I wear my Watch at night and have done so since my Series 0. I’m now on a Series 9, fully updated.

I have an Automation that automatically sets my watch face each night to big red numerals that don’t dazzle at night and can be seen without my glasses on. It also turns on Cinema Mode and Di Not Disturb. That has worked brilliantly for me since the first implementation of Shortcuts for the Watch. Another Automation sets the Watch up at 6 a.m. with my daily-driver face, turns off Do Not Disturb and Cinema mode, etc.

(Prior to the latest WatchOS I’d use Sleep focus instead of Do Not Disturb, but that focus’ behavior and functionality changed, so I’m using Do Not Disturb instead.)

The issue:

Sometimes I wake up thinking of something I need to do the following day. Previously, I could just invoke Siri by pressing the stem and saying “Remind me to…” and get back to sleep.

But with the latest OS I get this “Press and hold” garbage instead. Which can’t read without my glasses…

And until I press-and-hold, the watch face displayed is NOT my big red numerals!

It all forces me to wake up more than before, which I really dislike.

Why why why did Apple do this, and how can I turn this behavior off??