Apple Watch Just Got Simpler: Your Favourite Apps Now Show Up First

Apple just released WatchOS 27, and the change people are talking about isn't a flashy new health sensor. It's a redesign of the app screen. Before, your Apple Watch showed every app you'd ever installed as a tiny bubble on one screen. The icons were roughly the size of a nail head, so tapping the right one took real concentration — especially if you have bigger fingers or you're walking or cooking.

Now, pressing the side dial (the little wheel, called the digital crown) brings up your six most-used apps first, big and easy to tap. At the bottom sits one bubble that opens your full list of apps. The writer testing it says she stopped opening that full list almost entirely, because what she actually needed was already right there. You can still switch to the old scrolling list view by swiping to the bottom of the screen. Her takeaway: good design often comes from taking things away, not adding them.

The other big change is Siri. Apple's assistant is now more "agentic" — meaning it can carry out tasks for you rather than just answer questions — plus it's faster and more conversational, and it finally has its own app. A new widget opens your Smart Stack (the rotating pile of helpful info on your watch face) with a gesture, handy for checking steps or identifying a song through Shazam.

Here's the catch: this isn't for everyone. You need an Apple Watch Series 9, 10, 11 or 12, an SE 3, or an Ultra 2, 3 or 4 — and you have to update your iPhone to iOS 27 first. Older watches are left out. Still, it's a reminder that the most useful updates are often the small ones you feel every single day.