With watchOS 26, it’s still “too hard” to tell if your iPhone is connected to your Apple Watch.

It used to be a lot easier.

I accidentally tested a feature that I forgot about when I purposely left my personal phone at home and decided to just carry my work phone since it’s too hot outside to be carrying two phones in two pockets. My Series 10 watch on watchOS 26 still doesn’t give me any indication that I left my phone behind, until I click the Control Center and see the crossed-out red iPhone on top.

As I said earlier, it used to be a lot easier. I lamentingly ranted about this about six months ago, when I was testing my Series 3 watch:

You remember back to a time, a simpler time, where Apple used to let you know right on your watch face, that your iPhone is missing. It didn’t matter what watch face you had, but that red iPhone with a slash right through it would show up immediately, letting you know before you get too far that you need to grab your iPhone.

My Series 3 on watchOS 8 lets me know every time without fail. 

Whether you use the Simple watch face, or are admiring the peaceful serenity of Mack Lake with a Timelapse, Apple didn’t hesitate to interrupt you with their passive aggressive way of letting you know:

“Hey genius, you forgot your iPhone.” […]

Just literally put the disconnected iPhone logo where the red notification dot goes (like it used to!), and call it a day. 

Don’t think different with this one, just do it.

Here is what it looks like on a Series 3 just for reference. Clear as day.

Forget about a ring, Apple should make a WHOOP competitor to further expand its wearable market.

Mark Gurman on X:

Apple should seriously consider developing a smart ring to give its fitness-tracking wearables push new momentum and widen its market.

I think Apple should take a different approach.

Imagine an Apple Watch, but you take away the screen, buttons, speaker, and microphones, and you fill up that extra space with a higher capacity battery while making the device thinner. Currently the smallest, most modern Apple Watch (42mm Series 10) is 36mm wide, excluding the Digital Crown. With all those components removed, the form factor could morph back in time and be shrunken down just a bit to the size of the Series 3 Apple Watch at 33.3mm wide. This would still allow the small watch bands to fit (think 38mm, 40mm, 41mm, and the new 42mm bands).

You would only need one size since it’s a passive device with no screen. A thin device like that could act as a fashion piece like the WHOOP tries to do. Turn the front of the device into a polished steel surface with Apple’s classic trio of Silver, Slate, and Gold, and you have a piece of jewelry that can be swapped with any band of your choosing. If placed on an alternate site on the body, the smaller form factor would be easy to conceal.

Every single Apple Watch has been slightly taller than wide. To change the look of this new product, they can make it a perfect square at 33mm x 33mm, still leaving plenty of room to charge the device with the same Apple Watch charging puck. The device would have longer battery life, be more fashionable, and would not get banned from weddings.

Another critical feature? Giving it the ability to be worn on other parts of the body, such as your bicep, ankle, near your waist, etc. People are already doing it anyway, so why not make it more marketable (and accurate) for those of us who can’t wear a health device on our wrists all the time?

For my line of work in preparing sterile radioactive medications for patients, I’m not allowed to wear any jewelry in the lab, making the Apple Watch unusable for a decent portion of an 8-hour shift. It would be a huge deal for others in the healthcare field like myself who can track their health while working. This would apply to other occupations as well where the wrist is just too risky to put a $400 plus device.

The biggest hurdles to this form factor? Making sure the health data is accurate on alternate sites on the body, which could take years just based on how thorough Apple is when doing these health studies. They should pick alternative body sites that make the most sense and go all-in, even if it is just one additional body part like the upper arm or near your waist.

I think a WHOOP competitor that piggybacks off of the Apple Watch’s accessory lineup and distribution process gives Apple an advantage. It might seem redundant, but Apple has multiple form factors for each of its signature product categories, and this wouldn’t be any different. They should lean into their iconic squircle form factor instead of trying to start a whole new category.

The vivo X Fold5 - tell me you want an iPhone, without telling me you want an iPhone.

Hadlee Simmons from Android Authority about the vivo X Fold5:

For starters, the company says it’s the first Android phone that can connect to the Apple Watch, supporting phone calls, texts, notification mirroring, synchronization of health/fitness data, and more. However, there are a couple of caveats to this integration. Your Apple Watch needs to be paired with an iPhone first. Furthermore, vivo says this functionality will come via a system update.

Let’s look at the fine print translation at the bottom of Vivo’s main landing page referring to the Apple Watch:

The relevant functions may change due to third-party services. vivo will update the description on the function publicity page according to the actual situation. Please refer to the actual use.

