watchOS 27 replaces three Find My apps with one, and adds Siri and Readiness apps to Apple WatchwatchOS 27 replaces three Find My apps with one, and adds Siri and Readiness apps to Apple Watch

watchOS 27 adds three apps to the Apple Watch: a single Find My app that replaces three older ones, a Siri app, and on the newest watches a Readiness app.

Apple announced the Find My change at WWDC in June, MacRumors reported at the time, and 9to5Mac set out all three apps on 7 October. The update is out now for supported watches.

One Find My app instead of three

Until watchOS 27, finding things on the watch meant three separate apps: Find Devices, Find Items and Find People. watchOS 27 merges them into one Find My app built around a full-screen map, MacRumors reports. A menu at the top left switches between people, devices and items, and the layout stays the same whichever you choose, according to 9to5Mac. Apple also said in June that the app adds more flexible options for sharing your location and items with others.

A Siri app with your conversation history

The new Siri, which Apple calls Siri AI, gets its own app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision Pro and Apple Watch. On the watch, the Digital Crown still starts Siri, so the app is not needed to ask a question. What it adds, 9to5Mac says, is another place to start a conversation and a way to scroll back through earlier ones, including conversations started on your other devices.

Which Apple Watch gets the Readiness app?

Only the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4. Apple's App Store description, quoted by 9to5Mac, says Readiness looks at recent activity, vital signs and sleep and gives a score and one of four labels: Recover, Pace Yourself, Ready or Go For It. It explains which factors drove the result, offers complications and Smart Stack widgets, and shows more detail in the Fitness app on iPhone.

Our take

The Find My merger is the most useful of the three, and the least visible. Three apps for one job was a design that made sense to the people who built it and to almost nobody looking for lost AirPods on a wrist. One app with a map is what the iPhone already had, and it is overdue on the watch.

It also continues a theme of this year's watchOS: fewer separate places to go. Apple removed the Digital Crown double-click for switching apps and has since brought the App Switcher back under a press and hold in the 27.2 beta, which suggests the simplification is still being worked out.

The Siri app matters more on the watch than it looks. A screen that small is a poor place to read a long answer, and a history you can pick up on the iPhone is the sensible fix. Readiness is the one to judge with care: reviewers found its score slow to appear after several nights of sleep data, so new owners should give it a week before deciding whether to trust it. APPDOOK's view is that none of the three is a reason to buy a watch, but the Find My app alone is a reason to update one.