Apple has redesigned the Workout app in watchOS 26, but not everyone loves the exercise tracking experience on the new Apple Watch. It turns out Apple is listening, as watchOS 26.4 addresses major complaints about the new design.
watchOS 26.4 improves user experience for workout apps
A common complaint about the Workout app in watchOS 26 is that it feels slow or requires more interaction just to start a workout.
Of course, after a decade of using the Apple Watch Workout app one-sidedly, this redesign is a big change. The current design is also a little less intuitive.
The problem is that what served as a tappable button in the previous design is now just a decoration that ignores taps.
But with watchOS 26.4, Apple is adapting the Workout app’s existing design to work the way users expect.
According to the release notes: Workout type icons in the Workout app allow you to start a workout with a single tap.
Boom, that’s the fix people needed. Workout icon/label completed and Pressing the play button will do the exact same thing and start tracking your workout.
Tapping an icon from the list view still requires the rest of the workout view to load. If you tap the workout icon fast enough while the list is visible, your tap will be ignored.
This is another area where there is room for improvement, but the changes in watchOS 26.4 have significantly improved the user experience from the behavior from watchOS 26.0 to watchOS 26.3.
What went wrong and how did Apple fix it?
Prior to watchOS 26.4, the Workout app displayed a scrollable list of workout type icons and labels.
Naturally, you would expect to be able to tap the workout icon from the list to start. Instead, I had to load the complete workout layout, and tapping the workout type icon in the center did nothing.
The design seems more optimized to avoid accidentally starting a workout. It may also prompt you to tap a button in the four corners before you start your workout, inviting you to pause and observe the new design. These are for adjusting your workout view, goals and targets, media, workout buddies and alerts.
It wasn’t exactly optimized for speed or previously established muscle memory.
Instead, the “play” icon was the only way to start a workout. This already mixes metaphors in a confusing way…you’re not replaying a session, you’re recording a workout.
Anyway, watchOS 26.4 fixes this annoying situation with the simple changes mentioned above.
In my case, after running watchOS 26.0 to watchOS 26.3 since June, I’ve gotten used to the new behavior. Still, we’re glad that Apple is listening to feedback and improving the user experience. The new design still felt slow in the back of my mind. Regarding the placement of the play icon at the bottom center, nothing happened, especially with the center icon, which made me want to scroll up.
In any case, the goal should be to have a good experience on the first run, not to adapt to a system that is not intuitive after enough iterations. Good thing watchOS 26.4 fixed this.
Apple Watch update availability
watchOS 26.4 is now available.
Purchase the new Apple Watch Series 11 to start tracking your exercise and reach your fitness goals.
