But with the Apple Watch<\/a>, changes that interfere with established routines can prove even more upsetting. People get used to doing things the same way, whether it\u2019s launching a podcast or starting a workout. And since the Apple Watch screen is so small, precision is paramount when you\u2019re tapping on tiny icons.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why when Apple switched to its \u201cfour corners\u201d layout in the Workout app in watchOS 26 last fall, it threw regular users for a loop. Yes, it gave you easy access to various settings. But suddenly, after finding your desired workout \u2014 Outdoor Walk, Open Water Swim, etc. \u2014 simply tapping its big, beautiful icon didn\u2019t begin recording a workout like it did in the old days.<\/p>\n Instead, you needed to tap the round icon with the triangle at the bottom of the Apple Watch screen. (That icon never really made much sense, either, since it\u2019s the universal media control icon<\/a> for \u201cPlay,\u201d not \u201cRecord.\u201d)<\/p>\n \u201cBefore the update to 26, I could hit Workout => Outdoor Walk and it would count down from 3 and start the workout,\u201d wrote one frustrated user on Reddit<\/a> a few months ago. \u201cNow it shows me a screen with an arrow that I have to hit and then it starts the countdown. This seems like an extra step with no purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n Too much tappy tappy<\/p>\n It turns out nobody wants extra steps \u2014 even when launching a workout that\u2019s all about counting their steps.<\/p>\n Anyway, those annoyed by the change didn\u2019t need to put up with it for too long. With watchOS 26.4, Apple changed the Workout app so you can once again press the bigger (and much more recognizable) workout type icon to begin a workout.<\/p>\n \u201cWorkout type icon in the Workout app lets you start a workout with a single tap,\u201d Apple said in the watchOS 26.4 support document<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a great example of Apple listening to users\u2019 complaints and walking back an unwelcome change. (Now do macOS 26 Tahoe\u2019s unhelpful vomit of menu item icons<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Other updates for Apple Watch in watchOS 26.4<\/p>\n That wasn\u2019t the only change in watchOS 26.4, though. It also added eight new emoji<\/a> \u2014 trombone, orca, fight cloud, landslide, ballet dancer, treasure chest, hairy creature (aka Bigfoot) and the clear standout, distorted face \u2014 as well as support for Apple\u2019s new AirPods Max 2 headphones<\/a>.<\/p>\n The update also includes various bug fixes<\/a> and security updates<\/a>.<\/p>\n See also:<\/p>\n Lewis Wallace is the managing editor of Cult of Mac and author of our weekly newsletter, The Weekender<\/a>.<\/p>\n He\u2019s a San Francisco-based writer and editor specializing in technology and culture. He loves his iPhone, hates Siri, and appreciates any hardware that combines form and function.<\/p>\n Prior to Cult of Mac, he juggled words and ideas as culture editor at Wired.com, homepage editor at TechTV, news product manager at NBCi, copy editor at PC World, reporter at The (Hayward) Daily Review and editor in chief of EveryBody\u2019s News in Cincinnati.<\/p>\n He earned a bachelor of general studies degree with a journalism certificate from the University of Cincinnati<\/a>. While in school, he worked as the entertainment editor of The News Record<\/a> and as editor in chief of Clifton Magazine.<\/p>\n He\u2019s also a bass player, who\u2019s recorded and performed around the United States with Those Darn Accordions<\/a>, The Electric Boogie Dawgz<\/a> and The Mad Maggies<\/a>. When not writing, editing or laying down bass lines, he plays darts and serves on the board of the San Francisco Darts League<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When it released watchOS 26.4 on Tuesday, Apple fixed an annoying recent addition to the Workout app. After…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":566735,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[16556,64,63,213,105,78191,278816],"class_list":{"0":"post-566734","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gadgets","8":"tag-apple-watch","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-gadgets","12":"tag-technology","13":"tag-watchos-26","14":"tag-workout-app"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=566734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/566735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=566734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=566734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=566734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/5d7c631dc1cc07e3f1b348cb18fee9bb05855111a22a9f81e4f70397e402669c.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n