watchOS 11: Smart Stack Gains Live Activities and Suggested Widgets

[Razorpit]

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?

I never use it either. In fact I forgot it exists. Mine always shows AppleNews as the first item and I NEVER use that app. Main reason being I don’t read/follow/watch CNN. It is blocked in the app and yet it constantly shows both in the app and in the watch’s Smart Stack.

Per Apple’s blocked rules, “blocked channels appear when selected by the Apple News editions.” Screw you Apple News “editors.” Continue to send me something I specifically said I don’t want and I stop using that function/feature.

 

[JulianL]

I never use it either. In fact I forgot it exists. Mine always shows AppleNews as the first item and I NEVER use that app. Main reason being I don’t read/follow/watch CNN. It is blocked in the app and yet it constantly shows both in the app and in the watch’s Smart Stack.

Per Apple’s blocked rules, “blocked channels appear when selected by the Apple News editions.” Screw you Apple News “editors.” Continue to send me something I specifically said I don’t want and I stop using that function/feature.

LOL. Yeah, for me channel blocking on Apple News was totally bizarre. Because of that and the price hike I slightly reluctantly unsubscribed and stopped using even the basic free version. I just couldn't understand what on earth the designers were thinking when for instance I blocked the "Hello!" channel because I am not in the slightest bit interested in celebrity tittle-tattle yet on my News homepage I would still get blank grey coloured news-article-sized spaces with a message in the middle saying something along the lines of "you've blocked the Hello! channel so we're not showing you this content" - yet they're still wasting space on my home page summary just to show me that message?

 

[devonair]

The only feature I wish they would have added is giving us the Dock back

 

[CarAnalogy]

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?

I'm not sure what you mean by putting apps on the screen automatically. Since WatchOS 10 I've found it much more difficult to get to the apps I use, since they killed the Dock.

I still don't understand why they had to do that, and still haven't brought it back in the updates since.

 

[CarAnalogy]

The only feature I wish they would have added is giving us the Dock back

I seriously don't get that. I mean it's a Mac staple. Every other OS has a Dock. They also have app switchers, and they are not the same thing. Even just make it a choice. I think it even used to be a choice. All they did was remove the option.

It wasn't an improvement in any way, it was just a straight downgrade to try to force users into the new design paradigm.

Edit: I even just searched the app settings in the Watch app, and there are several hits for Dock, none of which work. All the code is still in there. They just straight turned it off. WHY?!

 

[Johnny907]

Yeah and loses the Explorer watch face, which I've been using since Series 3, for no GD reason whatsoever.
It was the last watch face that showed cellular connection strength, a feature I use daily.
Not cool, Apple.

 

[Mity]

I would like the Notes app to finally be on my AW. I hate MS OneNote. It never syncs properly. I use it to keep my workout schedule so I don't have to carry my iPhone.

 

[name99]

"Apple Watch users will know that the Smart Stack is usually accessed from the watch face by turning the Digital Crown."
OR
with the thumb-finger-touch twice gesture... (Which is definitely available on my Ultra 2, and I think it's available everywhere if you do some sleuthing around in Accessibility). Successive such gestures scroll through the stack.

This may seem like a minor point but it is occasionally useful if you're forced to be one handed (eg wet or messy right hand), especially if the smart stack is showing something like a timer.

 

[rwilliams]

Yeah and loses the Explorer watch face, which I've been using since Series 3, for no GD reason whatsoever.
It was the last watch face that showed cellular connection strength, a feature I use daily.
Not cool, Apple.

Do you have a regular Series watch or an Ultra?

 

[MallardDuck]

This is one of the most useless 'features' on the watch. I'd much rather have the 'turn dial to change face to red' option back.

 

[Razorpit]

Yeah and loses the Explorer watch face, which I've been using since Series 3, for no GD reason whatsoever.
It was the last watch face that showed cellular connection strength, a feature I use daily.
Not cool, Apple.

I hope that‘s a bug or something because I use that one a lot myself.

 

[allenvanhellen]

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.

Many watch faces do not show seconds or even minutes clearly, and seeing that in the Smart Stack is a quick way to check the exact time, crucial for making a quick decision about buying a drink or using the washroom before boarding a train, for example.

 

[allenvanhellen]

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

Right. But, for example, if I happen to be using the Palette face but in a moment need to know the exact time clearly and quickly, I’d like to scroll the crown or double pinch to see a digital clock with minutes and seconds.

 

[applefan8254]

would like to see more intermittent fasting apps take advantage of widgets to offer motivation in the form of displaying more than just a timer. For example, on a phone, when you view certain fasting widgets or open the app itself, you will get a body status "ketosis", "blood sugar level settles", "fat burning", "autophagy", and more, and there will be a little paragraph that explains the current segment of your fast, which, when fasting, can help make or break a fast, and so, with quick easy access to that paragraph and maybe a tap to see more functionality, it'd be nice if more developers would do this for watchOS.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

I seriously don't get that. I mean it's a Mac staple. Every other OS has a Dock. They also have app switchers, and they are not the same thing. Even just make it a choice. I think it even used to be a choice. All they did was remove the option.

