3rd Party Watch Faces

[Kojo.Bee]

Does anybody know if there are plans to allow 3rd part developers to make watch faces for the Apple Watch?

 

[Quu]

There are no plans announced. But I would expect it to come eventually. Maybe with Watch OS 3 or sooner. If they leave it longer than 1 year without having custom faces I think they'll have a full scale revolt on their hands.

 

[iBighouse]

I do wonder why Apple wouldn't allow this. I can see where they might be worried that some watch faces might not promote their image very well, but, at the same time giving people really custom watchfaces suited perfectly for their own personalities would be the best way to acheive a "personal" device.

 

[twisted-pixel]

Initially I thought they might allow this eventually, but then I considered why I use to jailbreak my iphone. It was because I wanted to change the font, the layout of my icons etc. Something which apple would not allow. So I am now of the mind that while there might be the ability to do this, I think the limitations would be strictly controlled by apple.

 

[djransom]

This is supposed to be allowed in Watch OS2 I believe.

 

[Lennyvalentin]

This is supposed to be allowed in Watch OS2 I believe.

It wasn't mentioned in the WatchOS 2 keynote so I don't know from where you got your information, but regardless, it'll undoubtedly happen eventually. iPhone didn't support apps immediately, and iOS apps didn't support widgets for an even longer period of time either.

When Apple Watch has stabilized and matured a bit, market- and feature-wise, and when demand for more watchfaces becomes one of the most desired new features, it'll happen. Might mean a couple years of waiting for us all though...

 

[madsci954]

This is supposed to be allowed in Watch OS2 I believe.

That's only photo watch faces. I think the OP is referring to building your own like on Pebble.

And to answer the OP's question, unknown. Earliest probably the next version of watchOS.