Download a unique watch face to your Apple Watch Series 10 or Ultra 2

When new Apple Watch models launch alongside the latest version of WatchOS, I’m always excited to see what new watch face designs Apple has come up with. Some are artistic, some are reminiscent of classic mechanical watch designs, and others include as much other information as possible. So if the Apple Watch Series 10 And Apple Watch Ultra 2 rolled out with WatchOS 11 – which can be installed on Series 5 and later models – I was disappointed to discover only three new face designs.

But only a little, because there are still alternatives. If you’ve been wanting more variety on the Apple Watch, something that takes advantage of the high-resolution screen that can display almost anything, consider checking out these third-party face replacement apps. You don’t even need to hack or modify the watch.

Read more: Apple Watch X: Everything we know about the release date, rumors, leaks and more

First, we’ll show you how to switch between watch faces on the Apple Watch

Apple’s collection of watch faces includes dozens of designs and variations, from simulated analog watch faces reminiscent of minimalist real-world watches to information-rich displays that pack as much data as possible into a small space. You can have up to 50 faces ready, which can be easily changed by swiping from the left or right edge of the Apple Watch screen. (If that doesn’t work, make sure you’ve updated to at least WatchOS 10.6. The first version, 10.0, removed this handy feature.)

There are two ways to add faces: through the watch itself or your iPhone.

On your watch:

1. Touch and hold the watch face until you see the selection interface. The watch face shrinks to make room for his name, a share button, and an edit button.
2. Swipe left until you see this New screen and tap + Button.
3. Scroll through the options. They are listed alphabetically. So if you know which one you want, quickly scroll using the Digital Crown to jump down the alphabet. Knock Add for the one you want.
4. Change any options of the face, e.g. B. Color and complications (the features embedded in some faces).
5. Press the Digital Crown to finish editing and activate the face.

On your iPhone, do the following:

1. Open the Watch app and tap Face gallery at the bottom.
2. Select and configure the face you want.
3. Tap Add Button.

Thanks to complementary complications, individual faces are possible

In traditional watchmaking a complication is typically an additional mechanism alongside the main clock hands, such as a built-in stopwatch or a smaller clock that you can set to a different time zone for your jet-setting lifestyle.

On Apple Watch, complications are assigned to specific areas and display information such as current weather conditions, activity rings, or your current compass heading. Typically, tapping a complication will open a related app, such as Weather or Calendar.

Third-party developers have taken advantage of this opportunity and created their own complications to run in these areas. In fact, the apps I’m referring to here provide a framework that allows anyone to create their own designs – leading to hundreds of possibilities.

Note that some of the apps’ faces are free to use. However, to access most themes you will need to sign up for a paid subscription.

Change complications with Facer

Facer replaces Apple’s existing faces with its own complications. For example, a licensed Atari design is built on the front of the portrait and uses its own images as the background. Many other faces take advantage of Apple’s modular face and add custom designs and features to the complications.

Under the hood, the Facer app sits on your iPhone and communicates with a companion Apple Watch app that fills in the faces. To add a new face, do the following:

1. Open Facer on iPhone and tap one you want to activate.
2. Tap the blue Add button with an arrow icon on a clock. This will switch to the Watch app.
3. Knock Add to My Faces.

After a few moments, your watch face will activate and the custom complications will load.

Facer also has an app for Android smartwatches. Some of the watch faces, particularly those that mimic high-end watches like MVMT’s official designs, are only available for circular Android models and won’t appear for the Apple Watch.

Take over the entire watch face with Clockology

Just like Facer, the Clockology app includes faces that work with Apple’s existing frameworks. However, some of the faces use a full-screen option that breaks out of this framework with some limitations.

Instead of forcing functionality into existing complications, a full-screen watch face in Clockology takes over the entire watch. But wait, didn’t I just say that this isn’t allowed in WatchOS?

Yes, but nothing stands in the way of clockology app from displaying whatever it wants. To bypass the default clock – a separate clock app with special system privileges – Clockology runs as the front-line app. So you run a separate app on top of the clock app, which also happens to be a clock.

Installing a face in Clockology is similar to Facer’s approach:

1. Open the Clockology app on iPhone and tap the theme you want to add.
2. Make sure the Clockology app is open on the watch.
3. Tap Synchronize button on iPhone.

To stop the regular Watch app from taking over every time you lower your wrist, you need to change an important setting. Go to on Apple Watch or in the Watch app on iPhone Settings > General > Back to Clock and select After 1 hour. This means that the last app you opened remains active. If you don’t look at your watch after an hour or trigger it in any way, the Clock app will appear at the front. To start the timer and keep it visible, open Clockology: Double-press the Digital Crown to view recently used apps and tap Clockology.

Keep these tradeoffs in mind when replacing watch faces

The novelty of using new watch faces doesn’t wear off anytime soon, but you need to be aware of some of the disadvantages that come with using alternative watch faces. In exchange for refreshing the look of the Apple Watch, you forego some features.

For faces that generate custom complications, tapping takes you to the Facer or Clockology app, rather than the underlying data sources like weather or heart rate. This means there are no quick access tools like the Timer app. However, you can replace any complications with ones from other apps once Face is installed.

Most of Clockology’s full-screen faces are not interactive at all. They display information in a variety of ways – such as battery level and step count for the day – but tapping on the face doesn’t reveal any other data. Exceptions are some Clockology faces, which contain a button layer that changes what appears when you tap it. Additionally, the notification indicator (the red dot at the top of the screen) does not appear when a full-screen face is active.

And one minor annoyance: Pressing the Digital Crown usually takes you to the apps list. However, if you’re running the Clockology app, pressing the Digital Crown will take you to the Clock app. Press again to go to apps.

The Apple Watch is a constant companion for millions of people, even in the face of competition from Android smartwatches and devices like smart rings. Whether you discover a use for an old watch or find hidden gems in the App Store, the watch has proven to be more than just a watch – and now you can customize even this important feature in more ways than ever before.