There is no setting in watchOS 27 that brings back the old app switcher. Double-clicking the Digital Crown now does exactly what a single click does, and Apple hasn’t said whether that changes in a future update. If you relied on that gesture daily, here’s what still works instead.
None of these fully replace a one-motion switch between two apps. They cover the same underlying needs: closing a stuck app, jumping back to something you used recently, and reaching a specific app fast.
Force Quitting a Stuck App Still Works the Same Way
The old app switcher let you swipe left on a recent app and tap the X to close it. That path is gone, but the standard force-quit gesture on Apple Watch hasn’t changed in watchOS 27.
- Open the app that’s frozen or misbehaving
- Press and hold the side button until the power screen appears
- Press and hold the Digital Crown
- Release once the app fades out and you’re back at the watch face
The Dynamic App Grid Usually Surfaces Your Last App Anyway
A single click of the Digital Crown opens a grid with five suggested apps, a Siri icon, and a shortcut to your full app list. In practice, whatever you used most recently tends to show up in that first row, so a single click often gets you back to it without needing the old double-click shortcut at all.
Siri Can Reopen an App Faster Than Navigating Menus
Raising your wrist and saying “open Workout” or naming any other app gets you there in one step, without touching the Digital Crown at all. This works well for apps you jump to constantly during a routine, like switching from Music to Workout mid-run.
Ultra Owners Can Assign the Action Button to a Specific App
Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Ultra 3 owners have a button non-Ultra models don’t get. Assigning the Action button to a frequently used app through the Watch app on iPhone gives you a hardware shortcut the double-click gesture used to provide, though it only covers one app at a time.
| Need | What to Use in watchOS 27 |
|---|---|
| Close a frozen app | Side button hold, then Digital Crown hold |
| Return to your last app | Single click, check the suggested row |
| Jump to a named app instantly | Ask Siri by name |
| One-button access to a favorite app | Action button (Ultra models only) |
None of these restore the exact swipe-to-quit workflow from watchOS 26, and Apple has given no timeline for whether that returns in watchOS 27.1 or a later update.
