Where is the dock in watchOS 10?

I had a medical event, 3 weeks ago, where I needed my O2 sensor. I kept it in my dock. I couldn’t find it. I agree that the new use of the dock button serves no utility. It also concerns me that there is no dock at all for situations like mine. The last changes to the UX make one of my most valuable appliances essentially unusable for my use cases. I also observe glitches like a compass I could not force quit.

I spent 90 with Apple support yesterday. They said there is no backward path in updates. They also couldn’t find their way around the problem. 2 tiers of Apple support found the new UX difficult. Nice people. Just as lost and inconvenienced as the users

I upgraded from my last Apple watch to this watch to have an O2 sensor. I have ab history of blood clots. I was COVID POSITIVE WHEN I COULD NOT GET TO MY O2 SENSOR. This is a bigger problem than an aesthetics issue.

Drmeiswinkel wrote:

I upgraded from my last Apple watch to this watch to have an O2 sensor. I have ab history of blood clots. I was COVID POSITIVE WHEN I COULD NOT GET TO MY O2 SENSOR. This is a bigger problem than an aesthetics issue.

Why couldn't you get to the O2 sensor? You can get to that exactly the same way you always did. Tap the Digital Crown to bring up all of your apps. Tap the icon for the O2 sensor. If you have trouble distinguishing icons, change to the list view by pressing and holding on the app screen.

Or, add O2 as a complication to your watch face. That would be even easier.

I posted a workaround earlier on how to get a list of your favorite app. It’s a bit of work needed to get it configured, it only needs one tap on the screen to access the list. I’ve been using it since, I found it as easy as previous dock ones you configure it correctly and can have more than 10 apps on the list.

la pieuvre,

This is not my experience. Hard pressing on apps in list view enables me to delete them from Apple Watch but does not allow rearranging those apps away from alphabetical. Do you have some sweet trick I am missing?

To my mind, settings access is not at issue here. We all know how to access the settings. It is the fact that the dock, previously easily accessible with one swipe - and including the apps each wearer prefers most readily accessible, frequently used or not - has vanished. Accessing those apps now involves multiple steps, including adding wear to the watch by requiring even more crown pressing. I’m just curious what the developers thought the value add for the wearer was here.

First, I had idea what the O2 sensor looked like. I always got from dock. Second, I could not breathe so I was in crisis. Calm is what saves you. Panic is worsened if you’re scrambling to sort through dozens of icons. Some, like voice notes and heartrate, look identical in a medical panic.

Yes. That is more than an aesthetic issue for a device that is being sold with health and medical functions. Imagine if they implement blood sugar readings for diabetics? Even brilliant diabetics have their wits in peril when they have low blood sugar. Not a time to explore new UX choices and newly buried health data

Drmeiswinkel wrote:

First, I had idea what the O2 sensor looked like. I always got from dock. Second, I could not breathe so I was in crisis. Calm is what saves you. Panic is worsened if you’re scrambling to sort through dozens of icons. Some, like voice notes and heartrate, look identical in a medical panic.

If someone is unable to breathe, finding an app on the watch is probably not the first thing they should be doing. They should be contacting emergency services.

Now that you know your options have changed, you should familiarize yourself with them while you are not upset.

Drmeiswinkel,

A lot of mean assumptions are being made that you or someone around you hadn’t contacted EMS and that in fact what you needed the app for was to A. Inform doctors quickly of where you were on your situation and B. To inform yourself in order to manage your own level of alarm and panic. Anxiety and mental health around medical crises is huge and shouldn’t be treated with respect not snark. I’m sorry you experienced that.

I agree that a bug selling point on stage at Apple Events are health aspects. To that point there should be multiple ways to easily access an important app. I am finding Complications can solve for this in a minor way. It is not a replacement Level 10s and it is a downgrade in someways and yet I think in this instance for you, it will be a positive. I am going to make a video on how to add and create complication on your phone for your watch. It is quick and easy and I think will be helpful to have the O2 app you need immediately. I will post that video here once complete.

I have contacted Apple about this so you don’t need to post a link to that, I have already done so. I am using this forum both to share my disappointment with OS10 and to actually be helpful.

[Edited by Moderator]

Yes, I am speaking of the side button. I don’t think any user requires settings to be so accessible that the side button is needed to be the way to access it. It was simple to access by swiping. It was always accessible. Replacing the Dock, and removing the Dock, made my most important features: O2, Heart monitoring, and HomeKit inaccessible. All things I expected working when the medical event happened. Not features I could use Siri to access because I couldn’t breathe well. Apple is obliged to keep medical functions accessible if it continues to market these functions in these products. Hiding, misplacing, or removing these features isn’t something you can sort when a crisis is happening. This is more than an aesthetic issued with the UX!

Drmeiswinkel wrote:

Apple does read the forums.

The Hosts, some very nice but overworked folks, read the forums to make sure that we comply with the terms of use. So yes, if you violate the terms of use, you will have your post removed and will get an email from the Hosts. But it is not part of their job to also read for feedback, suggestions or bug reports. They just don't have time to do that.

But, if you don't want to leave feedback where Apple has explicitly said they will read it and instead, want to post it here where you have know what of know that anyone other than the Hosts will read it, that's entirely up to you. I don't care.

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I would appreciate the work around.

My medical crisis was not a mental health issue. I have ongoing issues with Pulmonary Embolisms and DVT. The event I had was provoked by COVID. I was trying to sort what was the next step. I had a fe moments where I needed to better understand some of the metrics my watch measures. I couldn’t speak. I needed to figure who to alert and find a way to do it.

Thanks Drmeiswinkel. Yea, I just meant the mental distress of dealing with a health crisis and getting snarky responses amidst articulating the experience. I had an organ transplant March 24th, so I empathize with needing a little compassion for circumstance and for that compassion to exceed some need for one to think they have somehow won an argument.