watchOS 11.4 gave your Apple Watch an alarm feature that’s long been missing

watchOS 11.4 launched a couple weeks ago, bringing with it a new alarm feature that offers something new for users who wear their Apple Watch to sleep.

Watch alarms can now play sound and haptics in Silent Mode

watchOS 11.4 isn’t the most feature-packed release, but it does include one long-overdue new feature.

Per the update’s release notes:

An option to allow Sleep Wake Up alarm to break through Silent Mode

What does this mean in practice?

It means you can now have your Apple Watch alarm make noise even if Silent Mode is turned on.

I’ve worn an Apple Watch for a full decade, and in that time I’ve almost exclusively used the device in Silent Mode.

That’s because I don’t want my Watch dinging every time I get an alert. The subtle haptic feedback on my wrist is enough.

But if you use Silent Mode, then before now your Watch could only wake you up using haptic feedback. There was no option for alarms with sound unless you turned Silent Mode off.

In watchOS 11.4 that’s changed thanks to this new feature.

Now, with each alarm you set (including ones tied to your Sleep schedule), there’s a new toggle: Break Through Silent Mode.

Turn it on, and both sound and haptics will play if you wear your Apple Watch to bed.

Leave it off, and you’ll only get haptics—just like before—when Silent Mode is enabled.

I appreciate that this is a per-alarm switch, since it lets you custom tailor certain alarms to pack a greater punch than others.

For me, the haptic-only alarm is exactly what I want since it enables me to wake without disturbing my wife. But I can imagine plenty of users will enjoy having a new, more attention-grabbing wake up call from their Apple Watch.

Is this Apple Watch alarm change a feature you’re glad to have? Let us know in the comments.

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