Looks like vivo is taking one out of Apple’s own playbook, but at least they’re letting you know in advance they might change the information on the product page website “according to the actual situation,” because these features might not work as intended and won’t ship out of the box.

Sound familiar?

Once again, don’t buy a device with the promise of new features that are not already baked into the device.

Let’s continue.

Seamless AirPods compatibility with - shoddy translation - “full-link native experience?” Let’s read the fine print once again:

All native function experiences of AirPods pairing with iPhone are not supported for the time being. Please refer to actual use.

I wouldn’t bet on getting all the advanced AirPods functions such as Adaptive Audio and Hearing Aid functionality.

Of course, there’s also “full-compatibility” with the iPhone, with chatGPT translating this quote from this image with two alternate translations:

"Perfectly in sync with Apple, Seamlessly across ecosystems."

"Works flawlessly with Apple, Smooth across ecosystems."

"In perfect harmony with Apple, Effortless cross-ecosystem experience."

In order for your iPhone to work properly, you must do the following “effortless” work (from the same landing page):

It means that the phone on the iPhone can be answered on vivo X Fold5, and the information and notifications on the iPhone can be transferred to vivo X Fold5 for viewing. The conditions of use are as follows:

(1) Download the "vivo mutual transmission" application on the iPhone (iOS system needs to be version 15.0 or above; "vivo mutual transmission" on the iOS terminal needs to be version 5.2.30 or above);

(2) vivo X Fold5 You need to log in to the same vivo account as the iPhone, and there are no other devices at both ends;

(3) The dual-end Bluetooth needs to be paired, and the distance requirement is within 10 meters;

(4) The notification flow needs to turn on the three-party application notification permission and the notification flow switch. iOS needs to turn off the [Filter Unknown Contacts] switch to experience the flow of verification codes.

The interface UI is for reference only, please refer to the actual use. This function needs to be implemented with third-party services. The relevant functions may change due to third-party services. vivo will update the description on the function publicity page according to the actual situation. Please refer to the actual use.

I think I now how to solve all these compatibility issues and how to avoid all these hoops and hurdles:

Get an iPhone.

watchOS 26 doesn’t come with new watch faces, for now at least.

The only “new” watch face in watchOS 26 is an enhanced Photos watch face:

The popular Photos watch face is enhanced with numerals made of Liquid Glass, allowing users to see even more of their photo.

That’s it. Unless you’re a Series 10 user who is obsessive about the fine details, that’s the only benefit you’re getting from a watch face point of view. Series 10 users get to enjoy an always-on display with ticking seconds hand for many older watch faces. To make things even worse for non-Series 10 users, Apple got rid of five watch faces, but I honestly won’t miss them.

In the past, Apple did debut new watch faces in June for the beta releases, but they saved the bulk of their newer watch faces for the public watchOS release in September. Some of those watch faces were exclusive to a newly designed Apple Watch, and some were back ported to older watches. You can see the (rough) history of what watch faces were revealed at what time frame below:

• watchOS 2 beta - Photo Albums, Timelapse

• watchOS 3 beta - Minnie Mouse, Activity and Numerals

• watchOS 4 beta - Siri, Toy Story, Kaleidoscope

• watchOS 4 public release - Explorer (debuted with the Series 3)

• watchOS 5 beta - Pride

• watchOS 5 public release - Infograph, Infograph Modular, Liquid Metal, Vapor, Fire and Water (all debuted with the Series 4 and its bigger display)

• watchOS 6 beta - Numerals Mono, Numerals Duo, Modular Compact, Gradient, Solar Dial, California

• watchOS 6 public release - no new watch faces, but they debuted the Always-On Display for the Series 5.

• watchOS 7 beta - Chronograph Pro

• watchOS 7 public release - GMT, Count Up, Typograph, Memoji, Stripes, Artist

• watchOS 8 beta - Portraits

• watchOS 8 public release - Modular Duo, Contour, World Timer

• watchOS 9 beta - Lunar, Playtime, Metropolitan, Astronomy

• watchOS 9 public release - no additional watch faces, but the Apple Watch Ultra is debuted with the exclusive Wayfinder watch face

• watchOS 10 beta - Palette, Snoopy

• watchOS 10 public release - Solar Analog (debuted with the Series 9)

• watchOS 11 beta - Photos (a redesign more than an actual new watch face)

• watchOS 11 - Flux, Reflections (both debuted with the Series 10), and Unity Rhythm debuted months later with a software update.

• watchOS 26 beta - Liquid Glass on the Photos watch face.

• watchOS 26 public release - ???

