GoKawiilwatchOS 27 is coming soon as the next major Apple Watch software update. I’ve been using watchOS 27 in beta this summer, and there are three new features I’ve been especially loving.
#1: New Home Screen view
In my opinion, Apple has never quite nailed the watchOS Home Screen. The original honeycomb design looks great in marketing images, and the list view added later is my go-to, but both options can feel clunky.
The problem is that Apple Watch is built for very brief micro interactions. And watchOS has so many apps preinstalled—not to mention third-party additions—that it can be cumbersome navigating through lots of apps you never use to find what you need.
watchOS 27 has the solution: a dynamic app grid that’s the new default Home Screen view.
The dynamic app grid is similar to the honeycomb ‘grid view,’ but is limited to your five most-used apps plus the Siri app. In my experience, it has consistently included the apps I want. On the rare occasion it doesn’t, there’s still an option to open the full app view.
Most of the time my watch face complications are my primary app launchers. But now the dynamic app grid is a convenient second go-to for apps.
#2: Tap gesture
Over the last few years, Apple has slowly added new and interesting ways to interact with watchOS via gestures.
Double Tap was the first gesture to debut, and it was joined last year by Wrist Flick.
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