{"id":781736,"date":"2026-09-25T02:44:28","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T02:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/781736\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T02:44:28","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T02:44:28","slug":"apple-just-killed-one-of-my-favorite-apple-watch-features-with-the-launch-of-watchos-27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/781736\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple just killed one of my favorite Apple Watch features with the launch of watchOS 27"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bad news, Apple Watch power users: the latest watchOS 27<\/a> software release removes the easiest way to quickly and efficiently jump between apps.<\/p>\n

In watchOS 26 and earlier, users could simply double-press the digital crown at any time to jump back into the previous app they were using. This functionality, unofficially called the \u201capp switcher,\u201d is unfortunately no longer available in watchOS 27.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s everything you need to know about the removal of the app switcher function for Apple Watch in watchOS 27.<\/p>\n

Latest Videos FromTom’s Guide<\/p>\n

watchOS 27 removes the app switcher function<\/p>\n

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\"Close-up\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Dan Bracaglia\/Tom’s Guide)<\/p>\n

I just updated my Apple Watch Series 11<\/a> to watchOS 27, a process that took longer than expected (several hours). While I\u2019m largely impressed with the new software \u2014 these are the 7 watchOS 27 features you should try<\/a> first \u2014 it falls short in two regards.<\/p>\n

First, Apple removed the fan-favorite Walkie-Talkie app<\/a> for no apparent reason. Second, and perhaps much more noticeable, double-tapping the digital crown no longer brings you to the last app you used. Instead, it defaults to displaying the new \u201cDynamic App Grid\u201d with your seven most-used apps.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

Oddly, a single click of the digital crown also launches the Dynamic App Grid, which seems redundant\/oddly un-Apple-like. What gives?<\/p>\n

Apple has bigger plans for the digital crown double-tap<\/p>\n

\n

\"Live\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Apple)<\/p>\n

Apple apparently has even bigger plans for the digital crown double-tap. Later this year, several intriguing new \u201cAudio Intelligence<\/a>\u201d features are set to be added to watchOS 27, including \u201cLive Rewind<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s designed to give users an easy and discreet way to relisten to the last 15 seconds of audio captured by their Apple Watch (Series 12<\/a> and Ultra 4<\/a> only) at any moment, and even generate a transcript. For example, if you\u2019re bad with names, like me, Live Rewind could be a truly useful bit of tech. It’s also freaking some users out<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But what does this have to do with the end of the app switcher function? When Live Rewind launches, the digital crown double-tap will default to opening the feature on compatible devices.<\/p>\n

What comes next?<\/p>\n

\n

\"Apple\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Ultimately, it\u2019s possible that if enough folks convey their annoyance with the removal of the app switcher function for Apple Watch, the brand might add it back in future firmware, at least for the devices that don\u2019t support the new Live Rewind feature.<\/p>\n

What are your thoughts on Apple removing the app switcher in watchOS 27? Let me know below.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

\"Google\n<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow Tom’s Guide on Google News<\/a> and add us as a preferred source<\/a> to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Alternatively, you can read our content on the Tom’s Guide app available now for iOS<\/a> and Android<\/a>. <\/p>\n

More from Tom’s Guide<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bad news, Apple Watch power users: the latest watchOS 27 software release removes the easiest way to quickly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":781737,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[786,86,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-781736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-gadgets","tag-technology","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=781736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/781736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/781737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=781736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=781736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=781736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}