Vratislav Holub Alongside the new iPhone 14 series, we saw the presentation of three new Apple Watches. In particular, Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch SE 2 were revealed to the world. However, what managed to capture a lot of attention was the Apple Watch Ultra model – a brand new Apple watch aimed at the most demanding Apple watchers who regularly go to adrenaline sports. After all, this is precisely why watches have solid durability, better battery life, better systems and a number of other benefits.
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Adam Kos At the same time, the new Apple Watch Ultra received minor news at first glance. We are talking about the so-called customizable action button. Practically, this is just another button that can be used for easier control of the watch as such. Although this is a small thing, the opposite is true - the possibilities of the customizable button go a little further. In this article, we will therefore shed light on its possibilities and what it can actually be used for.
Customizable action button and how to use it
The mentioned button is located on the left side of the display, directly between the speaker and the alarm siren. The button is shaped like a pill and has an orange color to distinguish it from the body itself. Basically, the button can be used very quickly to activate the aforementioned alarm siren and thus in cases where the apple picker gets into trouble. Pressing and holding it will activate the 86dB siren, which can be heard up to a distance of 180 meters. Her job is to attract help in case of emergency. But it does not end there. The options of the button can be taken a few levels further and you can directly choose what it should actually be used for.
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As the name of the new element suggests, the button is completely customizable and can be used for a number of operations. Users can set it during the first launch of their new Apple Watch, or modify it later through Settings, where there is a list of supported applications. As Apple directly states, the button can be configured, for example, to start backtracking – a function that uses GPS data and creates paths so that you can return to the original point if necessary. However, the button can take on, among other things, so-called system functions and serve, for example, to turn on the flashlight, mark a point within the compass, turn on the stopwatch, and others. At the same time, when the action button is pressed in combination with the side button, the current function is suspended on the watch.
Assignment of abbreviations
The customizable action button can take advantage of the new App Intents API that Apple introduced during the WWDC 2022 developer conference in June. Thanks to this, it can also be used to activate pre-made shortcuts, which brings with it a huge potential in terms of control. Coincidentally, shortcuts can also be used to control a smart home.
By assigning one more shortcut, we can get more outputs. This is because the shortcut can be based on, for example, the current location or the current time/date, which allows the action button to perform different functions within a single day. As mentioned above, the support for shortcuts brings huge potential. That is why it will be interesting to see how apple growers approach this option and what they actually come up with. We definitely have interesting things ahead of us in this regard.
More options when pressed again
Depending on which app or function the action button will control, users of the new Apple Watch Ultra will also have the opportunity to access some other functions. In this case, it will be enough to press the button several times in a row, which can unlock additional options and move the simplicity of control several levels forward. Apple itself imagines the use to be relatively simple – apple users will use the action button many times in cases where they don't even look at the display itself. With that in mind, the re-squeeze option makes sense. A great example can be seen when watching a triathlon (activity). The first press turns on triathlon tracking, with each subsequent press the tracked activities can change.
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