After WatchOS 10 update I cannot swipe between watch faces

I agree, I am making an assumption that if the Smart Stack and widgets worked as well as, or better than, swiping between multiple faces then most people on this thread (who want face switching a la os 9) would be happy. Of course some people just don’t like change, even for the better. . And , as we’ve discussed previously, it’s a small cohort anyway, so obviously the vast majority have no issues with os10 navigation.

Northern-Survivor wrote:

I agree, I am making an assumption that if the Smart Stack and widgets worked as well as, or better than, swiping between multiple faces then most people on this thread (who want face switching a la os 9) would be happy. Of course some people just don’t like change, even for the better. . And , as we’ve discussed previously, it’s a small cohort anyway, so obviously the vast majority have no issues with os10 navigation.

I absolutely understand that, for that small cohort, this must be maddening.

I’m guessing here….. but I think Apple took advantage of the new navigation to fix a real or perceived problem (far from sure which) with accidental face switching.

Although I never had that problem I was forever swiping back and forth to get the face I wanted because I could never completely remember the order of my faces. (An “age thing” , probably)

Now, in OS10, I’m scrolling up and down the Smart Stack, and through into All Apps, looking for the info I need.

It’s not helped by the change in focus- away from complications and towards applications.

And I miss “favourites“ because the app switcher of “recently used” doesn’t work well for me.

As I’ve said before, Siri has proved to be very useful.

Thanks to you too for all your help.

Northern-Survivor wrote:

I’m guessing here….. but I think Apple took advantage of the new navigation to fix a real or perceived problem (far from sure which) with accidental face switching.

It was a very real problem for me.

Although I never had that problem I was forever swiping back and forth to get the face I wanted because I could never completely remember the order of my faces. (An “age thing” , probably)

Ha! That would be one of the reasons I could never have used faces in that way.

Now, in OS10, I’m scrolling up and down the Smart Stack, and through into All Apps, looking for the info I need.

It’s not helped by the change in focus- away from complications and towards applications.

And I miss “favourites“ because the app switcher of “recently used” doesn’t work well for me.

I never used the Dock very much but, for those who did, apparently the loss of favorites is an annoyance.

As I’ve said before, Siri has proved to be very useful.

I've always relied on Siri, complications and a careful grid arrangement of apps.

Thanks to you too for all your help.

Change is tough!

Same dismayed reaction to this update. In my opinion, accidental face changes were worth having the swipe functionality, which is such a part of Apple product branding! I’ll reserve final judgment after a couple days’ use, but this also makes me hesitate to keep using the watch. (Button use is also ironically something Apple has been designing four, and this increases reliance on the crown button.)

justacustomer wrote:

It would be ultra-ironic if a developer created an app that restored (or made it an option) to simply swipe between watch faces. It could probably fetch a substantial subscription rate.

It would also be ultra-impossible.

A few years ago an interview on PBS's Marketplace program pointed out that the income Apple received from the 30% they got from paid apps totaled more than that from all the devices put together. I don't know if this is still true, but it would certainly be an incentive for developers to get paid to let us repurpose our watches to reflect our wishes!

It annoys me even more that a swipe up from the face now gets a useless and apparently un-revisable screen rather than the control center (type) screen with truly useful gadgets (flashlight, battery, internet strength, and most importantly the ability to make my iPhone sound off (to ping it) wherever I laid it down and put something on top of it!

And what replaces the above screen? A superfluity of superfluities. Do I need to have the time on the screen I've just pulled up from a watch face that was already telling me the time? Do I need the message icon when a red dot on my watch face will tell me I have a message? And a simple crown press will get me all my apps much more easily than the tiny icon on the swipe-up screen.

zeteticos wrote:

It annoys me even more that a swipe up from the face now gets a useless and apparently un-revisable screen rather than the control center (type) screen with truly useful gadgets (flashlight, battery, internet strength, and most importantly the ability to make my iPhone sound off (to ping it) wherever I laid it down and put something on top of it!

And what replaces the above screen? A superfluity of superfluities. Do I need to have the time on the screen I've just pulled up from a watch face that was already telling me the time? Do I need the message icon when a red dot on my watch face will tell me I have a message? And a simple crown press will get me all my apps much more easily than the tiny icon on the swipe-up screen.

The Smart Stack is revisable, touch and hold to edit by adding or deleting Widgets. Unfortunately the first Day/Date/Time widget is not editable and can't be deleted, Since the day, date and time are shown on the top line the first widget is not needed in any case.

Even so, in my opinion, Widgets(based on applications) are not a totally suitable alternative to multiple watch faces with multiple complications.

IdrisSeabright wrote:

Northern-Survivor wrote:

Yes, I understand that there is a new approach to navigation. Even if I hadn't read that article, or watched the original announcements or kept up with what was happening with beta releases, I would have been aware of that. But, no, I hadn't paid much attention to the section headers in the article.

I think paying close attention to the key messages in Press Releases and Events provides a good indication of Apples thinking for product development and direction. I'm beginning to think some quarters in Apple regret calling a device which is strapped on your wrist a "watch"

Having the option to change faces was probably my top features. I’m supremely bummed they removed that feature. If you don’t like your face accidentally changing, just have one face or add a dial tap / other more deliberate way to change.

Wayn0 wrote:

I am so angry at this change, it's a real step backwards and I'm very surprised that it wasn't addressed in OS10.1.

They probably haven't "addressed" it because it's not a bug. It was done intentionally.

Me too. Especially annoying as I was so looking forward to a more carefree relationship with my new twice-the-price stainless watch.

If accidental face changes "may be" (an unsupported claim) such a problem for "some" people --and how hard is it to swipe that back to that face?-- give those people options such as you suggest rather than depriving the rest of us (I suspect, the vast majority of watch owners).

As for the rest, Apple couldn't have made my watch's non-watch face functions less usable if they'd thought it out with both hands. Everything that used to be simple and convenient is now cumbersome and in the case of the swipe up screen (now only accessed by an inconvenient side button press) substitutes a complication of irrevelancies on the new dumb stack screen. But then, I don't feel I need more than my 3 watch faces and a few essential complications . Perhaps it's the users who have a whole stack of watch faces loaded with dozens of complications who need to rethink. I sure didn't need Apple thinking for me!

zeteticos wrote:

Which doesn't negate the fact that the "intentional" changes are causing most users a whole lot of grief.

How do you know it's "most" users? Apple has access to enormous amounts of user data. They know how often most people change watch faces. They also know how often people have complained about accidentally changing faces.

I know it can be difficult to imagine, but not everyone uses their watch the same way. I suspect that the people who use multiple faces in a day are in a fairly small minority, albeit, it turns out, a vocal one.

I know of no one who uses only one watch face. That was, after all, a major if not the whole point of having an Apple watch! That includes my immediate circle of perhaps 20 friends and relatives, but I've taken to asking everyone I notice wearing an Apple watch, and the number who say "only one" is...

ZIP.

zeteticos wrote:

I know of no one who uses only one watch face. That was, after all, a major if not the whole point of having an Apple watch! That includes my immediate circle of perhaps 20 friends and relatives, but I've taken to asking everyone I notice wearing an Apple watch, and the number who say "only one" is...

And, before this became an issue on these forums, I had never heard of anyone switching faces multiple times a day.

Again, neither of us has access to the breadth of data Apple does.