Apple Watch tipped to reinvent widgets with watchOS 10 — here's what we know

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It won’t be like Glances

Apple Watch optimized battery charging
(Image credit: Future)

Widgets are apparently making a big comeback with Apple's watchOS 10. 

Last month, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman revealed that watchOS 10 would include “notable changes to the user interface.” At the time, he didn’t elaborate on what this meant, but in the latest edition of his ‘Power On’ newsletter, Gurman has explained exactly what we can expect: watch widgets are coming back.

Now, Gurman says Apple has decided that apps aren’t really working and widgets need to return — though not by resurrecting Glances. Instead, the new system will apparently be a combination of Glances and the widgets system introduced to the iPhone with iOS 14. 

“The plan is to let users scroll through a series of different widgets — for activity tracking, weather, stock tickers, calendar appointments and more — rather than having them launch apps,” Gurman writes.

The Siri watch face

(Image credit: Apple)

How will that look? Apparently like an amalgamation of other Apple UI implementations. It won’t be a million miles away from the Siri watch face that arrived with watchOS 4 (pictured above), and it will apparently allow for the stacking of widgets like in iOS, where a user can simply scroll through a pile of widgets to see them one by one.

This new interface may require a rethink of what the watch’s buttons do. At the moment, pressing the Digital Crown brings up the home screen, but Gurman says that it may have to open up widgets instead.

A big change for Apple Watch users 

This return to widgets is a tacit recognition that apps don’t really work on such a small screen, Gurman says, highlighting the fact that the watch App Store gets less than 1% of the 101 million users who visit the iOS App Store each month in Europe. On watches, people don’t want apps, he argues, instead requiring “as much information as possible with the least amount of poking around.”

That may very well be true, but it’s still a big change, and that may be a culture shock to people who’ve been using the current Apple Watch UI for years without complaint. With that in mind, Gurman says that he “wouldn’t be surprised if the company considers making the new interface optional, at least at first.”

Gurman closed by reiterating that he’s not expecting big hardware changes to the Apple Watch this year — “understandable” given 2022 saw the introduction of a new Apple Watch Ultra alongside the Apple Watch 8 and improved SE.

In other words, watchOS 10 will likely be the biggest change for Apple Watch enthusiasts this year. You should get your first glimpse at what it looks like at WWDC 2023, which kicks off next month on June 5.

Alan Martin
Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. He also handles all the Wordle coverage on Tom's Guide and has been playing the addictive NYT game for the last several years in an effort to keep his streak forever intact.