This isn’t an exhaustive list of every single watch face that has debuted, but I think I got most of them. There is no fixed pattern here either, but a minimum of two new watch faces isn’t a lot to ask for.

I’m thinking since the Series 11 is a minimal upgrade over the Series 10, we will get a few new watch faces to make the Series 11 more relevant. I’m fully expecting Apple to release at least two different Liquid Glass watch faces in the Fall - an analog variant that resembles a modern version of the Color watch face, and some sort of playful, bubbly digital face.

An exclusive new Ultra watch face is also a given.

Why didn’t I know about this weather complication before?

I thought this was definitely a watchOS 26 complication, but it is not. It’s been on watchOS 11 (and maybe earlier?) for God knows how long, but for some reason I’m just discovering it.

In my opinion the best, big weather complication by Apple. You get the current temperature, high and low, and even current conditions in a friendly and easily readable format.

The Notes App on watchOS 26 is great for shopping lists.

You can only see three items at a time, but it’s the only Note type that you can interact with and check off the bubbles when you complete a task. All other Note types are read-only.

At least for now.

Absolutely perfect for grocery shopping and packing for trips making sure you completed all tasks. Much better than my previous solution for grocery shopping, which was to put my caseless iPhone with an all-glass front and back on a metal shopping cart that clinks, clanks, and bumps over tiles. Sometimes I would text the grocery list to myself so I could see it on the watch, but the Notes app with the bubble checkers is perfect.

Small victories for a small device.

watchOS 26 lets you use your Apple Watch to check the battery status of your AirPods.

I think this is new for watchOS 26.

You can check the battery life of your AirPods (and presumably other connected accessories) from your Apple Watch. If your iPhone is unlocked and in use, the ability to check goes away probably because it assumes you’re using the AirPods with your iPhone. A great feature for those who use a cellular connection on Apple Watch.

What would really be nice is the ability to check the battery life of your iPhone from your watch too.

watchOS 26 brings the Always-On Display with ticking seconds hand to many more watch faces for the Series 10.

I was getting a bit nervous since the WWDC keynote didn’t mention a peep about watch faces. My original article was going to be titled, “Lamenting watchOS 26,” and I might have gone into a poetic rant, but nay, this deed shall I no longer pursue.

It took me forever to finally get the watchOS 26 beta on my beloved Jet Black Series 10, but I was lying in bed and finally got the “hello” screen. I instantly went to an analog watch face (Solar Analog in this case), slapped the screen to turn it off, and behold, the seconds hand still kept ticking.

Disappointed I was not, although I was ready for it. Sleep was fighting with me, but curiosity won at the end. I tried out a bunch of other watch faces, and many, not all, analog watch faces that are full screen now support the ticking seconds hand.

Most functional ones that mimic real watch faces support it, but the more flamboyant ones like Kaleidoscope do not. It is still a bit inconsistent because Nike Analog supports it, but Nike Hybrid doesn’t.

It’s a work in progress, and hopefully we get support for more watch faces as the betas continue. My rough count puts supported watch faces at around 20, versus 5 or 6 just the day before.

Will we get Night Mode as a standard feature in watchOS 26?

Night Mode is a great feature that is limited to two watch faces* on the Apple Watch Ultra models, but it should be a feature available to all Apple Watches on more watch faces.

It arguably classifies as an Accessibility feature since many people would like to preserve their vision at night, and Night Mode is the best way to do it. Currently all iPhones starting with the iPhone XS and later support Night Mode on StandBy. This feature is not limited to the Pro iPhones, so the same standard should apply with the Apple Watch.

The Apple Watch Series 10 did get some trickle-down features from the Ultra such as a Depth gauge, Depth app, and even a water temperature sensor. Hopefully Apple continues with their trickle-down economics and gives us Night Mode for all Apple Watches, this time baked into watchOS instead of a particular watch.

*Wayfinder and Modular Ultra

WHOOP 5.0 and MG models require new bands that are not compatible with WHOOP 4.0.

Another reason why WHOOP owners should be mad. These bands are not cheap, especially if you’re trying to make it look like a fancy bracelet. The one thing about the Apple Watch is the bands have been compatible for the last 10 years, across all their watches, which is commendable. At least WHOOP still makes their expensive bands out of “Genuine Italian Leather.”

Apple’s “WHOOP 5.0 day” will eventually come and band compatibility will be broken, and everything will hit the fan, but hopefully that day is still a long ways away.

iPhone and Apple Watch Compatibility update and correction.

I was wrong about Apple Watch compatibility in my previous post, but Apple’s chart is what makes it confusing.