It wasn't an improvement in any way, it was just a straight downgrade to try to force users into the new design paradigm.

Edit: I even just searched the app settings in the Watch app, and there are several hits for Dock, none of which work. All the code is still in there. They just straight turned it off. WHY?!

I completely agree. I haven't updated my iPhone since 17.3.1 just so I can have my watch on 9.6.3. I really don't see why the dock was removed as I find it a feature I almost can't bare to lose. I've asked family members and friends who have updated to Watch OS10, they tell me it's fine I just need to get use to the changes. I'm holding off at least until iOS18 is officially released before I decide. At least I'll have a few more months with the dock..

 

[klky]

I also don't use Smart Stack. I still miss swiping up for Control Centre and still make that mistake. Pressing the side button is just not as fluid for something I use a lot more than Smart Stack. Not to mention, the swipe action to invoke Control Centre is more consistent with how it works on iPhone, even if it's up versus down. A software toggle to allow us to choose would be nice.

 

[seanrt]

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

Same. I’m a leftie who wears my AW on the right wrist that way. It’s great.

 

[svish]

Interesting. Will be useful.

 

[CarAnalogy]

I completely agree. I haven't updated my iPhone since 17.3.1 just so I can have my watch on 9.6.3. I really don't see why the dock was removed as I find it a feature I almost can't bare to lose. I've asked family members and friends who have updated to Watch OS10, they tell me it's fine I just need to get use to the changes. I'm holding off at least until iOS18 is officially released before I decide. At least I'll have a few more months with the dock..

I’ve gotten used to every other change. But getting rid of the Dock was downright user hostile, no other way to say it.

 

[Razorpit]

Quick follow up. Since forgetting smart stack was a thing, I've spent the last week using it, and I now remember why I have forgotten it. Other than checking to see the status of a timer, it is by far the most useless feature of the watch. EVERY TIME Apple News is first thing to appear, and 98% the lead article is from a news source I blocked in news. 🙄

Usually the second or third item on the list is the date which requires a second action (a tap) to see what my next event is. Exercise rings are the third item, which actually provides some good information and is welcomed. NOTHING for the reminders I have set. Nothing on the weather. NOTHING on text messages or emails from VIP's.

Is there a way to "control" the smart stack because if not this feature is UTTERLY useless.

 

[dburkhanaev]

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.

​

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It seems to me that the author of this post and I have different definitions of convenient. There is nothing convenient about the live activity taking over your watch face. You turn a podcast on your phone and it's playing in the background, fine. You don't need to interact with it. But Live Activity springs to life. You go to lift your wrist to check the time, see if you have any new messages, etc. You know, because you're at work and your phone is in Focus mode, but you check your watch for the info anyway.

The watch face is gone. This Smart Stack is loved by who knows whom? My whole watch face is gone and the relevant data with it. In its place is this stack showing the little moving bars that represent an audio wave. I don't need this to interact with the Podcast. There's a little red and white arrow icon that dots above my watch face, one tap and I'm in the podcast playback interface.

But the activity stack has done something. It has pushed aside my watch face and it has paused my active timer that was running in the background. It's not a fluke. Did it four times already.

And what good is a live stack that doesn't have a way to go into the active app (HomeKit) without taking the action printed on the Live Action stack? The live action stack for homekit on my watch simply says turn off all lights. If you press it, all the lights are out. If you long press it, nothing. So it's less than useful. That's aside from being redundant and now counteractive to my work flow. I don't need active timers that remind me when to clock back in, to pause at the half way point because a live action stack is running and I lifted my wrist.

Apple has really got to get with it. I guess Microsoft and Android aren't much in the way of competition for Apple in the U.S. market anymore. Their lack of hunger has led them to find faults where there are none and to recreate wheels for the sake of announcing new features. I sure wish I had watched a video about the "New Features" in WatchOS 11 before I let the update run. This is the worst update since WatchOS 10 brought us the Smart Stack.

 

[dburkhanaev]

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.

Smart Stack itself is a bundle of redundant. It serves no useful purpose. A little live-action notification that you can tap and interact with could slide from the bottom of the watch face and you can turn the feature on or off and get the same benefits. Maybe if you're a user with just a picture or colors for a watch face, you need this.

I have a fully feature-rich watch face with complications that target all of the at-a-glance data that I need to see at any time when I raise my wrist. It's annoying to see that replaced by a "Smart Stack", just because I turned on a podcast, or Shazaam hears music, or there's an air quality warning from the weather service. I live in Atlanta for the love of Pete.

