You can set the 3rd argument of $watch
to true
:
$scope.$watch('data', function (newVal, oldVal) { /*...*/ }, true);
See https://docs.angularjs.org/api/ng/type/$rootScope.Scope#$watch
Since Angular 1.1.x you can also use $watchCollection to watch shallow watch (just the “first level” of) the collection.
$scope.$watchCollection('data', function (newVal, oldVal) { /*...*/ });
See https://docs.angularjs.org/api/ng/type/$rootScope.Scope#$watchCollection