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 yr 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 degree 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 important 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. Here is the one factor that I actually want Apple had added to watchOS 11.

Opening the Exercises app makes me lose the desire 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 set of small icons that you would be able to scroll by way of to seek out the app you want. App View shows all your apps in a single lengthy, alphabetical checklist.

Should you’re a Grid View fan, it’s possible you’ll not even remember that this can be a drawback. Positive, you need to scrabble round attempting to identify an app you employ so little that you just’re probably not positive what the icon appears like. You do not have to face the most important drawback with Listing View, nevertheless: the infinite scrolling.

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

Swiping on the display screen is just a little sooner however continues to be a critical effort, and if you’ve simply pressed the digital crown to open Listing View, it feels extra pure to maintain turning it to scroll by way of the checklist. No matter which technique you employ, choosing the app that you just need to open should not be this difficult. There’s a easier means, and Apple already is aware of easy methods to do it.

Different areas of watchOS present there is a easy resolution

Deciding on widgets requires far much less scrolling

Probably the most irritating factor is that the proper resolution to this drawback already exists in your Apple Watch. If you wish to add a brand new widget to your Smart Stack, you’ll be able to 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. Should you scroll at an affordable price by way of the checklist of apps that supply widgets, it really works precisely the identical because it does in Listing View. Nonetheless, when 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 Medicines app, for instance, you rapidly scroll by way of the letters till you attain M, pause for a second, after which you’ll be able to 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 Listing View. The software program to make this occur already exists on the Apple Watch, so there’s actually no purpose why the identical operate cannot be utilized to choosing apps within the Listing View.

Issues obtained even worse in watchOS 10 for some time

Listing View would at all times return to the highest of the checklist

Apple/Pocket-lint

The present state of Listing View is dangerous sufficient, however for some time it obtained even worse in watchOS 10. In watchOS 9, Listing View was annoying to make use of, nevertheless it had a characteristic that made it just a little extra bearable. When you had scrolled by way of Listing View and chosen an app, the subsequent time that you just opened Listing View, it could nonetheless present the identical app that you just opened final. Should you opened the Exercise app, for instance, then the subsequent time you opened Listing View, you’ll nonetheless be deep within the Ws within the alphabetical checklist.

Nonetheless, with the discharge of watchOS 10, this characteristic went away. As a substitute, each time you opened the Listing View, it could be again to the beginning of the checklist once more. Should you opened the Exercise app from the Listing View, after which needed to open it once more later that day, the checklist would have returned to the highest, and also you’d must scroll the entire means by way of to the Exercise app yet again.

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

Listing View continues to be my app view of alternative

It could possibly be so a lot better with only a single change

Listing View has its issues, however I nonetheless desire it to Grid View just because it is easy to seek out apps that you do not use as typically from an alphabetical checklist than from a random structure 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 essentially the most used apps on the prime, however after I’m utilizing completely different apps, with 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 provide you with an answer for this drawback elsewhere on the Apple Watch, and nonetheless hasn’t utilized it to the Listing 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.