Thoughts on the Siri Watch Face in 2021
The Siri Watch Face came out with the Apple Watch Series 3 and since then it has not received any significant updates. Its still once of my favorite watch faces when I have a lot going on. I really like the timeline of my day, but I think that that it could use some refreshing at this point. The watch face is a little buggy at this point and apps that I would like to use it simply are not reliable, such as Fantastical and Goodtasks. I like that the Siri Watch face does support scrolling via the digital crown, but it feels like a legacy feature and not long for this world. I think that the whole idea that Siri is your digital assistant and here are a few things I think Apple could do to bring the concept of this watch face forward.
Siri-powered Complication Stacks
One of the watch faces that I keep thinking with, but cannot quite get right is the Infograph Modular watch face. I think that Apple should make application stacks for the large complication. I think with the Infograph Modular and the Modular Compact watch face would benefit from this. Being able to stack up complications and allow them to rotate throughout the day would be useful and allow you to get that glanceable information that is so useful with the Siri Watch face, while allow people to customize the view of the watch-face a little more and have their favorite complications below the middle complication.
Apple Assistant Screen
One feature I do like about WearOS is that Google Assistant is always one swipe away from the main watch face. I think that having the Apple Assistant page to the left of the watch face would be another useful option. Let people turn it off if they want, but perhaps have this as the successor to the Siri Watch Face in the sense that you have 3x large complications with glanceable information, including:
*Weather
* News
* Upcoming Events
* Upcoming Tasks
* Travel recommendations
* Stocks
* Move Ring
* Bedtime
* Homekit Recommendations
* Apple Fitness+ workout recommendations
* Apple Music recommendations
* Apple Podcast listening recommendations
* Important emails to reply to from VIPs
* Birthdays from Contact
* Third party sources
I think the Apple Assistant scene would help revitalize the idea of the Apple Watch as a digital assistant through your day. Right now the Apple Watch really excels at fitness to a lesser degree getting notifications on your wrist, but instead of having to rely so much on complications around a watch face or notifications, let the assistant make recommendations for you throughout your day. That way people could have the benefits of having their main watch face, but the information dense assistant be just one swipe away.
Apple Assistant: Evolving Siri
I think that Apple should revive the idea that the Apple Watch is your digital assistant on your wrist. It’s time to let go of the Siri band and let years of investment flourish into the Apple Assistant. Let the wake word simply be whatever the user wants. Maybe have “ Hey Assistant” be the wake work. You would not need to gender the robot, but rather continue the trend that Apple introduced iOS 14.5 by just giving the assistant voices a number and language. I think the Apple Watch should become your most personal digital assistant just like its become your health buddy, helping you through the day to move more, rest more, be mindful, drink more water, and eat healthier. The Watch is my most constant companion throughout the day, only leaving my wrist to charge in the mornings and in the evenings. It should be able to read my mood and pull information from my calendar, location, notifications, email, move rings, sleep intake, and food intake to have a pretty good picture of what is going on in my life. If my heart ate is going a million miles an hour during a work day, why not recommend that I use the breathe app or go for a walk? If I only got 4 hours of sleep when I normally get 6 or 7, why not recommend I go to bed early? If I’m at home, why not put email notifications into a do not disturb mode, but allow personal contacts to still rise to the top of my notifications? I think the Apple Watch should evolve from just a health assistant to a full-on life couch idea. The Apple Watch is literally on my body and with me all the time, often working for me when I’m even sleeping. I think that Apple could take it to the next level of being truly critical to a lot of people’s days by doing this.
