9to5Mac - Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at 8:51 AM
watchOS 4: How to customize and use the new Siri face on Apple Watch
 
watchOS 4 introduces a new Siri watch face on Apple Watch that intelligently
updates to show you relevant content throughout the day. The Siri watch face
pulls data from 14 different sources by default, but customizing these
sources can help remove information from the timeline that you don't need
and make the watch face more useful.
 
The Siri watch face includes a digital clock with a flashing second
indicator (but no option for seconds), two customizable complications
including a new Siri complication, and two dynamic tiles of information.
These tiles will update depending on time of day, date, current events,
activity progress, and more.
Like other watch faces, swiping down from the top reveals Notification
Center and swiping up from the bottom opens Control Center. Spin the Digital
Crown on Siri face, however, and the timeline becomes a vertical carousel of
information.
Rotating the Digital Crown downward shows Recent and All-Day tiles like
temperature highs and lows and Now Playing cards. The tap minimizes to the
top right corner with a light background indicating that it's a button you
can tap to return to the main view. You can also click the Digital Crown to
leave the timeline and go back to the starting point.
Rotating the Digital Crown upward shows you tiles for Up Next and Tomorrow.
Siri face previews the first Up Next tiles by default, and scrolling here
reveals more. Rolling the Digital Crown lets you move around the timeline
too.
 
While these tiles change dynamically, Siri face features two complications
that you set. My default, the new Siri complication is located in the top
left (this is the only face with this complication) and the date is located
above the digital clock.
Tapping the Siri complication invokes the voice assistant just like holding
the Digital Crown or saying 'Hey Siri' when the display is on. It's a
visually satisfying complication, but you may get more use out of Siri face
if you put something else here since you can invoke Siri with voice or a
click.
 
Press the Siri face firmly, then select Customize to choose between
Activity, Alarm, Battery, Breathe, Calendar, Date, Find My Friends, Heart
Rate, Home, Mail, Maps, Messages, Moon Phase, Music, News, Phone, Reminders,
Remote, Siri, Stocks, Stopwatch, Sunrise/Sunset, Timer, Weather, Weather
Conditions, Workout, World Clock, and third-party complications.
The top right complication is a bit smaller and can be set to Alarm,
Battery, Calendar, Date, Heart Rate, News, Stocks, Stopwatch,
Sunrise/Sunset, Timer, Weather, World Clock, and third-party complications.
 
After you personalize the two complications, consider customizing which data
sources Siri face uses. You can't do this from the Apple Watch, however, so
you'll need your iPhone. Open the Watch app on your iPhone, look for the
Siri face in the My Faces section (or add it from the Face Gallery tab at
the bottom), then tap the Siri face to reveal customization options.
>From here you can set both complications just like on the Apple Watch, and a
Data Sources list lets you toggle apps that appear on Siri face on and off.
watchOS 4.0 includes 14 data sources: Alarms, Breathe, Calendar, Home, News,
Now Playing, Photos, Reminders, Stocks, Stopwatch, Timer, Wallet, Weather,
and Workout.
You can't use third-party apps as data sources (yet), but you can disable
data sources that aren't useful for you and declutter the Siri face
timeline. For example, I toggle off Photos, News, and Stocks to avoid seeing
poorly chosen snapshots, the latest Trump headline, and stock market changes
on my Siri face.
This cleans up the experience for me and only surfaces useful tiles like
HomeKit scene triggers, exercise recommendations, and upcoming Wallet
passes.
My 'Good morning' scene is displayed when I wake up, and the 'Good night'
scene is shown in the evening. Tapping these launches the Home app and shows
the specific scene in the list, then tapping the scene activates it (which
turns my lights off, locks the front door, etc.).
 
Siri face is a great exercise coach, too, as it will recommend the exact
amount of walking you should do to complete your Move goal at the end of the
day. Siri face also shows the Now Playing card for music and podcasts played
on the iPhone (or music on the watch), upcoming alarms and reminders appear
in the timeline as well as calendar events, and Wallet passes are surfaced
to the top when needed just like the lock screen on the iPhone.
You'll also see currently active Timers appear dynamically, sunrise and
sunset times, and Breathe app reminders.
I wish there was a version with analog watch hands (and second hands on the
digital clock) and third-party apps as data sources would be appreciated. It
also feels unnecessary to open Notification Center to view a missed alert
when the Siri face timeline could optionally display alerts as well, but
perhaps future updates will bring these changes.
Siri face is a neat way to change how your Apple Watch works and how you
interact with apps without changing watchOS for everyone. I don't use it
24/7, but I have kept it in my watch face lineup since I started testing it
with watchOS 4 beta earlier this year.
Siri face is available on all Apple Watches running watchOS 4 or later.
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Original Article at:
https://9to5mac.com/2017/09/26/how-to-use-customize-siri-watch-face/


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