In the months leading up to Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, where the company previewed upcoming software updates, I was increasingly disappointed with the Apple Watch Ultra. There’s no question that Apple’s most expensive smartwatch is the most advanced fitness tracker the company sells, providing more comprehensive data points than standard Apple Watches. But, third-party integration for the action button didn’t happen as well as I’d hoped, and watchOS still feels designed for smaller watches. That all changes with watchOS 10, the first watchOS update that really feels like it was made to augment Apple’s big-screen watches.
While watchOS 10 won’t be available to the public until the fall, the first developer beta was put out shortly after the WWDC keynote ended on June 5. You can install this update now if you’re enrolled in the Apple Developer Program, which costs $99 per developer. year. A more stable (and free) public beta will be available sometime in early July, but if you can’t wait to try watchOS 10, you can follow our install guide here. I installed watchOS 10 developer beta 1 on my Apple Watch Ultra right after the keynote, and after hours of using the new software, it’s clear that this update is a game-changer for the Apple Watch.
Completely reimagined user interface
When you first start using watchOS 10, you’ll immediately notice that everything is a little different. The apps and user interface elements are familiar, but completely redesigned to maximize available screen space. For example, the Music app can now display album art in full screen. Similar to the iOS version of the app, the background color of the Music app on watchOS 10 can change to match the album art of the song you’re listening to. It’s a nice touch, and it’s just one example of how watchOS 10 has redesigned it to fill the entire screen of the Apple Watch.
This new design language is found in all of Apple’s internal apps, for better or for worse. Some applications may not have needed blasting processing, such as Messages. In the watchOS 10 version of the Messages app, each conversation appears larger, which means you can only see one full conversation at a time. This seems like a downgrade to me, and I think Apple would be wise to expand the apps on a case-by-case basis.
Apple has confirmed that the Weather, Stocks, Home, Maps, Messages, and World Clock apps will also get a new full-screen experience, with more to come. For the most part, Apple’s redesigned apps in watchOS 10 are more functional — and more fun. watchOS has gotten stale over the past couple of years, and this new design language has the potential to bring the Apple Watch to life.
You will have to relearn how to navigate your Apple Watch on watchOS 10
Photo: Brady Snyder
Apple has once again changed the way you navigate your Apple Watch in watchOS 10, which is a little annoying. But so far, the learning curve has been fast. The UI change when Apple removed Force touch from the Apple Watch was much more impactful than the changes made in watchOS 10, but longtime Apple Watch users may have to retrain their muscle memory after installing the new update.
For years, swiping up from the bottom of the watch face opened Control Center. Now, that same gesture opens the Smart Stack, a new set of widgets on the Apple Watch. To open Control Center on watchOS 10, you’ll need to press the Power button once. This makes sense, and it’s easy to get used to. However, when swiping up was the gesture used to open Control Center, you can use it while any app is open. Although you can still open Control Center at any time, you can only launch Smart Stack from your watch face.
I liked the Smart Stack immediately when it was announced at WWDC, but I thought it was a way to add widgets to existing watch faces. After using watchOS 10 for a day, that’s not really what Smart Stack is at all. Instead, it’s a slimmer, lighter watch face that exists separately from your existing watch face. You’ll have your main watch face as usual, but then swipe up from the bottom of the screen to view your Smart Stack, which also shows the time and date.
You can see things like Activity, Weather, and Calendar in the Smart Stack. These widgets display more information than a complication on your watch face, but in a way that’s much faster to see than running full apps. Smart Stacks are fully customizable, but only on the Apple Watch itself. In the future, I’d like to see the ability to edit the Smart Stack from the Apple Watch app on a paired iPhone. The Smart Stack editing interface on the Apple Watch is cramped, and it’s hard to touch the right buttons even on the gigantic Apple Watch Ultra.
If you’re an avid Apple Watch user, you might be wondering – where’s the Dock? In previous versions of watchOS, the Dock was a collection of your most-used apps that could be quickly activated with a press of the power button. Completely removed with watchOS 10, the Smart Stack appears to be the Dock replacement. Although, as I mentioned earlier, the Smart Stack can only be launched when you are on the watch face. This is limited when compared to the Dock, which can be activated at any time.
iPhone workout views are a great continuity experience
Full transparency — I didn’t actually go cycling to test Workout Views on iOS 17 and watchOS 10. But I did test the feature from the comfort of my coffee shop, and it seems like a great addition for people who cycle or use gym equipment. Apple says Workout Views should appear as a live activity on your iPhone automatically, but that wasn’t my experience. Nothing came of it, so I opened the Fitness app on my iPhone. Immediately, the Fitness app morphed into a full-screen version of Workout Views on the Apple Watch.
watchOS 10 makes me excited about the future of the Apple Watch
Photo: Brady Snyder
Anyone who has followed the Apple Watch lately knows that the past few years have been much the same for the product line. The Apple Watch Ultra brought some changes for the first time in a while, but watchOS 9 was still not there. With watchOS 10, I’m finally excited about the future of the Apple Watch. Apple is starting to bring a solid app experience to its big and powerful Apple Watches, and it’s sure to make everyday device use more enjoyable. They are some of the best smartwatches in 2023, and they will soon have software to match their amazing hardware.
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