I had stated earlier that you needed iOS 18 to use an Apple Watch, or else you were out of luck. Turns out, there is a hierarchy based on which versions of watchOS and iOS you have to determine compatibility. Having iOS 18 puts you at the top of the food chain (or tangled web in this case) and makes all watches compatible.

This isn't an issue for an iPhone XS or later user since they do have iOS 18, but it is a confusing mess if you have an iPhone X or earlier. I know these people are few and far between, but I'm still seeing these devices out in the wild.

What made me assume that you must have iOS 18 in order to use an Apple Watch? It was Apple of course in their own words:

To set up and use an Apple Watch, you need iPhone XS or later with iOS 18 or later.

Initially I thought this was an error, until I tried doing some other pairing experiments. When I wrote my first piece, I tried pairing a Series 5 Watch with an iPhone SE 1st gen several times, and each time it would not work. Then I tried pairing a Series 3 watch to the same iPhone, with no luck.

According to Apple’s chart though, both should have worked:

As you can see here, for a Series 5, you need an iPhone 6s or later, and iOS 13 or later. The iPhone SE 1st gen meets the criteria, but won’t pair, and it wouldn’t pair to a Series 3 that I tried three separate times.

Based on this information, I concluded that you must have iOS 18 moving forwards in order to use an Apple Watch.

But that’s not true.

I tried a 4th time to pair my Series 3 to my iPhone SE 1st generation over a week later, and it did work. Why it didn’t work the first three times is beyond me, even with restarting both devices, but maybe the iOS 15 and watchOS 8 update pathways or servers were down on that day? Who would’ve actually noticed though since these versions of the OS are obsolete.

After successfully pairing my iPhone SE 1st gen to a Series 3, I then decided to do some other experimentation. My iPhone X qualifies even more to pair with a Series 5 according to the chart, but it also wouldn’t pair saying my version of iOS (iOS 16) was out of date. The chart once again makes it seem compatible because it says I need iOS 13 or later and an iPhone 6s or later. Aaaah!

These are my results for trying to pair different watches to different iPhones up to this point:

1. iPhone SE 1st gen paired to a Series 5 - FAIL

2. iPhone SE 1st gen paired to a Series 3 - FAIL

3. iPhone SE 1st gen paired to a Series 3 (2nd attempt) - FAIL

4. iPhone SE 1st gen paired to a Series 3 (3rd attempt) - FAIL

5. iPhone X paired to a Series 3 - PASS

6. iPhone X paired to a Series 5 - FAIL

7. iPhone SE 1st gen paired to a Series 3 (4th attempt) - PASS

Long story short, this chart from wikipedia really tells you a more up-to-date compatibility of Apple Watches and iPhones for those iPhones that don’t update past iOS 16.

It turns out an iPhone is limited to what version of watchOS it can pair to than the generation of Apple Watch itself.

This chart explains why my Series 5 wouldn’t pair with my iPhone SE 1st gen or my iPhone X because the Series 5 was already updated to watchOS 10. If it was still on watchOS 9, it would work with the iPhone X and iPhone 8 but not the iPhone SE 1st gen.

New rules for Apple Watch compatibility with iPhones:

1. If your iPhone supports iOS 18, it will pair with any Apple Watch.

2. If you have an iPhone 8 or iPhone X, it will pair with a Series 4, Series 5, or SE 1st generation Apple Watch on watchOS 9 or earlier, and any Apple Watch before that.

3. If you have an iPhone 6S, SE 1st generation, or iPhone 7, you can pair a Series 3 Apple Watch or earlier.

Apple’s premium pre-configured packaging for the original Apple Watch meant insane deals for the patient.

The original Apple Watch launch was a historic event. I would argue it had the best introduction of any new product category for Apple outside the iPhone. As any first generation product gets launched, mistakes are made, and one company’s mistake is another person’s good fortune.

When you look at Apple’s original packaging for the Apple Watch, they came in pre-configured units that were not modular like the current packaging. Today, you can pick your watch size and case material, pair it with any band you like, and you will get a standard cardboard flap that wraps two separate boxes: one for your strap, and one for your watch.

Original Apple Watch packaging with holes for the charging cable and 5W plug (left) vs Series 10 (right).

Pre-configured watches had the strap already assembled in the premium, glossy plastic box with felt lining, compared to a cardboard sleeve holding a paper sleeve with the watch inside.

This type of packaging makes perfect sense since it manages inventory better and allows for better logistics. You literally make the packaging based on what the customer ordered, instead of telling the customer to pick from these standard configurations.

