The days go by, the betas follow one after the other and the Worldwide Developers Conference, WWDC 2023, is fast approaching. The biggest event before the presentation of the iPhone 15 and that, next June 5, will lead us to see iOS 17, macOS 14 and also watchOS 10. The latter, an operating system whose rumored list of new features is becoming more and more interesting.
The new watchOS 10 operating system promises to bring a major revolution to the Apple Watch user interface by introducing a completely new system of widgets, according to Mark Gurman. Although the new interface may be a radical change for everyone, it is also true that today there is a certain sphere already presents similar functionalities.
A small revolution in the interface
The latest edition of Gurman’s “Power On” newsletter revealed that widgets will be a “central” part of the Apple Watch interface with watchOS 10. These widgets would resemble Glances, the “widget” interface that was launched on the original Apple Watch and removed by subsequent versions of the operating system, as well as the widgets that iOS 14 brought to the iPhone a few years ago.
According to Gurman, the general idea behind the concept is to evolve Siri’s watch face. A sphere that arrived with watchOS 4 and that shows us information in the form of cards. The main grace of these cards is, in fact, that they adapt to the time of day, location and other circumstances, so that, intelligently, we see exactly what we need. Without distractions and occupying almost the entire screen.
To finish outlining the idea, Gurman also compared the feature to iOS and iPadOS widget stacks, which allow us to stack multiple widgets into one and scroll between them. Something very similar to what Siri‘s sphere allows and will allow us to “scroll through different widgets, such as activity tracking, weather, stock quotes, calendar appointments and more, rather than having to launch individual apps.”
With changes in the functions of the Apple Watch buttons
The interface redesign could bring more changes than expected. We don’t know how the app view might change with the arrival of widgets, but it seems that the new design would be accompanied by new functions for the buttons. Instead of the digital crown taking us to the list of apps, it could take us to the widget view.
It remains to be seen, moreover, what will happen with the Dock, the menu of recent or favorite applications that we access by pressing the side button of our Apple Watch. A Dock that not only shows the apps in question, but does so in a very visual way, allowing us to see the information without having to open the apps themselves.
Given all this, Gurman adds that while the design of our iPhone, with the apps taking the most relevant role, “does not necessarily make sense on the watch”. Hence, since the first versions of the Apple Watch operating system we had access to complications, a way for apps to show us information.
Now, according to rumors, these complications would evolve to display information in a more complete way. An important change, no doubt. So much so that it remains to be seen if the new design will come as an option, something like a setting to change the display according to our preferences, or if it will be implemented without considering the previous system.
In any case, it seems clear that Apple has been experimenting with the idea of a widget experience on the Apple Watch for some time, albeit through the iPhone, and watchOS 10 could be the culmination of these efforts. The watchOS 10 design changes are apparently only part of what Gurman claims will be one of the most significant software updates to the Apple Watch since its launch.
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