PSA: watchOS 27 Removes This Useful Feature From Your Apple Watch

Key Points:

• Apple released watchOS 27 on September 14, introducing the Audio Intelligence feature Live Rewind for the upcoming Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 models, allowing users to replay the last 15 seconds of spoken audio by double-clicking the Digital Crown.
• The double-click action previously used in watchOS 26 to switch between apps or the watch face and the last used app is now reserved for Live Rewind, causing Series 12 and Ultra 4 owners to lose the multitasking shortcut.
• Older Apple Watch models updating to watchOS 27 also lose the double-click app-switching functionality, with the Digital Crown double-click now only opening the dynamic app grid, despite these models not supporting Live Rewind.
• This change raises privacy concerns and usability issues, as users who do not want to use Live Rewind have no option to retain the previous double-click app-switching behavior, with no current workaround or settings to customize the action.
• Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 pre-orders are open now ahead of the official launch on September 18, while users are encouraged to provide feedback to Apple for potential adjustments in future watchOS updates.