It wasn’t like that for the first few generations of Apple Watch. You would get a pre-configured watch that was set at many price points, all the way from $399 for the base aluminum watch, to the over $1,000 stainless steel watch with link bracelet. If you wanted another band to go with your watch, you would have to buy that separately.

You know you got the Stainless Steel watch if you got the square box.

Same premium high gloss plastic casing.

Your Watch came fully assembled, and you also got the premium charging puck that was stainless steel instead of aluminum (not pictured).

I actually have it placed incorrectly here. The watch body would be in the gapped section, making it fit more flush.

I remember when Apple announced pricing for the Apple Watch, I was bummed because the Stainless Steel with link bracelet was at a minimum $1,000. I told myself there’s no way I would plunk down that kind of money.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who felt that way, and stores had piles of these sitting in inventory. Retailers didn’t know what to do with their stock of $1,000 plus Series 0* Apple watches that no one wanted to buy, so they heavily discounted these when the Series 2 came out. I’m talking heavy discounts.

Best Buy had a 38mm Apple Watch with link bracelet that normally retailed for $999 down to $349. Yes, $349. They also had the space black version of the same configuration for $449 instead of $1,049.

When I saw these deals online, my jaw literally dropped. Was this really happening? My premium Apple Watch dreams that were once crushed were rejuvenated. My mind was running wild with all kinds of ways to take advantage of this deal:

“I could buy both and sell one of them to essentially get a free Apple Watch.”

“If I kept both, I could mix and match the stainless steel look which would look amazing!”

“I can keep both watches and one of the link bracelets, and just sell a bracelet and still come out on top.”

The opportunities were endless. I always wanted the link bracelet with a stainless steel Apple Watch, and now I could easily afford it. So did I get the regular Stainless Steel or the Space Black?

Yes.

I grabbed both of these deals. The bands alone were worth $449 and $549, and now I can get the whole watch with that band for $100 cheaper!

This was one of my fondest memories of the original Apple Watch because of the insane value it was. Sure they were slower than the Series 1 and 2, but it was fast enough for me.

At first, I didn’t think I would like the 38mm size, but when I wore it, it was perfect. It didn’t look like a toy, but a proper luxury watch. I went from the 42mm Aluminum watch to a 38mm Stainless Steel and never looked back. The smaller size just looked better and became my size of choice from that point forward. The irony of the situation is now the smaller 42mm size equals the original, larger 42mm, so we’re back to square one.

*Series 0 refers to the original Apple Watch released in April 2015. Apple released a Series 1 alongside the Series 2 in September 2016 that had a faster processor and discontinued the original Apple Watch.

A deeper speculation into Apple Watch SE 3rd generation’s display size.

Juli Clover from MacRumors:

Apple is working on an updated version of the low-cost Apple Watch SE, and the displays for the new model have entered production, according to display analyst Ross Young.

Young says that the new ‌Apple Watch SE‌ 3 will be available with 1.6-inch and 1.8-inch display sizes, which suggests little in the way of an upgrade over the current ‌Apple Watch SE‌ models. The ‌Apple Watch SE‌ 2 comes in 40mm and 44mm size options, and Apple could stick with those sizes for the next-generation models.

The ‌Apple Watch SE‌ has historically been based on an existing Apple Watch model, and the current version is based on the Apple Watch Series 6. Apple could continue with another model based on the Series 6 design, but there are other options. The display sizes could be off somewhat due to rounding issues and Apple could be planning for a larger Series 7 design with 41mm and 45mm sizes, or the new ‌Apple Watch SE‌ could get an entirely new design.

The 1.6-inch and 1.8-inch estimates are perfect numbers for speculation because it means the display could be either the size of the Series 7-9 or the Series 10 and technically you can’t be wrong.

I measured my 41mm Series 9 display which is the same as the Series 7 and 8, and it measured 1.56 inches diagonally. The Series 10 is just a hair bigger, and would probably be right at 1.6 inches diagonally. I have the smaller sized watch, and the bigger one would be around 1.8 inches like the rumors are suggesting.

When the original SE was released, it came with the same screen size as the Series 6 at the time. My guess is the SE 3rd gen will come with the same display size as the Series 10 and 11, minus the always-on feature just like the first SE.

Apple Watch Series 7 thru 9 displays never had a version without always-on capabilities, so it makes more sense to just use a Series 10 display without those features included. A series 10 display would also mean the newly updated body style that is all aluminum even in back.

Should make for a more streamlined manufacturing process for the SE 3 and Series 11 with their similar displays and body styles.

