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

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 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, 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 vital upgrades to watchOS 10. There’s one function that is nonetheless lacking, nonetheless, 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 dwell

There are two varieties 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 means of to search 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 bear in mind that it is a drawback. Positive, you need to scrabble round making an attempt to identify an app you employ so little that you simply’re not likely positive what the icon seems like. You do not have to face the largest drawback with Record View, nonetheless: the countless scrolling.

You open Record View with a press of the digital crown. To this point, so good. Flip the digital crown to begin scrolling by means of the alphabetical checklist. After which maintain scrolling. And scroll just a little 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 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 just a little sooner however continues to be a severe 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 means of the checklist. No matter which methodology you employ, deciding on the app that you simply wish to open should not be this tough. There’s a less complicated method, and Apple already is aware of do it.

Different areas of watchOS present there is a easy answer

Choosing widgets requires far much less scrolling

Essentially 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 out a brand new widget.

That is the place the magic occurs. Should you scroll at an affordable price by means of the checklist of apps that supply widgets, it really works precisely the identical because it does in Record View. Nonetheless, in the event you scroll sooner, your Apple Watch stops scrolling by means of the apps one after the other and begins to scroll by means of the alphabet as a substitute.

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

Utilizing this methodology is a lot sooner. I used to be in a position to 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 purpose why the identical operate 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 checklist

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, however it had a function that made it just a little extra bearable. When you had scrolled by means of Record View and chosen an app, the subsequent time that you simply opened Record View, it might nonetheless present the identical app that you simply opened final. Should you opened the Exercise app, for instance, then the subsequent time you opened Record View, you’d nonetheless be deep within the Ws within the alphabetical checklist.

Nonetheless, with the discharge of watchOS 10, this function went away. As an alternative, each time you opened the Record View, it might be again to the beginning of the checklist once more. Should you opened the Exercise app from the Record View, after which needed to open it once more later that day, the checklist would have returned to the highest, and also you’d need to scroll the entire method by means of to the Exercise app once more.

Fortunately, this was fastened in watchOS 10.4, which returned to at all times displaying the final place that you simply had been within the checklist. 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 alternative

It could possibly be so a lot 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 checklist 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 enable me to maintain essentially the most used apps on the high, however once I’m utilizing completely different apps, with 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 figuring out 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 Record View. I hoped that watchOS 11 may lastly be the time for the Apple Watch so as to add this much-needed function, however sadly my wait goes on.