One thing no one has told you about watchOS 7

The public beta for Apple Watch users who want to try watchOS 7 is about to start: it will arrive this month. As soon as it is live I will explain how you can get it so please check back.

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Meanwhile, there is one more feature that has come to light about how the new software will improve the Apple Watch Series 5.

“Things No One Has Told You …” is my occasional column that touches on tangential, but interesting, details that have been lost or not reported on the news. Sometimes they are innovative, sometimes pieces of trivia that will liven up a conversation at a dinner …

The 5 Series is the latest Apple Watch and the first with an always-on display. Thus, you no longer have to surreptitiously touch the clock to wake up the display when you silently want to see the time in a boring meeting, for example. Just look down and you will see it. You still have to be subtle about it though to avoid getting caught, obviously.

But even though the screen was on all the time, Apple had found a way to make sure this didn’t drain the battery. After about six seconds, the watch face dims a bit, and on some faces the seconds disappear, whether the analog hand moves or fractions of a second are counted in a workout, for example.

Mickey Mouse, for example, stops shaking his body and hitting his feet, for example. However, his white gloves stand out against the largely dark background to ensure the weather is still clearly displayed. On other faces, colors turn pale or fade away entirely.

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To activate the full screen, to make it light and show the second hand again, you must lift your wrist or touch the screen.

However, in this power saving mode, touch reception on the watch is also reduced. It will activate when you touch it, but to really interact with complications, for example, you need to touch the screen again once it’s active.

It’s not a big deal, but it does mean if you want to check the weather, for example, you need to wake up the watch with a tap or a boost and then tap the weather complication to access.

With watchOS 7, the display will always be responsive to taps, even in its semi-sleep state. So you can call your fitness rings, check UV levels, or any of the other things that your chosen complications offer a little faster.

It may not seem like much, but getting rid of weak points, even small ones, is something Apple does well. And, after all, until the always-on display came along, many thought it was an unnecessary upgrade. Touching or lifting the watch was enough to wake up the screen, so what’s the problem? Of course, it is a feature that, once you have tried it, you are unlikely to want to do without it.

This is a much smaller update but worth having.

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