Apple has reinstated the App Switcher in the second watchOS 27.2 beta, albeit with a big change.
That reversal follows weeks of criticism after watchOS 27 removed the App Switcher entirely, reassigning its familiar double-press Digital Crown gesture to Apple’s upcoming Live Rewind feature instead, a change that left long-time users without a quick way to jump between apps.
In watchOS 26 and earlier, a double press of the Digital Crown opened the App Switcher, letting wearers jump to the last-used app or swipe left on a misbehaving one to force it closed.
Apple has now restored that functionality in watchOS 27.2 beta 2, released yesterday, though reaching it requires pressing and holding the bottom of the screen while inside an app rather than pressing the crown.
The Digital Crown has served multiple purposes across watchOS generations, from scrolling and zooming to launching Siri, and its latest reassignment to Live Rewind reflects Apple’s push toward proactive AI features on the wrist.
For those that missed the initial announcement earlier in September, Live Rewind is essentially a feature that transcribes the last 15 seconds of audio picked up by the watch, a capability Apple positions as useful for catching missed conversation.
Live Rewind is due to arrive in beta form later this year on the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4, limiting the feature, and by extension the new Digital Crown behaviour, to Apple’s newest hardware.
Apple Watch owners enrolled in the beta programme can install watchOS 27.2 beta 2 now, though the software is not expected to reach general release for several more weeks as testing continues.
watchOS 27.2 remains in beta testing, meaning the restored App Switcher and its new hold gesture could still change before Apple issues a public release to all supported Apple Watch models.
The post watchOS 27.2 beta brings back the App Switcher with a new launch gesture appeared first on Trusted Reviews.