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 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, 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 desire to stay

There are two kinds 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 group of small icons that you could scroll via to search out the app you want. App View shows your whole apps in a single lengthy, alphabetical listing.

In the event you’re a Grid View fan, chances are you’ll not even remember that it is a downside. Certain, you must scrabble round attempting to identify an app you utilize so little that you just’re not likely positive what the icon appears like. You do not have to face the most important downside with Listing View, nevertheless: the infinite scrolling.

You open Listing View with a press of the digital crown. To this point, so good. Flip the digital crown to start out scrolling via the alphabetical listing. After which hold scrolling. And scroll slightly 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 slightly quicker however remains to be a critical effort, and whenever you’ve simply pressed the digital crown to open Listing View, it feels extra pure to maintain turning it to scroll via the listing. No matter which technique you utilize, deciding on the app that you just wish to open should not be this difficult. There’s a easier method, and Apple already is aware of how you can do it.

Different areas of watchOS present there is a easy answer

Deciding on widgets requires far much less scrolling

Probably the most irritating factor is that the proper answer 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 out a brand new widget.

That is the place the magic occurs. In the event you scroll at an affordable fee via the listing of apps that provide widgets, it really works precisely the identical because it does in Listing View. Nevertheless, in the event you scroll quicker, your Apple Watch stops scrolling via the apps separately and begins to scroll via the alphabet as a substitute.

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

Utilizing this technique is a lot quicker. I used to be capable of 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 cause why the identical operate cannot be utilized to deciding on apps within the Listing View.

Issues bought even worse in watchOS 10 for some time

Listing View would all the time return to the highest of the listing

Apple/Pocket-lint

The present state of Listing View is unhealthy sufficient, however for some time it bought even worse in watchOS 10. In watchOS 9, Listing View was annoying to make use of, however it had a characteristic that made it slightly extra bearable. When you had scrolled via Listing View and chosen an app, the following time that you just opened Listing View, it could nonetheless present the identical app that you just opened final. In the event you opened the Exercise app, for instance, then the following time you opened Listing View, you’d nonetheless be deep within the Ws within the alphabetical listing.

Nevertheless, with the discharge of watchOS 10, this characteristic went away. As an alternative, each time you opened the Listing View, it could be again to the beginning of the listing once more. In the event you opened the Exercise app from the Listing View, after which wished to open it once more later that day, the listing would have returned to the highest, and also you’d should scroll the entire method via to the Exercise app once more.

Fortunately, this was mounted in watchOS 10.4, which returned to all the time exhibiting 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.

Listing View remains to be my app view of alternative

It may very well be so a lot better with only a single change

Listing View has its issues, however I nonetheless choose it to Grid View just because it is easy 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 essentially the most used apps on the prime, however once I’m utilizing totally 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 understanding 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 Listing 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.