. The notification is nice, but I would like to close it after read.

 

[Reason077]

I hope you will be able to swipe it away. For example, a precipitation widget could last hours or all day here in Florida. The notification is nice, but I would like to close it after read.

This use-case sounds more like a traditional notification, then, not a job for Smart Stack.

But the WatchOS team do seem to be re-inventing the wheel somewhat with this stuff...

 

[Apple_Robert]

This is a good move by Apple. I don't understand why you can‘t close the stack with double tap when you can open the stack with double tap.

 

[Reason077]

We need minute marks and seconds display on analogue and digital clocks in the Smart Stack! And why can’t we pick between the two?

The type of clock that appears in the Smart Stack depends on which watch face is active.

 

[Reason077]

This is a good move by Apple. I don't understand why you can close the stack with double tap when you can open the stack with double tap.

Are you confusing Smart Stack with the app switcher? Smart Stack is accessed by rotating the crown wheel, from the watch face.

 

[Godspeed8230]

We need minute marks and seconds display on analogue and digital clocks in the Smart Stack! And why can’t we pick between the two?

Do we really need a clock in the smart stack and why? I'd rather use this space for other widgets because I do not need an extra clock after looking at my watchface.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Are you confusing Smart Stack with the app switcher? Smart Stack is accessed by rotating the crown wheel, from the watch face.

No.

Use double tap to perform common actions on Apple Watch

On compatible Apple Watch models, tap your index finger and thumb together twice to perform common actions.

support.apple.com

 

[Reason077]

No.

Use double tap to perform common actions on Apple Watch

On compatible Apple Watch models, tap your index finger and thumb together twice to perform common actions.

support.apple.com

Ahh, mine's not a Series 9, so it doesn't have this feature. More gating of fairly trivial features by Apple to encourage people to upgrade, I guess.

 

[Webcat86]

The Smart stack is probably the least welcome feature on my watch (Apple watch user since Series0). I am left handed so I wear my watch on my right wrist. The digital crown is facing away from my hand. This means, it very often slightly touches/rotates the crown when wearing certain clothes. Up until watchOS 10 no problem, but since 10 it often activates Smart Stack unwantedly, with no way to disable it. Let's hope watchOS brings some way to disable this.

Why not go into settings and tell it you wear it the other way? I did that because I found whenever I do push ups, the crown bumps into the back of my hand. So now I wear it with the crown on the other side

 

[Moriakum]

I gess Live Activities were too much for my "old" SE...

 

[rwilliams]

It works well with MLB notifications from the TV app. Scoring updates are right on time.

 

[nealibob]

This appears to resolve the fairly annoying issue that you would get "live activity update" notifications on the watch without any details, requiring you to find your phone to see what the update was.

 

[SmugMaverick]

I'm actually pleasantly surprised, an actual useful decent update at WWDC24.

Live activities and widgets on the watch 👍

 

[Prince Akeem]

Why not go into settings and tell it you wear it the other way? I did that because I found whenever I do push ups, the crown bumps into the back of my hand. So now I wear it with the crown on the other side

I have setup this correctly in settings for my case: wearing the watch on my right wrist and the crown on the right side.

So also for me: I don't want the crown on my hand side (left side of the watch in my case), it just feels better with the crown on the upper right side. Besides that I don't prefer the look with the button placed weirdly on the bottom left.

So @Apple just give an option to disable the Smart Stack activation shortcut please.

 

[Simmias]

Do we really need a clock in the smart stack and why? I'd rather use this space for other widgets because I do not need an extra clock after looking at my watchface.

The clock at the top of the widget stack is one of the most baffling design decisions on the watch. It's redundant with the watch face and requires an extra full turn of the crown to see any useful information.

 

[coffeemilktea]

This is such a cool feature!

...too bad my first-gen SE isn't getting it. Ah, it's been such a good device all these years though. 😭

 

[spazzcat]

The Smart stack is probably the least welcome feature on my watch (Apple watch user since Series0). I am left handed so I wear my watch on my right wrist. The digital crown is facing away from my hand. This means, certain clothes often slightly touch/rotate the crown. Up until watchOS 10 no problem, but since 10 this often activates Smart Stack unwantedly, with no way to disable it. Let's hope watchOS brings some way to disable this.

You can flip your watch.

 

[spazzcat]

The clock at the top of the widget stack is one of the most baffling design decisions on the watch. It's redundant with the watch face and requires an extra full turn of the crown to see any useful information.

It is more useful now with live activities because if a score update comes in just as you want to check the time, the time is there.

 

[ksnell]

Do we really need a clock in the smart stack and why? I'd rather use this space for other widgets because I do not need an extra clock after looking at my watchface.

Agreed. It only makes sense if it gives additional granularity vs. the watch face like a seconds counter.

 

[JulianL]

This is a good move by Apple. I don't understand why you can‘t close the stack with double tap when you can open the stack with double tap.

Double-tap when the stack is open (the double-tap/pinch hand-gesture on Series 9 as you clarified in a subsequent post) is already allocated though, it advances the stack by one widget.

I don't actually disagree with you though but for me it's a broader complaint i.e. how many user interface actions are not customisable by the user but instead defined by Apple on a very personal device and where by necessity the user interface has relatively few interface actions (because it is a small device with a small screen and few buttons) so being able to get those few interface actions be the most valuable to each particular user seems important to me. It's not as if me going mad and customising my buttons and gestures in very non-standard ways is going to confuse anyone else, except maybe someone who steals my watch, because other than that it's only me who ever uses it and I'll factory-reset it when I sell it.

So for me the preferred solution to your complaint would be that Apple should offer more customisation for those S9 hand gestures (and lots of other stuff besides) that would include allowing you to do what you want to do.