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

When new Apple merchandise are launched, the up to date software program is all the time an enormous deal. The thrill 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 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 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. 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 reside

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 means of to search out the app you want. App View shows all your apps in a single lengthy, alphabetical checklist.

For those who’re a Grid View fan, chances are you’ll not even bear in mind that it is a downside. Certain, you must scrabble round attempting to identify an app you utilize so little that you just’re probably not positive what the icon seems to be like. You do not have to face the most important downside with Checklist View, nevertheless: the infinite scrolling.

You open Checklist View with a press of the digital crown. Thus far, so good. Flip the digital crown to begin scrolling by means of the alphabetical checklist. 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 instances earlier than you get to the Ws and might open the Workout app. It is a exercise in itself.

Swiping on the display is a bit sooner however continues to be a critical effort, and whenever you’ve simply pressed the digital crown to open Checklist View, it feels extra pure to maintain turning it to scroll by means of the checklist. No matter which technique you utilize, choosing the app that you just need to open should not be this difficult. There’s a less complicated means, and Apple already is aware of the way 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 right resolution 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. For those who scroll at an affordable charge by means of the checklist of apps that provide widgets, it really works precisely the identical because it does in Checklist View. Nonetheless, in the event you scroll sooner, your Apple Watch stops scrolling by means of the apps one by one and begins to scroll by means of the alphabet as an alternative.

You get a small icon on the high proper of the display exhibiting the present letter. If you wish to choose the Drugs app, for instance, you shortly scroll by means of the letters till you attain M, pause for a second, after which you possibly can stick with it scrolling by means 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 just some scrolls of the digital crown, versus the greater than 30 it takes in Checklist 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 choosing apps within the Checklist View.

Issues received even worse in watchOS 10 for some time

Checklist View would all the time return to the highest of the checklist

Apple/Pocket-lint

The present state of Checklist View is dangerous sufficient, however for some time it received even worse in watchOS 10. In watchOS 9, Checklist View was annoying to make use of, however it had a characteristic that made it a bit extra bearable. When you had scrolled by means of Checklist View and chosen an app, the subsequent time that you just opened Checklist View, it will nonetheless present the identical app that you just opened final. For those who opened the Exercise app, for instance, then the subsequent time you opened Checklist View, you’d nonetheless be deep within the Ws within the alphabetical checklist.

Nonetheless, with the discharge of watchOS 10, this characteristic went away. As an alternative, each time you opened the Checklist View, it will be again to the beginning of the checklist once more. For those who opened the Exercise app from the Checklist 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 means by means of to the Exercise app once more.

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

Checklist View continues to be my app view of alternative

It might be so significantly better with only a single change

Checklist View has its issues, however I nonetheless favor it to Grid View just because it is easy to search out apps that you do not use as usually 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 high, however once I’m utilizing totally 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 give you an answer for this downside elsewhere on the Apple Watch, and nonetheless hasn’t utilized it to the Checklist 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.