watchOS 11 continues to be lacking this one much-needed characteristic

When new Apple merchandise are launched, the up to date software program is at all times a giant deal. The thrill round iOS 18 this 12 months is targeted largely on the upcoming Apple Intelligence features, with macOS Sequoia additionally gaining some AI-powered instruments.

There’s one OS that by no means actually will get the identical stage of affection, nevertheless. On the Apple Watch, watchOS 11 provides some helpful new options, together with a brand-new Vitals app, coaching load evaluation, and sleep apnea detection, making some vital upgrades to watchOS 10. There’s one characteristic that is nonetheless lacking, nevertheless, and it is one thing I have been wanting Apple so as to add for a very long time. This is the one factor that I actually want Apple had added to watchOS 11.

Opening the Exercises app makes me lose the need to stay

There are two forms of Apple Watch customers; those that use Grid View and those that use List View. In Grid View, all of your apps are displayed as a group of small icons that you would be able to scroll by way of to search out the app you want. App View shows all your apps in a single lengthy, alphabetical listing.

In case you’re a Grid View fan, chances are you’ll not even remember that this can be a downside. Positive, you need to scrabble round attempting to identify an app you utilize so little that you simply’re probably not positive what the icon appears like. You do not have to face the largest downside with Record View, nevertheless: the limitless scrolling.

You open Record View with a press of the digital crown. To date, so good. Flip the digital crown to begin scrolling by way of the alphabetical listing. After which hold scrolling. And scroll a bit extra. In case your Apple Watch is stacked with apps like mine is, you will discover your self turning the digital crown greater than 30 occasions earlier than you get to the Ws and might open the Workout app. It is a exercise in itself.

Swiping on the display screen is a bit sooner however continues to be a critical effort, and whenever you’ve simply pressed the digital crown to open Record View, it feels extra pure to maintain turning it to scroll by way of the listing. No matter which technique you utilize, deciding on the app that you simply need to open should not be this tough. There’s a less complicated approach, and Apple already is aware of tips on how to do it.

Different areas of watchOS present there is a easy answer

Deciding on widgets requires far much less scrolling

Probably the most irritating factor is that the right answer to this downside already exists in your Apple Watch. If you wish to add a brand new widget to your Smart Stack, you possibly can press and maintain any of your present widgets after which faucet the Plus button to pick a brand new widget.

That is the place the magic occurs. In case you scroll at an inexpensive fee by way of the listing of apps that supply widgets, it really works precisely the identical because it does in Record View. Nevertheless, should you scroll sooner, your Apple Watch stops scrolling by way of the apps one after the other and begins to scroll by way of the alphabet as an alternative.

You get a small icon on the prime proper of the display screen exhibiting the present letter. If you wish to choose the Drugs app, for instance, you rapidly scroll by way of the letters till you attain M, pause for a second, after which you possibly can keep on scrolling by way of the apps that begin with the letter M.

Utilizing this technique is a lot sooner. I used to be in a position to get to the Exercise widget utilizing this technique in only a few scrolls of the digital crown, versus the greater than 30 it takes in Record View. The software program to make this occur already exists on the Apple Watch, so there’s actually no cause why the identical operate cannot be utilized to deciding on apps within the Record View.

Issues obtained even worse in watchOS 10 for some time

Record View would at all times return to the highest of the listing

Apple/Pocket-lint

The present state of Record View is unhealthy sufficient, however for some time it obtained even worse in watchOS 10. In watchOS 9, Record View was annoying to make use of, but it surely had a characteristic that made it a bit extra bearable. When you had scrolled by way of Record View and chosen an app, the following time that you simply opened Record View, it might nonetheless present the identical app that you simply opened final. In case you opened the Exercise app, for instance, then the following time you opened Record View, you’ll nonetheless be deep within the Ws within the alphabetical listing.

Nevertheless, with the discharge of watchOS 10, this characteristic went away. As an alternative, each time you opened the Record View, it might be again to the beginning of the listing once more. In case you opened the Exercise app from the Record View, after which wished to open it once more later that day, the listing would have returned to the highest, and also you’d must scroll the entire approach by way of to the Exercise app over again.

Fortunately, this was fastened in watchOS 10.4, which returned to at all times exhibiting the final place that you simply have been within the listing. It was an enormous aid to find that this was nonetheless the case in watchOS 11.

Record View continues to be my app view of alternative

It may very well be so a lot better with only a single change

Record View has its issues, however I nonetheless want it to Grid View just because it is simple to search out apps that you do not use as typically from an alphabetical listing than from a random format of tiny app icons. If I solely ever used the identical few apps on a regular basis, the Grid View would permit me to maintain probably the most used apps on the prime, however once I’m utilizing completely different apps, having the ability to discover them alphabetically is way much less irritating.

What’s irritating is the quantity of pointless scrolling I’ve to do, and it is much more annoying understanding that Apple has already give you an answer for this downside elsewhere on the Apple Watch, and nonetheless hasn’t utilized it to the Record View. I hoped that watchOS 11 would possibly lastly be the time for the Apple Watch so as to add this much-needed characteristic, however sadly my wait goes on.