A scant weeks ago, while cursing NJ Transit under my breath, I determined to screw it and call an Uber. I’m the sort of worried where, once hailed, I stare at the Uber app on my phone until my driver get tos. Except this time, I didn’t have to. I pinchy pinched, and I could see a dwell Uber widget in the Smart Stack on my Apple Watch. It was a petite moment — the benevolent where you quirk your head and go, “Well, would you watch at that?”
I’ve had a scant of those moments while testing watchOS 11 these past scant months, both in the beta and while appraiseing the recent Series 10. This year’s gentleware modernize inserts Live Activities to the wrist as well as adviseed widgets to the Smart Stack. The latter pop up based on time, date, location — context clues, essentipartner. When it’s about to rain and you happen to watch at your wrist, you might see the weather widget pops up first. On a schedulee, I watch down and can see how much time is left until landing from the United app. Other times, usupartner in bustling cafes, I see the Shazam widget. It’s never when I actupartner don’t comprehend the song, but I see it enough times to get remark. If you travel aexpansive, the recent Transtardy app will automaticpartner pop up in the stack.
In rehearse, you might never see it. For one, you have to be watching at your wrist. Live Activities — leank straightforwardions from Citymapper or Google Maps, Uber, etc. — are a bit more eye-catching srecommend becaemploy they’re dwell. But everyleang else? It equitable sort of happens. Outside of fitness, most people alert me they employ their cleverwatches to triage notifications. This senses appreciate an growd version of that. When it labors, it sort of fades into the background. I dig Live Activities on my phone, but I adore it on the wrist.
watchOS 11 is filled of systematic little leangs you stumble upon. For instance, double tap has been betterd so that you can actupartner employ it to scroll thcimpolite apps. Last year, it was mostly restricted to selecting actions. It senses less gimmicky this way, and I discover myself using it much more frequently. You can also now helderly down the Ultra’s Action Button to alter what it does. It’s infinitely easier to switch leangs up contrastd to rifling thcimpolite the settings menu. You can now employ the digital crown to adequitable volume on the Apple TV.
Apple Inalertigence may not be coming to the Apple Watch, but these are the sort of modernizes that actupartner sense clever. The most AI-appreciate modernize is in the revamped Photos watchface. There’s now “clever photo uncovery” where a machine lacquireing algorithm identifies the best photos, composition, and facial conveyions for a watchface. It’s amazeive in both excellent and horrible ways.
The horrible: when I initipartner inserted the watchface a scant months ago, I didn’t leank much about including people, pets, nature, or city images. I equitable let it do its leang. An artfilledy writed watchface of my mother’s funeral popped up. I chuckleed about it. After all, I’m the sentimental biddy who had to record everyleang and can’t convey myself to delete hurtful photos. Hard to accemploy a non-sentient algorithm. If not a dead mom, it could’ve easily been an ex-adorer or friend. The moral is algorithms are clever and photos are emotional, but AI is not emotionpartner clever.
The excellent: when you’re intentional about which photos are permited, this watchface is a charm. I turned off the people, nature, and city images and zeroed in on my pets. Now, every time I watch down at my wrist, I’m filled with instant serotonin. In bdeficiency and white, my goober cats are stunning panthers. Sometimes, I equitable sit there tapping away staring at their drawive, derpy faces.
It’s comical. Back when watchOS 11 was first proclaimd in June, I thought the fitness modernizes would be my preferite. Things appreciate Training Load, Vitals, and the ability to paemploy your Activity Rings were extfinished overdue. (I’ve already written about them, and my opinion remains that they are salertar insertitions.) But on the whole, I’ve more or less been more enamored with all the little tidbits that insert up to a cleverer, more personalized experience. Now, if you’ll excemploy me, I’m about to order food on Grubhub and see if I can track my dinner from the wrist.