Apple Watch to gain iPhone-like widgets with watchOS 10

Apple Watch to gain iPhone-like widgets with watchOS 10

watchOS 10 could bring some radical changes to Apple Watch.
Photo: Naipo.de/Unsplash

Apple Watch reportedly will get iOS-like widgets when watchOS 10 arrives later this year. Plus, Apple might change the way some Apple Watch buttons work.

The company plans to make these changes to give Apple Watch users faster access to important information. Widgets will mean users won’t need to open a dedicated app to quickly see an overview of vital information at a glance

watchOS 10 could tweak the Digital Crown’s behavior

Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman revealed more details about watchOS 10’s widget system in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter. He says it will combine the “old watchOS Glances system and the style of widgets” introduced in iOS 14. Users can seemingly scroll through widgets to get an overview of their calendar appointments, stock updates, weather, etc., without opening the various apps in question.

The widgets interface will resemble the Siri watch face introduced in watchOS 4. But unlike the latter, watchOS 10 will let users overlay widgets on any Apple Watch face. And similar to iOS, it will allow users to stack multiple widgets on top.

Apple is reportedly also testing changes to the functionality of some Apple Watch buttons. For instance, a press of the Digital Crown could bring up the widgets in watchOS 10 instead of opening the app drawer.

Gurman thinks Apple might make the new Apple Watch interface optional to make the transition less jarring to users.

No major hardware upgrades for this year’s Apple Watch

Rumors suggest watchOS 10 will bring the biggest revamp to the OS since its inception. Apple is focusing on software this year, as the 2023 Apple Watch models won’t bring major hardware changes. The company also might allow Apple Watch to sync with iPads and Macs this year, eliminating the requirement to pair the smartwatch with an iPhone.

Last year’s Apple Watch Series 8 debuted with a temperature sensor and other minor improvements. And for athletes and adventurers, Cupertino introduced the Apple Watch Ultra, packing a bigger and brighter display inside a rugged chassis and offering multiday battery life.

The 2023 models should retain the same internals and hardware with minor improvements.