Products · Product
Apple Watch
Raised as a usability problem by 183 people on Hacker News over 15 years (2012–2026), in 150 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
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Every issue, all time, most people first
Touchscreen hard to use with sweaty hands while runningUnreviewed
20122026- Touchscreen is hard to use with sweaty hands and distracts from running2025-01-21
- Touch screen is terrible to use with wet, dirty or clumsy fingers2023-01-30
- Buttons are hard to tap and the screen accidentally triggers unwanted actions, stopping timers2021-05-29
Replying to a message takes twice as long as on phone, scrolling lagsUnreviewed
20122026- Texting on the watch is a terrible experience for the child2024-10-31
- Replying to a message on the watch takes about 10 seconds with confirmations and laggy voice typing2024-02-04
- Long messages get truncated on the watch, forcing users to read them on their phone2022-09-02
Podcasts only sync while watch is chargingUnreviewed
20122026- Podcast app on the watch has a poorly designed, hard-to-use interface2024-08-27
- Podcasts only sync while the watch is charging, so it is hard to listen to them2022-02-03
- Watch podcast downloads are very slow unless iPhone Bluetooth is disabled2021-08-09
Can't control music without looking at the watchUnreviewed
20122026- Watch speaker is too tiny, so users must lean in and strain to hear calls2026-01-23
- Controlling music on Apple Watch is clunky and requires staring at the screen2025-01-28
- Default watch apps lack note dictation to Siri, leaving them lacking2023-02-22
Turning off notifications is needlessly hard on the watchUnreviewed
20122026- Commenter found the watch notifications hard to put up with, so they turned them off2025-12-22
- Watch lacks third-party calling and messaging apps, forcing workarounds to get notifications2024-12-19
- Notifications are incredibly distracting, so the watch was left unworn2023-03-26
App startup and UI so slow it's quicker to use the phoneUnreviewed
20122026- Apps take seconds to respond and unclear whether button presses register2018-05-09
- UI was slow to respond, with noticeable delay before actions2017-01-10
- UI is hard to use while moving, apps are slow and often fail2016-06-09
Can't tell from the watch's look which models are always listeningUnreviewed
20122026- Can't tell from the watch's look which models are always listening2026-09-09
- Commenter can't tell which button does which on the watch2026-02-06
- Confusing versioning makes it hard to know which watch model is which2016-12-07
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Changed button behavior breaks muscle memory for opening the app switcher2026-10-20
- Temperature shows hours-old data instead of updating, with no indication it is stale2026-10-15
- Complication shows stale or wrong temperature, then corrects after a delay2026-10-15
- New workout app is laggy to interact with, a regression from earlier versions2026-09-14
- Can't tell from the watch's look which models are always listening2026-09-09
- Constant upgrade nags and unwanted notifications that must be edited or removed one by one2026-09-09
- Step count needs multiple menus and swipes and takes seconds to appear2026-09-09
- Gestures and button long-presses fire accidentally during everyday movement, like gardening or clothing contact2026-08-13
- Can't disable reaction notifications from iMessage, making notifications distracting and stressful2026-08-13
- Connecting to AirPods is a pain, unintuitive, and sometimes fails2026-08-13
- Sweaty sleeve triggers lap count, and the action can't be reassigned to another button2026-08-07
- Auto-pause and end-workout prompts trigger during slow steep climbs, interrupting hikes2026-08-06
- Watch fills with distractions that must be manually turned off2026-07-24
- Brushing the screen triggers random actions unintentionally2026-07-17
- Schooltime can't be scheduled per day, is easy to forget to re-enable, and is trivially bypassed2026-06-09
- Phone and watch wake or trigger random actions when in pocket or with gloves2026-03-31
- Repeated consent and PIN prompts interrupt basic tasks, even when hands are busy2026-03-05
- Commenter can't tell which button does which on the watch2026-02-06
- Watch speaker is too tiny, so users must lean in and strain to hear calls2026-01-23
- Can't connect AirPods to watch for music; watch insists on controlling phone Music app2026-01-23
- Passcode keypad fails to register key presses, forcing repeated button mashing2026-01-05
- Press-and-hold gesture feels slow and inconsistently slow to trigger2026-01-03
- Commenter found the watch notifications hard to put up with, so they turned them off2025-12-22
- Smart Stack keeps popping up and buzzing despite disabling every setting to stop it2025-12-14
- Watch unlock is slow and inconsistent, often slower than typing the password2025-12-04
- Viewing and using the sports data is completely terrible2025-11-27
- UI freezes regularly when picking an exercise in training mode2025-11-23
- Navigation animations are sluggish after an OS update and stayed that way2025-11-13
- Too complicated to use; never pleased with the interface2025-09-16
- Switching to time-only power mode requires turning the watch off and on, which boots very slowly2025-09-10
- Notification only offers 'remind me later', not a way to stop reminders2025-09-09
- Clock digits overlap faces in photo backgrounds, cannot be repositioned2025-09-07
- Hexagonal app grid is one of the worst interfaces to use2025-08-16
- Hexagonal app grid is unusable, so users switch to the list view2025-08-16
- Screen too small for fingertip; interface tries to do too much2025-05-14
- Watch logs impossible hikes and misses falls despite having all the data it needs2025-03-29
- Author still fumbles around with basic functions like turning on the torch2025-02-07
- Doing things on the watch is too small and takes too long2025-02-07
- Must click multiple buttons and wait to see blood sugar reading2025-01-30
- Controlling music on Apple Watch is clunky and requires staring at the screen2025-01-28
- Touchscreen is hard to use with sweaty hands and distracts from running2025-01-21
- Early Watch apps were slow and relied on projections from the phone2025-01-17
- Watch lacks third-party calling and messaging apps, forcing workarounds to get notifications2024-12-19
- Typing on the watch is hard because swipe-to-type is unavailable, and workarounds were blocked2024-12-19
- Texting on the watch is a terrible experience for the child2024-10-31
- Notifications sometimes can't be dragged down and display becomes unresponsive for a while2024-09-10
- Taking the watch off and placing it on a charger every night feels burdensome2024-09-10
- On-screen buttons are too small, often reject touches, and respond slowly2024-09-10
- Watch is hard to see while cycling and its controls aren't tactile2024-09-09
- Podcast app on the watch has a poorly designed, hard-to-use interface2024-08-27