In watchOS 26 and earlier versions, a double press of the Digital Crown would bring up the App Switcher, where you could easily switch to the last-used app and view and open other recently used apps. That's no longer the case in watchOS 27.2, available now.
The Digital Crown double-press gesture has been reserved for Apple's upcoming Live Rewind AI feature (expected to arrive on Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 later this year) so it no longer brings up the App Switcher screen. Fortunately, this doesn't mean the App Switcher is no longer available – only that the gesture for opening it has changed.
If you have watchOS 27.2 installed on your Apple Watch, you can access the App Switcher by pressing and holding the bottom of the screen while you're in an app. From there, you can cycle through your recently used apps and quickly open them. You can also swipe left on a misbehaving app and tap the X to force quit it.
