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Any one know what that 'turn right' icon wrapped in white circle on top of my watch face is for?


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I do not think there is any app running in the background. At least not that I am aware of.

Apple Watch Series 4, watchOS 5

Posted on Sep 27, 2018 6:37 PM

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Posted on Oct 3, 2018 1:30 PM

I noticed the same arrow on two different watches after using an app called Intervals, which is a workout app. After finishing and closing the app, the arrow stays there for about 5-10 minutes. Touching the arrow did nothing, but I noticed it only appeared after using the one app. So I called Apple support and two people had no idea, but asked me to call back after taking a picture of it. I took a picture of mine and the picture from this forum before calling back. Again, two people had no idea, but I sent the photos and they sent it to engineering. The supervisor just called and explained what it is. It is a new icon and appears from any third party app that uses GPS or navigation. Eventually they will update their status icon information and include this icon.

25 replies

Oct 9, 2018 4:11 PM in response to Jeffhsu7

User uploaded fileSame here! I am so glad you posted this! I have been driving myself nuts trying to figure out what that arrow meant! I just finished using Runkeeper. It did not appear until I used the Runkeeper app. It’s been several minutes and it still is there so I’m assuming it will eventually go away. The app is not open on my iPhone or my apple series 4 watch????

Oct 9, 2018 6:30 PM in response to El_Barto007

I contacted the Intervals developer today and as usual, I've already heard back from him. I wrote him about the purple arrow in the control center staying on after using the app with location services. I also asked him to clarify why Intervals uses location services when not open. I noted that Intervals still records distance, time, and pace even without location services being on, but it doesn’t save the workout to your phone. I asked if there was a way to save the workout without using location services. The following were his answers. He believes the original issue is fixed and he is unclear why the purple arrow stays on. Apple's explanation is vague. He tested Apple’s workout app and the same purple arrow appeared and remained in the control center. He also explained that Intervals doesn’t use your location when the app is not running. He meant that it runs in the background when using it with another app like music, for example. Intervals records all your workout information from the Health app even with location services off. The only thing it doesn’t show is your route. He didn’t tell me if I could save my workout to my phone in the Intervals app, so I will write him and ask again. I hope this information Is helpful.

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