Apple quietly updates Apple Watch to only work with iPhones on iOS 18 or later.

Update 5/12/25: See the clarification and correction to this article here.

If you have an iPhone X or earlier, don’t unpair your Apple Watch from your device because it will stop working. You must have iOS 18 now in order to pair any Apple Watch with your device. iOS 18 is available on iPhone XS or later, and iPhone SE 2nd generation or later.

This was changed recently and Apple released an updated support document. Apple’s previous compatibility chart was more complicated, but it allowed older versions of iOS to work with older Apple Watches. Their chart was not complete, and I made a modified chart to include the iPhone SE models.

Apple’s compatibility chart was dated Nov. 20, 2024, and Apple’s most recent support document is dated Feb. 28, 2025, a Friday.

So on a Friday, right when the news cycle for the week ends, Apple published a support document quietly making it impossible to pair usable Apple Watches with iOS 17 or older devices. I was in the process today of pairing a Series 5 on watchOS 10 with my iPhone SE 1st gen on iOS 15 which was possible according to Apple’s chart, but I could no longer do that and when I clicked on the “Learn More” option, the support document spelled it out bluntly:

To set up and use an Apple Watch, you need iPhone XS or later with iOS 18 or later.

Both the iPhone SE 1st gen and the Series 5 watch are on their latest software revisions, but even then it is not possible.

iOS 18 is the minimum you need now.

It is a bitter sweet ending, since it was quite perplexing to keep track of which watches on which version of watchOS would work with which iPhones on which versions of iOS. Even for a geek like me it was hard to keep it straight. The backwards compatibility was bound to come to an end, and that time is now.

Keep these 4 points in mind:

1. If you have iOS 18, you can pair any Apple Watch to it.

2. If you don’t have iOS 18, you cannot pair any Apple Watch to it.

3. If your Apple Watch is currently paired to an iOS 17 device, it will continue to work, but you might eventually be forced to upgrade to iOS 18 if you have an iPhone XS or later or an iPhone SE 2nd gen or later.

4. If you have an iPhone X or earlier, unpairing your current Apple Watch will prevent you from re-pairing the device to your iPhone.

Fire and Water watch face doesn’t go full screen on the Series 10.

When the Series 4 Apple Watch was announced, it debuted with a multitude of watch faces that embraced the full screen nature of the device. Gone was the harsh rectangular shape of the screen, and in was a new “edge-to-edge” display that gave us 30% more real estate and curved around with the watch’s shape.

These three visually appealing and functionally devoid watch faces were:

1. Fire and Water

2. Liquid Metal

3. Vapor

Fire and Water was the best watch face in my opinion, but you can’t get that in full screen mode on the Series 10. It works in full screen mode on my Series 5 with its now thick bezels, and also on my Series 9. It’s been like this since the Series 10 launched back in September. This problem doesn’t exist with the Liquid Metal and Vapor watch faces.

Bug reported to Apple.

There is no “Dial” option on the Series 10 to change it to full screen mode.

Apple Watch Series 10 - Jet Black durability after 6 months of use.

I have had the Series 10 Jet Black since launch, and it has been holding up well, much better than the iPhone 7’s Jet Black. According to Apple’s own description, it has gone from a 9-step anodization process to a 30- step anodization process.

To sum it up quickly, if you’re worried it will accumulate micro abrasions and swirls like the iPhone 7 did even while babying the device, that will not happen. It will stay shiny and beautiful. If you abuse it or drop it on an hard surface, expect scratches and even the bare aluminum to shine through. With normal use and occasional bumps here and there, it will also be fine.

The main thing to watch for is imperfections out of the box, which happened to me twice before I got a perfect one without any defects. The imperfections are at the junction between where the display ends and the aluminum body meets. That flat surface of aluminum is not polished as much as the curved body is, making it likely to have bare aluminum shining through the swath of the dark creamy black.

Once you notice it, you can’t unsee it.

Apple’s customer service did take care of me, but they are more lenient and forgiving if you call them versus try to deal with them in store.

Their words, not mine.

You can ready the whole experience below, along with photos showing what happens to the Jet Black finish if dropped on a hard surface.

Jet Black Apple Watch durability 28 days later - part 1

Jet Black Apple Watch Genius Bar Appointment - part 2

Calling Apple to resolve my Jet Black Apple Watch defect - part 3

Jet Black Apple Watch Replacement was worse - part 4

Jet Black Apple Watch durability after hitting the floor…hard.

Apple Watch’s new alarm feature needs a small tweak to be perfect.