Some of them, like the HomeKit smart stack, is completely useless. You can tap it to open the HomeKit UI for your smart devices. You can only tap it and have the listed action performed. In my case, I get a Live Action that says turn off all the lights. How is one tap that turns all the smart lights upstairs and downstairs useful? All that happened was that I had a confused husband calling up to find out why the living room was in pitch darkness while he was reading something. It's nonsense.

I had to disable the Live Actions. Maybe they are useful for a few seconds if you interact with them the moment an activity sparks, but if you don't interact with it or raise your wrist then why should your watch face data be replaced with the Smart Stack view and your active time or other background task get paused? It makes no sense.

 

[dburkhanaev]

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.

Or a small notification card could slide up from the bottom of the watch face and you could decide to interact with it or let it slide away when you put your wrist down. Then you could see your watch face, the time, the data you wanted to see from the complications, and the notification which you can see the score and touch to launch the sport app and get more information.

Smart Stack is full-screen space wasting that helps no one.

 

[name99]

It seems to me that the author of this post and I have different definitions of convenient. There is nothing convenient about the live activity taking over your watch face. You turn a podcast on your phone and it's playing in the background, fine. You don't need to interact with it. But Live Activity springs to life. You go to lift your wrist to check the time, see if you have any new messages, etc. You know, because you're at work and your phone is in Focus mode, but you check your watch for the info anyway.

The watch face is gone. This Smart Stack is loved by who knows whom? My whole watch face is gone and the relevant data with it. In its place is this stack showing the little moving bars that represent an audio wave. I don't need this to interact with the Podcast. There's a little red and white arrow icon that dots above my watch face, one tap and I'm in the podcast playback interface.

But the activity stack has done something. It has pushed aside my watch face and it has paused my active timer that was running in the background. It's not a fluke. Did it four times already.

And what good is a live stack that doesn't have a way to go into the active app (HomeKit) without taking the action printed on the Live Action stack? The live action stack for homekit on my watch simply says turn off all lights. If you press it, all the lights are out. If you long press it, nothing. So it's less than useful. That's aside from being redundant and now counteractive to my work flow. I don't need active timers that remind me when to clock back in, to pause at the half way point because a live action stack is running and I lifted my wrist.

Apple has really got to get with it. I guess Microsoft and Android aren't much in the way of competition for Apple in the U.S. market anymore. Their lack of hunger has led them to find faults where there are none and to recreate wheels for the sake of announcing new features. I sure wish I had watched a video about the "New Features" in WatchOS 11 before I let the update run. This is the worst update since WatchOS 10 brought us the Smart Stack.

First of all I like the smart stack a lot.
Second of all, rather than spend all this effort ranting about how much you hate it, why not take two seconds to switch off? It's perfectly obvious how to do so - go to Preferences/Smart Stack and switch off various things.

Will switching these off do 100% what you want? I have no idea since most of what you want seems to be unhinged fury at the very idea of change. But a person whose starting bid is fury at the defaults rather than simply changing those defaults rarely convinces anyone else...

 

[Johnny907]

It seems to me that the author of this post and I have different definitions of convenient. There is nothing convenient about the live activity taking over your watch face. You turn a podcast on your phone and it's playing in the background, fine. You don't need to interact with it. But Live Activity springs to life. You go to lift your wrist to check the time, see if you have any new messages, etc. You know, because you're at work and your phone is in Focus mode, but you check your watch for the info anyway.

The watch face is gone. This Smart Stack is loved by who knows whom? My whole watch face is gone and the relevant data with it. In its place is this stack showing the little moving bars that represent an audio wave. I don't need this to interact with the Podcast. There's a little red and white arrow icon that dots above my watch face, one tap and I'm in the podcast playback interface.

But the activity stack has done something. It has pushed aside my watch face and it has paused my active timer that was running in the background. It's not a fluke. Did it four times already.

And what good is a live stack that doesn't have a way to go into the active app (HomeKit) without taking the action printed on the Live Action stack? The live action stack for homekit on my watch simply says turn off all lights. If you press it, all the lights are out. If you long press it, nothing. So it's less than useful. That's aside from being redundant and now counteractive to my work flow. I don't need active timers that remind me when to clock back in, to pause at the half way point because a live action stack is running and I lifted my wrist.

Apple has really got to get with it. I guess Microsoft and Android aren't much in the way of competition for Apple in the U.S. market anymore. Their lack of hunger has led them to find faults where there are none and to recreate wheels for the sake of announcing new features. I sure wish I had watched a video about the "New Features" in WatchOS 11 before I let the update run. This is the worst update since WatchOS 10 brought us the Smart Stack.

Agree completely. The first thing I did when I updated was turn all this BS off. I don’t need smart activities taking over my watch face, thanks.