Why is the new version of the ‘date’ complication so complicated?

[BeachDuc]

I’ve just upgraded to WatchOS 9. If you put the Calender / Today’s Date complication in either of the top corners it used to put the day of the week (Mon, Tue etc) and date (12, 13 etc) on the display. Now it has this weird display with the date as the middle of three numbers, yesterday, today and tomorrow. I don’t see how this adds anything to the complication except unnecessary complexity. Is this just me?

 

[Velin]

I like it. Let's you instantly know if the end of the month is a 30 or 31. Looks pretty good to me.

 

[BeachDuc]

I like it. Let's you instantly know if the end of the month is a 30 or 31. Looks pretty good to me.

To each their own. I see what you mean but would love a simpler (purer) option.

 

[bransoj]

I'm fairly sure this complication view appeared in previous versions of watch OS as well....

 

[TwiceNightly]

It's been around for a while like this but now that the older faces have the new style of complications then you aren't able to choose the 'old' style date complication any more (it used to be just a number on this face)

 

[xraydoc]

Yeah, was definitely there in watchOS 8 though a couple of watch faces (including Explorer like you have linked) used the older watchOS 6 version of the Date complication.

While I think it looks nice, I sometimes have a very hard time reading it without my reading glasses, even on my 45mm S7. The number is just too small for me. Not Apple's fault, I suppose, but an option with a larger number would have been nice.

 

[Abstract]

Agreed. If today is the 13th, then surely you know that tomorrow is the 14th and yesterday was the 12th.🥶

 

[Pug72]

I agree with OP, which is why I use Watchsmith and make my own date complication (top right).

 

[BeachDuc]

I agree with OP, which is why I use Watchsmith and make my own date complication (top right).

View attachment 2060503

I had a look at that. It fixes the aesthetic concern I had but no longer allows you to press on the complication and open the calendar app. I'm an old dog - I don't like change, unless there is a clear benefit. Knowing that yesterdays date was todays date minus one is not a benefit.

 

[Pug72]

it has it's own calendar UI that will show all your calendar events, in fact you can choose other info/apps after tapping the complication. These are Calendar, Workouts, weather, Now Playing, Health, Upcoming Events, Games, Astronomy & Timezones. Four of which you can choose for Quick Actions with the others scrollable below.

This is what I have set when tapping:


Works well.

 

[MikeMcCollister]

I’ve just upgraded to WatchOS 9. If you put the Calender / Today’s Date complication in either of the top corners it used to put the day of the week (Mon, Tue etc) and date (12, 13 etc) on the display. Now it has this weird display with the date as the middle of three numbers, yesterday, today and tomorrow. I don’t see how this adds anything to the complication except unnecessary complexity. Is this just me?View attachment 2060138

What watch face is that?

 

[BeachDuc]

What watch face is that?

Explorer. I think it might be cellular only, or was when I bought my series 5.

 

[DSTOFEL]

I’ve just upgraded to WatchOS 9. If you put the Calender / Today’s Date complication in either of the top corners it used to put the day of the week (Mon, Tue etc) and date (12, 13 etc) on the display. Now it has this weird display with the date as the middle of three numbers, yesterday, today and tomorrow. I don’t see how this adds anything to the complication except unnecessary complexity. Is this just me?View attachment 2060138

Well you might be a Mensa member and have exceptional intelligence, but us ordinary folk need that constant reminder that if today is the 13th, yesterday must have been the 12th and tomorrow is gonna be the 14th 😂

 

[MikeMcCollister]

Explorer. I think it might be cellular only, or was when I bought my series 5.

OK Thanks. I have the non-cellular series 5 so that explains it.

Mike

 

[RPhoto]

I’ve just upgraded to WatchOS 9. If you put the Calender / Today’s Date complication in either of the top corners it used to put the day of the week (Mon, Tue etc) and date (12, 13 etc) on the display. Now it has this weird display with the date as the middle of three numbers, yesterday, today and tomorrow. I don’t see how this adds anything to the complication except unnecessary complexity. Is this just me?

it’s just a design aesthetic thing. It’s a way of making the complication fit the rounded edge face, like the other complications do.

A better way might have been to have the day underneath and the date on top. So the day could spread round the side of the face instead of three dates.

 

[mainemini]

While I think it looks nice, I sometimes have a very hard time reading it without my reading glasses, even on my 45mm S7. The number is just too small for me. Not Apple's fault, I suppose, but an option with a larger number would have been nice.

