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 joy round iOS 18 this 12 months is concentrated 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, nonetheless. 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, nonetheless, 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 need to stay

There are two varieties of Apple Watch customers; those that use Grid View and people who use List View. In Grid View, all of your apps are displayed as a set of small icons which you could scroll via to search out the app you want. App View shows your entire apps in a single lengthy, alphabetical listing.

If you happen to’re a Grid View fan, you could not even bear in mind that it is a drawback. Positive, it’s important to scrabble round attempting to identify an app you employ so little that you just’re probably not positive what the icon appears to be like like. You do not have to face the largest drawback with Record View, nonetheless: the limitless scrolling.

You open Record View with a press of the digital crown. Up to now, so good. Flip the digital crown to begin scrolling via the alphabetical listing. After which hold scrolling. And scroll somewhat 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 instances 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 somewhat quicker 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 via the listing. No matter which methodology you employ, deciding on the app that you just need to open should not be this tough. There’s a easier approach, and Apple already is aware of how you can do it.

Different areas of watchOS present there is a easy answer

Choosing widgets requires far much less scrolling

Probably the most irritating factor is that the right answer to this drawback already exists in your Apple Watch. If you wish to add a brand new widget to your Smart Stack, you may 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. If you happen to scroll at an affordable fee via the listing of apps that supply widgets, it really works precisely the identical because it does in Record View. Nonetheless, in the event you scroll quicker, your Apple Watch stops scrolling via the apps one after the other and begins to scroll via the alphabet as a substitute.

You get a small icon on the prime proper of the display screen displaying the present letter. If you wish to choose the Medicines app, for instance, you shortly scroll via the letters till you attain M, pause for a second, after which you may stick with it scrolling via the apps that begin with the letter M.

Utilizing this methodology is a lot quicker. I used to be capable of get to the Exercise widget utilizing this methodology in just some 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 motive why the identical perform cannot be utilized to deciding on apps within the Record View.

Issues bought 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 dangerous sufficient, however for some time it bought 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 somewhat extra bearable. When you had scrolled via Record View and chosen an app, the subsequent time that you just opened Record View, it could nonetheless present the identical app that you just opened final. If you happen to opened the Exercise app, for instance, then the subsequent time you opened Record View, you’ll nonetheless be deep within the Ws within the alphabetical listing.

Nonetheless, with the discharge of watchOS 10, this characteristic went away. As an alternative, each time you opened the Record View, it could be again to the beginning of the listing once more. If you happen to opened the Exercise app from the Record View, after which needed 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 via to the Exercise app over again.

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

Record View continues to be my app view of selection

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

Record View has its issues, however I nonetheless choose 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 after I’m utilizing totally different apps, having the ability to discover them alphabetically is much much less irritating.

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