WatchOS 11.4 has a new feature that allows your Apple Watch alarm to be audible even in Silent Mode. This is perfect for people who are heavy sleepers and the haptic feedback isn’t enough to wake them up. For me personally, I keep my watch on silent all the time, and the haptic feedback from the watch is enough to wake me up without disturbing my wife.

I’m willing to bet that most people keep their Apple Watch on silent too or else this feature wouldn’t be a thing. It’s easy to feel the haptics when you’re awake, but we all know that heavy sleeper that needs both haptics and sound (and even a splash of water!).

If you need that extra jolt to wake you up, just edit the alarm, scroll down and turn on Break Through Silent Mode.

Behold, the alarm times for a Nuclear Pharmacist.

There is one problem though because in the above example, the 1:00 AM alarm has Break Through Silent Mode turned ON, and the 1:10 AM has it turned OFF. There is no way to distinguish which alarms are going to be loud and which ones will just have haptic feedback. Apple can solve this with a simple tweak by adding a little volume glyph in the corner so people can remember which alarms are going to be loud.

With the volume glyph, you can easily tell which alarms will be loud.

I hope WWDC brings these two fixes in watchOS 12.

There’s been a viral clip going around X ever since the Siri fiasco took off. 

A clip emphasizing simplicity. 

A clip emphasizing stability.

It was about the new features in Snow Leopard back in 2009, and how Apple proudly announced zero new features.

Although there were new features, what Apple was trying to emphasize was software stability and how important it was to them to make sure, “it just works.”

The famous “it just works,” implying how seamless and unbelievable it is, and not the jerry rigged “it juuust (barely) works.”

Apple had a more recent instance similar to this with iOS9 in 2015, where Craig Federighi discussed how the focus was on “elevating the foundations” of iOS, such as extending battery life, improving performance, and enhancing security to protect customer data. 

watchOS needs its Snow Leopard / iOS 9 moment. Have a few updates to wow the people and please Wall Street, but really hunker down and fix some key issues.

Two issues to be exact.

The first issue is the ability to swipe between your watch faces. This was a staple and stable feature starting with watchOS 3 before watchOS 10 had its huge overhaul with SmartStack. You would effortlessly swipe between watch faces and all your information was just there, present and up to date. In watchOS 10, that feature went away for a while, and I was not happy about it:

A barbaric touch and hold, followed by scrolling right or left in the edit screen. Even the original Apple Watch had a faster way to change watch faces with its Force Touch ability giving you almost instant access to the watch face edit screen.

Even Apple knew they had to bring this feature back since it made switching watch faces much faster, and they did bring it back as a hidden option with watchOS 10.2 under Settings > Clock > Swipe to Switch Watch Face.

It came back, but it came back the way Michael Jordan came back as a Washington Wizard instead of a Chicago Bull.

No longer the default option, the swipe came back as a 2nd string option due to its glitchy performance. On my 7 and a half year old Series 3 Apple Watch, with its latest software version (Watch OS 8), in the year 2025, you can swipe between watch faces and everything is in memory and seamless. Extremely smooth, with the hour, minute, and seconds hands perfectly in sync between swipes. It just works!

Somehow the architecture of watchOS 10 fundamentally changed some of the inner workings of the Apple Watch, and after almost 2 years now, it’s as if the watch face has to “load” each and every time you swipe watch faces. It feels and looks buggy, especially when you go from an analog watch face to a digital watch face that is full of data. It juuust (barely) works.

The Tips app on your iPhone even demos how to change your watch face, referring to the touch and hold method vs the swipe method.

I’m sure there are Apple Watch engineers who cringe every time they swipe from one watch face to another, knowing that this problem still exists and needs to be fixed. I understand why it’s not a high priority, but it’ll be two years in June when they announce watchOS 12.

Two years is long enough.

The second (more critical) issue that needs to be overhauled are the watch faces. I’ve said this multiple times already, but they need to be updated to support the Series 10’s always on display with seconds hand. To advertise this feature and then to only have it on 3 watch faces at launch is just embarrassing. The Unity Rhythm watch face was released recently with watchOS 11.3, but that is still 4 out of over 40 watch faces. In the Steve Jobs era, this would not have been acceptable. Heck, even Jony Ive would have put the hammer down on this one.

To complicate things further, there are plenty of complications such as the digital time and digital seconds complications that would make this feature pop even more on the watch. Your always on display would look more realistic, with ticking “components” constantly updating every second without sacrificing battery life. That “magical” touch would sell more watches, because we are visual creatures, and to see the Apple Watch acting like an actual watch that ticks and doesn’t stop moving will blur the line between digital and traditional watch faces. 

