Key Takeaways
- To alter the Motion button’s linked app/perform, maintain the button down, then use your finger or the digital crown.
- This could work with any Apple Watch Extremely up to date to watchOS 11 or later.
- You are still restricted to the identical set of choices present in watchOS 10.
Whereas Apple did not make any {hardware} updates to the Apple Watch Ultra this yr apart from a brand new colour, it did a minimum of introduce various software program options alongside watchOS 11, reminiscent of sleep apnea detection and a long-overdue Coaching Load metric. In actual fact, as is surprisingly frequent for Apple, a few of these options went unannounced — together with a brand new means of configuring the Extremely’s Motion button.
Beforehand, the one means of fixing the Motion button’s linked perform was to enter the watchOS Settings app. I will reveal the brand new technique beneath, in addition to its ongoing limitations.
Learn how to configure the Extremely’s Motion button in watchOS 11
Change it up instantly for quicker controls
To alter what the Motion button does, all you need to do is maintain it down and scroll by a listing of onscreen actions utilizing your finger or the Extremely’s digital crown. This works with each the unique Extremely and the Ultra 2. You may take a look at a video of the function on Threads if you wish to see it simulated.
There’s nonetheless a restricted variety of apps and features you possibly can set off. These embody:
- Exercise
- Stopwatch
- Waypoint
- Backtrack
- Dive
- Flashlight
- Shortcut
Observe that the final choice requires creating an automation within the official Shortcuts app in your iPhone. It is extraordinarily highly effective — you could possibly, as an illustration, begin shuffling music and navigate house on the similar time — however the Shortcuts interface takes some getting used to, and you will have to particularly flag a shortcut as seen in your Extremely. As soon as you’ve got accomplished one, faucet its Extra (triple-dot) icon, then Data (i). Choose Present on Apple Watch Extremely.
In your Extremely, you’ll have to decide on which shortcut it will default to. To try this:
- Open the watchOS Settings app.
- Go to Motion Button > Motion, then faucet Shortcut.
- For those who do not see shortcuts you’ve got flagged, faucet the Again button, faucet Shortcut once more, then choose a shortcut.
Why cannot I make the Motion button do something I need?
Ready for change instantly from the higher-ups
Solely Apple or third-party builders can say for certain, however we do know that, like all Apple cellular platforms, watchOS 11 is comparatively locked down. There’s most likely no common means of linking particular instructions inside particular apps, which implies Apple has to do the coding itself.
The Shortcuts app is Apple’s reply to the issue.
The corporate may additionally be making an attempt to maintain the Apple Watch expertise simple. Having a flood of instructions to select from would possibly overwhelm some customers, main them to disregard the button totally. The choices watchOS 11 does have are more likely to be a few of the most used, or a minimum of aimed in direction of the Extremely’s (nominal) viewers of athletes, hikers, and divers.
The Shortcuts app is Apple’s reply to the issue, a minimum of for the second. I would not be stunned although if watchOS 12 opened up the Motion button a little bit bit extra, or a minimum of added just a few extra suitable apps.
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