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

When new Apple merchandise are launched, the up to date software program is all the time a giant deal. The joy round iOS 18 this yr 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, 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. 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 sorts 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 means of to search out the app you want. App View shows your whole apps in a single lengthy, alphabetical record.

For those who’re a Grid View fan, it’s possible you’ll not even remember that this can be a downside. Certain, you need to scrabble round attempting to identify an app you employ so little that you just’re probably not certain what the icon appears to be like like. You do not have to face the largest downside with Record View, nevertheless: the infinite scrolling.

You open Record View with a press of the digital crown. To this point, so good. Flip the digital crown to start out scrolling by means of the alphabetical record. After which maintain scrolling. And scroll a little bit extra. In case your Apple Watch is stacked with apps like mine is, you’ll find 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 is a little bit quicker however remains 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 record. No matter which technique you employ, deciding on the app that you just wish to open should not be this tough. There’s a easier manner, and Apple already is aware of easy methods to do it.

Different areas of watchOS present there is a easy resolution

Choosing widgets requires far much less scrolling

Essentially 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 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. For those who scroll at an affordable fee by means of the record of apps that supply widgets, it really works precisely the identical because it does in Record View. Nevertheless, should you scroll quicker, your Apple Watch stops scrolling by means of the apps one after the other 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 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 technique is a lot quicker. 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 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 all the time return to the highest of the record

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, nevertheless it had a characteristic that made it a little bit extra bearable. When you had scrolled by means of Record View and chosen an app, the following time that you just opened Record View, it could nonetheless present the identical app that you just opened final. For those who 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 record.

Nevertheless, with the discharge of watchOS 10, this characteristic went away. As a substitute, each time you opened the Record View, it could be again to the beginning of the record once more. For those who opened the Exercise app from the Record View, after which needed to open it once more later that day, the record would have returned to the highest, and also you’d should scroll the entire manner by means of to the Exercise app over again.

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

Record View remains to be my app view of selection

It might 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 usually from an alphabetical record 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 after 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 realizing that Apple has already provide you with 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.