Watch enthusiasts will appreciate it even more, and won’t scoff (as much) at us digital watch wearers. They will still scoff at us when they notice its quartz-like movement, but appreciate the technological step forward and will purchase one, probably a more expensive model to boot.

The real question is, was this a Wall Street move to keep this feature gimped the way Apple has? Perhaps it would have taken sales away from the higher profit margin of the Ultra 2? The Series 10 in 46mm technically does have a bigger display, and to make it more lively with its 1 sec refresh rate for $370 less does make it a much more compelling purchase from a visual standpoint. 

As sleezy as it might be to keep the feature purposefully limited to drive Ultra 2 sales (I don’t think this was the plan), it would be reassuring to know they have the capability to make every watch face compatible with the 1 second refresh rate. I really do hope the Ultra 3 and Series 11 have full support for this feature, while updating the Series 10 to match.

Ideally, and this is truly my hope, Apple didn’t have time to fix the issues with the previous watch faces, and they are working diligently to update all watch faces for watchOS 12.

The updated watch faces could even be the main upgrade for watchOS 12 and it could actually revitalize interest in the Apple Watch. The timing would be perfect to coincide with the purported iOS 19 redesign.

Pebble gladly tells you who its watch is not for.

Eric Migicovsky at the end of his blogpost introducing two new PebbleOS watches:

You shouldn’t get one if…

You need a perfectly polished smartwatch. This project is a labour of love rather than a startup trying to sell millions of watches. There may be some rough edges (literally). Things will get delayed. Some features will not be ready at launch. Things could break. Things could not last as long as you’d like. The only thing we can guarantee is that it will be awesome and a lot of fun! Every time you look down at your watch, you will smile 🙂

You’re looking for a fitness or sports watch. That’s not what we’re making. From what we hear, Garmin watches are great for runners/cyclists/triathletes!

You’re comparing this to an Apple Watch. There is NO way for a 3rd party smartwatch to compete with Apple Watch. Apple restricts 3rd parties in major ways - read my blog post for more information. For example, 3rd party watches on iOS cannot send replies to notifications.

These watches are not made for everyone. We want to be upfront with you about what to expect.

I appreciate his honesty here, especially when he says you can’t compare this to an Apple Watch. He makes Apple seem like the bad guy in this, but the truth is, can you fault Apple, with its hard stance on privacy, for not supporting the Pebble Watch, when one of its five key features is being hackable?

John Gruber said it best when he described Pebble like the Playdate:

If their goal is to be to smartwatches what Playdate is to handheld gaming, that’s definitely achievable, and if they succeed, will by definition be a lot of fun.

The whole tech world needs more projects that aren’t trying to become billion- (let alone trillion‑) dollar ideas, but are happily shooting for success as million-dollar ideas (or less!).

Will Apple release a Jet Black Series 11 Apple Watch?

Jet Black Series 10 hiding in the shadows.

When Apple announced the Series 10 in Jet Black, it caught me by surprise, and I knew it was going to be the color I chose. 

Apple only had one Jet Black device before, and that was the iPhone 7. Why they discontinued it is anybody’s guess, but it could have something to do with it scratching too easily, which Apple acknowledged in a footnote (taken from The Verge):

The high-gloss finish of the jet black iPhone 7 is achieved through a precision nine-step anodization and polishing process. Its surface is equally as hard as other anodized Apple products; however, its high shine may show fine micro-abrasions with use. If you are concerned about this, we suggest you use one of the many cases available to protect your iPhone.

This problem doesn’t exist with the Series 10, and it may have something to do with a newer 30-step anodization process vs the old nine-step process:

For the first time, Apple Watch comes in an eye-catching Jet Black aluminum. The case is polished until it’s extremely reflective. It then goes through a 30-step anodization process to create a deep, glossy black that’s truly striking. The result is a timeless, sophisticated look.

I’ve had my Jet Black for around 6 months now, and after giving it a thorough wipe down, I cannot see any micro abrasions at all, or any other unexplainable scratches beyond my one critical drop. My watch isn’t perfect, but it seems like Apple has improved their anodizing and polishing process within the 8 years since the iPhone 7.

Besides Jet Black, the iPhone 7 came in a regular Black variant, giving people a choice between matte and glossy black. With the Series 10, Apple doubled down on Jet Black and didn’t release another black variant. They must be confident in this new Jet Black color, and it gives me confidence that the Jet Black might stick around beyond the Series 10.