Turning the Apple Watch Upside Down

I've had the 1st generation Apple Watch Ultra since it came out. Since then, I've worn it on my left wrist, in the standard orientation with the Digital Crown on the right. I've been constantly annoyed by the way the Digital Crown is pressed far too easily when I lean.

I didn't realise this, but I lean on my hands all the time. And leaning pushes the back of my hand back against the buttons on my Watch. I spent the best part of three years triggering Siri, taking screenshots accidentally, and even making a couple of accidental emergency calls, because I was holding in the Digital Crown without realising. Either this watch has a weird design or my wrist does, but something isn't right here.

Anyway, I did what I'd resisted for years, and swapped the watch around. I now wear it with the Digital Crown on the left of the screen. I've been doing this for a couple of months, and it works really well. I adapted to the new button layout pretty quickly, even after a decade of wearing Apple Watches. I get no more accidental button presses, even though the Action button is on the right now. Because it doesn't stick out, it doesn't get pressed when I lean.

It looks seriously weird to me. But it works so much better. (Proving again that design is how it works, it's not just about aesthetics!)

If you liked this article, please consider buying me a coffee to support my writing.