This was my first reaction. I went up to the larger size watch this year yet this new date complication is much harder to read with a quick glance without reading glasses. Would prefer to have the simpler version as an option.

 

[Twitchly]

I really hate the over-complication of complications in watchOS 9. The useless yesterday/today/tomorrow widget shrinks the one piece of info I want — today’s date — into unreadability for me (and, I suspect, for many over a certain age). I was able to avoid that stupid widget in watchOS 8; now it’s ubiquitous on all the faces I use. As a result I no longer use my watch when I need to know the date.

While the Calendar widget is the worst offender, the Weather complication also now jams in an unreadably tiny range of temperatures and shrinks the one piece of info I care about: the current temperature.

The Moon app no longer just shows an image of the moon; it throws in a bunch of cryptic time information (“11:54 a.m., 13h 9m”) that I care nothing about. And in doing so, it shrinks the moon itself into a little gray blob of indiscernible value.

There are people (especially engineers, I find) who love interfaces that jam as much data as possible into them. Fine, more power to them. There are plenty of watch faces available for them. But there also used to be a few cleaner options for those of us who prefer simplicity and who can’t see as well as we used to. WatchOS 9, which I doubt was tested on anyone over 30, took those options away. Sometimes more isn’t more, guys.

 

[michelob tfs]

I like it. Let's you instantly know if the end of the month is a 30 or 31. Looks pretty good to me.

Do people seriously not instantly know this anyway 🤷‍♂️

 

[ndouglas]

People claiming this 3-date date is ubiquitous now need only to look further, there are still plenty of watch face options that only have the single date. For example “Utility” which puts it in the middle-right like a lot of basic regular watches have done for many years, decades, etc.

 

[MikeMcCollister]

I really hate the over-complication of complications in watchOS 9. The useless yesterday/today/tomorrow widget shrinks the one piece of info I want — today’s date — into unreadability for me (and, I suspect, for many over a certain age). I was able to avoid that stupid widget in watchOS 8; now it’s ubiquitous on all the faces I use. As a result I no longer use my watch when I need to know the date.

While the Calendar widget is the worst offender, the Weather complication also now jams in an unreadably tiny range of temperatures and shrinks the one piece of info I care about: the current temperature.

The Moon app no longer just shows an image of the moon; it throws in a bunch of cryptic time information (“11:54 a.m., 13h 9m”) that I care nothing about. And in doing so, it shrinks the moon itself into a little gray blob of indiscernible value.

There are people (especially engineers, I find) who love interfaces that jam as much data as possible into them. Fine, more power to them. There are plenty of watch faces available for them. But there also used to be a few cleaner options for those of us who prefer simplicity and who can’t see as well as we used to. WatchOS 9, which I doubt was tested on anyone over 30, took those options away. Sometimes more isn’t more, guys.

I agree that some too much information is getting too small. I appreciate the design of the three numbers but wish that they would keep the old one as well.

 

[Adaminski]

I really hate the over-complication of complications in watchOS 9. The useless yesterday/today/tomorrow widget shrinks the one piece of info I want — today’s date — into unreadability for me (and, I suspect, for many over a certain age). I was able to avoid that stupid widget in watchOS 8; now it’s ubiquitous on all the faces I use. As a result I no longer use my watch when I need to know the date.

While the Calendar widget is the worst offender, the Weather complication also now jams in an unreadably tiny range of temperatures and shrinks the one piece of info I care about: the current temperature.

The Moon app no longer just shows an image of the moon; it throws in a bunch of cryptic time information (“11:54 a.m., 13h 9m”) that I care nothing about. And in doing so, it shrinks the moon itself into a little gray blob of indiscernible value.

There are people (especially engineers, I find) who love interfaces that jam as much data as possible into them. Fine, more power to them. There are plenty of watch faces available for them. But there also used to be a few cleaner options for those of us who prefer simplicity and who can’t see as well as we used to. WatchOS 9, which I doubt was tested on anyone over 30, took those options away. Sometimes more isn’t more, guys.

Yeah, I know, old thread. I'm an engineer/scientist, and I agree with you completely! Sometimes simple and elegant is better. I decided today that I didn't like all of the extra complications Apple decided to add to my favorite watch face, and my initial search lead me here. Bummer that it looks like I'm stuck with them unless I want to change faces.

I HATE what they have done to the temperature, timer, and date. HATE it.