So I did the iOS update and Watch OS update. Don’t like the change, who does, with the crown button now.
But here is my issue: I can no longer select/change/pause/play music that is on my iPhone iTunes/Music from my Watch. I used to see what track/song/Artist was playing from the phone to my earbuds. And could select next track, or pause from my Ultra Watch. Seems no more.
Looking up this, Apple says to use Now Playing. Can’t find it on my Watch apps “unless” I search for it. I know my Watch is paired with my phone. But Now Playing doesn’t show any device, and to add one, it just spins there.
Dumb me, exhausted from digging out arborvitaes and replanting them, and other yard work, fiddled with settings like Live and such, and then every so often, a track would skip to next. Then next. Like my wrist action from digging was doing this! I suspect I may have to reset the Watch.
But my frustration is, this should just work, and did. And now no longer. If you can point me to docs or solution, thank you. But google’d it and checked Apple communities, and even reddit had some with same issue but no clear resolve.
Now Playing is a widget in the list that appears when you scroll the crown. Or, at least it does for me.
Yes, Now Playing is both an app on the watch (it has a white circle background with a series of vertical red lines that get smaller in a triangle shape pointing to the right), and when something is playing on your phone, the Smart Stack widget should show up when you scroll the crown up or swipe up from the bottom of a watch face. It should also show in the list of apps when you press the crown once if something is playing on the phone.
I was pretty sure that this was how you managed the music app on the paired iPhone from the watch for a few watchOS versions.
As for the double-press to show the app switcher gesture that is no longer in watchOS 27, it reportedly is coming back with a different gesture in the next update, 27.2. The 27.2 beta has it now - the new gesture is to press and hold the bottom of the screen to reveal it. I prefer the double-press of the crown myself, but obviously Apple is now going to use that gesture for live audio intelligence on Series 12 and Ultra 4 and beyond.
OK. So yes, I know its a widget and an app and I do see the Now Playing on my watch. but it wouldn’t see the iphone.
Until I figured that the Watch was first for playing Music, and scrolled the crown to see the Phone. IF you didn’t scroll, you wouldn’t know you could either play Music on the Watch ( I don’t load my songs on the watch for save of space nor sub to Apple Music any longer) or you can control the song playing on your phone. So thanks, the scrolling down on a certain screen worked.
Now if I tap the crown, then tap Now Playing, I see the Phone’s music track playing and can control the playback… Thanks!