Paper Cut: Mirroring between iPhone, Apple Watch

I am really happy with Apple’s decision to allow anyone interested to install the developer betas for each of its OS’s this year. In previous years I would have to wait until early July to get my hands on the first public betas. Getting to play around with new software and features within that software before the public gets their hands on it has brought me great joy since I made the decision to install the public betas for iOS 14. As the current developer beta season for iOS 17, iPadOS 17and watchOS 10 gets closer and closer to public betas being available I have noticed that the mirroring feature between iPhone, Apple Watch, and the Messages app needs some fine tuning.

I actually started to notice this “paper cut” last year, with the release of the first public betas (specifically with the introduction of Focus Filters) and as far back as iOS 15 when we first got Focus Modes. A full year into having access to Focus Filters we should be able to mirror from the iPhone and the Apple Watch in such a way that if a Focus Mode were enabled its Focus Filters would show up across both devices in the same way they do on the iPad. The feature I’m talking about is called “Filtered by Focus” and for whatever reason, it apparently does NOT carry over from the iPhone to the Apple Watch at least when it relates to the Messages app. I have a “Filter by People List” Focus Filter set up for all of my Focus Modes because there are certain times when I only want certain people to have access to me (and that I want to see) when I am in said Focus Modes. That feature works perfectly from iPhone to iPad and I can “break that wall” if I want by clicking the “Turn Off” feature. However, whenever I am in a Focus Mode and check my text messages on my beloved Apple Watch Ultra, it’s as if I have no Focus Mode (or Focus Filters) enabled at all; I see ALL of my text messages.

What’s the deal Apple?

I’ve filed various forms of Feedback for the last 2 years regarding this apparent oversight and received nothing in the form of a response. Maybe I’m missing something. This particular “paper cut” falls perfectly into the “Feature Discoverability” dilemma that others have eloquently written about recently. Maybe there is a way to get this to work that I just have not figured out (or found) yet. It wouldn’t be the first time Apple buried a feature somewhere within their operating systems.

I know I’m a small voice in the vast ocean that is conversation about all things Apple. However, I cannot be the only one suffering from this “paper cut.” And if I’m not the only one why hasn’t Apple done something about it? I could see a scenario, where, in the Messages app on the Apple Watch, just above the pinned contacts you have, which would require an extra swipe, the “Filtered by Focus” and “Turn Off” bar could be placed.

I know there are bigger fish to fry in the grand scheme of things but a fix to something this small would put me over the moon.

Something to think about Apple.