watchOS 11 removes Siri dial from Apple Watch

Apple has decided to remove the Siri dial from the Apple Watch. The move comes as a surprise, given that Apple has never previously removed watch faces from its devices. Some dials were specific to certain hardware, others were recycled, but always remained available. The Siri dial, despite its potential, couldn’t hold its relevance without tweaks.

The Siri dial, despite its potential, couldn’t hold its relevance without tweaks.

With the release of watchOS 10, the Siri dial was already old. It had debuted quite a while ago and hadn’t evolved. Now the new widget system on the Apple Watch makes it obsolete. The Siri dial still has some uniqueness, but it’s not enough to compete with newer solutions.

Siri dial still has some uniqueness, but it’s not enough to compete with newer solutions.

With the release of watchOS 11, the Siri watchface has given way to a smarter Smart Stack. Widgets now appear based on time, location, and other factors. Live Activities, a previously missing feature on Apple Watch, is now integrated into Smart Stack. Smart Stack also includes Shazam widgets for music discovery, distance, workout load, photos, and weather alerts.

Smart Stack also includes Shazam widgets for music discovery, distance, workout load, photos, and weather alerts.

One of the key reasons for the Siri dial’s disappearance was the introduction of a double-tap gesture to call Smart Stack, which never worked on the Siri dial. The new system proved to be effective, while the old system proved to be less popular.

The new system was not as effective as the old one.

watchOS 11 also improves automatic app launch for Live Activities and media playback. Smart Stack now automatically launches when a Live Activity is active or media is playing, eliminating the need to double-tap.

watchOS 11 also improves the automatic launch of apps for Live Activities and media playback.

There is a belief that every data source from the Siri dial should become a widget. That way, the Siri dial could continue to exist as a specialized widget dial. Smart Stack already looks like a redesigned version of the Siri dial.

Smart Stack already looks like a redesigned version of the Siri dial.

This could be implemented in future versions of watchOS, such as watchOS 11 or 12, to avoid the Siri dial being completely abandoned and forgotten. The Siri-dial that served users from 2017 to 2024 has given way to a new approach. Now the countdown to an Apple Intelligence watch face, or at least a version of Apple Watch or watchOS that supports more intelligent features, begins.

The countdown to an Apple Intelligence watch face, or at least a version of Apple Watch or watchOS that supports more intelligent features, begins now.

Users are expressing hope for Siri with ChatGPT on Apple Watch in future updates.