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Do you remember the Glances feature on the first version of watchOS?
Me neither – I had to look it up following a new report from the Chief Operating Officer of the Back Alley Tip-Off Collective, Mark Gurman.
Gurman’s latest rummaging has unearthed further possible details about watchOS 10 and suggests that Apple might resurrect the widget-like Glances functionality as part of “the biggest” update to Apple’s wearable software since the original version.
Does this signal the death of Apple Watch apps?
Let’s try and unpick it.
What happened to Apple Watch Glances?
I’m still struggling to remember what Glances were like on those early versions of watchOS. Even the screenshots I’ve found from reviews and guides published at the time don’t jog any memories.
Apparently, we used to swipe up from the watch face to reveal Glances, which could then be browsed by swiping left and right. These widgets featured, as the name suggests, glances at information such as your heart rate, activity, calendar, and currently playing music. Third-party apps could add their own Glances, too.
Glances were removed as part of the watchOS 3 update in 2016 and I’m confident that if my hazy recollection of the feature is anything to go by, very few people will have missed them.
With Glances gone, Apple decided to place more focus on notifications and watch-face complications. This made far more sense; the Apple Watch should be a largely passive device, where the user is encouraged to interact with it when their attention is required. The brilliance of complications and the increased number available on rapidly expanding Apple Watch displays makes any other form of ‘glance’ pretty much redundant.
The removal of Glances was, presumably, part of a much wider strategy Apple seems to have adopted since watchOS 3 to tighten the purpose of the Apple Watch which is now, arguably, more of a fitness device than anything else.
watchOS 10: death of the Apple Watch App?
According to Gurman, Apple is planning on adding widgets to watchOS10 to offer functionality that harks back to the days of Glances.
This move was apparently inspired by the widget system added to the iPhone as part of the iOS 14 update. Apple allegedly wants its users to stop using Apple Watch apps and instead scroll through a series of widgets that reveal activity tracking, calendar appointments, weather information, and more.
I know what you’re thinking – I thought the same. In fact, everyone is thinking it.
Who uses Apple Watch apps?
It’s no secret that Apple Watch apps haven’t caught on. A recent EU filing by Apple reveals that the watchOS App Store has less than a million monthly users in Europe, compared to more than 100 million on iOS.
Apple Watch apps take too long to locate, suffer from extremely limited screen estate, and, in my experience, are incredibly unreliable. It’s no wonder so few developers or users have bothered with them.
Put it this way – if Apple removed third-party watchOS apps tomorrow, it wouldn’t have any bearing on my daily experience or interaction with the Apple Watch Ultra. I suspect it would be the same for most users.
If this new version of Glances can somehow replace watchOS apps wholesale while avoiding the perils of giving the user too many options (do we really need both complications and widgets?) then it could be a very nice step forward for Apple’s wearable.
No new hardware
Gurman’s report appears to confirm something that has been suggested widely within the Apple rumour mill: these changes to watchOS will be the most significant updates to the Apple Watch in 2023.
I’m happy with this. I’d much rather Apple focused its hardware team on new ventures such as the rumoured mixed-reality headset.
We live in a world of tech that benefits from the most fantastically constructed and reliable hardware across the board. And, while you can admittedly buy a bad smartwatch, you can’t buy a bad Apple Watch.
Despite this, it will be interesting to see if the changes Apple makes within watchOS 10 hint at any significant hardware advancements down the line. Could this resurrection of widget functionality pave the way for larger Apple Watch displays or, shock horror, circular displays?
Wrapping up
Of all the things I’m hoping for at WWDC in June, a significant update to watchOS isn’t high on my list. Apple’s wearable feels focused, polished, and so far ahead of the competition. There’s barely anything begging to be updated on my Apple Watch Ultra.
Conversely, I’m always happy to see platforms evolve, and providing these rumoured watchOS updates don’t push the Apple Watch back into Jack-of-all-trades territory, I’m excited to see what’s next.
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