Apple Explains Why Third-Party Watch Faces Still Aren't Supported on watchOS 10

[spinedoc77]

But is it a good idea? A lot of those DIY watch faces will result in more battery drain per charge than necessary, really important given the constraints of the battery on a device about the size of the Apple Watch Series 8 of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5.

I don't disagree, you could definitely set parameters like screen brightness as well as always on brightness. But you can also set those parameters in an Apple watch. Sure giving consumers more choice might have some risk, like having them program a blinding white 100% brightness on an OLED screen in always on mode watch face, but I'd sure as heck rather have that freedom than have a company say I can't handle it.

 

[deevey]

This really should be allowed natively without having to use an app.

View attachment 2220406

I sincerely hope thats sarcasm?

 

[deevey]

I shouldn't have to buy a $1200 Hermes to get a more classy watch face.

Hermes would disagree.

 

[MacDaddyPanda]

Hermes would disagree.

I"m not getting what you're saying? I'm not putting Hermes down. I just would like more options other than Hermes, lol. Ofc they'd rather I'd buy theirs. But the look of the Hermes face isn't 100% to my liking aesthetically. But there's nothing wrong with it.

 

[Mr. Awesome]

Exactly. I've had the snoopy watch face for a couple of days, and beside missing a complications, I need at least one for medical reasons, they still need to optimize it a lot. I'd run out of battery by 5pm, when I normally make it to bed without needing to recharge.

Regarding the complication missing, you could always add the complication you need to the Smart Stack in the little 3 complication launcher widget. Just pin that to the top of the stack and you'll have easy access.

 

[gaximus]

Regarding the complication missing, you could always add the complication you need to the Smart Stack in the little 3 complication launcher widget. Just pin that to the top of the stack and you'll have easy access.

I tried, that actually doesn't show a live complication, it only opens the app. I need to be able to see my blood sugar at a glance without having to touch my watch especially when I'm on my motorcycle or MTN biking and need both hands.

 

[Victor Mortimer]

ALL of Apple's watch faces suck. It's just a question of how badly.

There is ONE watch face with digital seconds, and there's no way to get rid of the stupid activity rings on it.

 

[jicon]

Until battery life is improved, I'm presuming this won't happen.

Just look at complications... MAYBE this is improved on something newer than a series 3, but so far as I knew, 3rd party complications could only refresh a limited number of times a day. Apple's apps don't fall by those rules, so people find workarounds... publish the data you want to an iCal calendar every five minutes... but you're really limited as to what watch faces have calendar text.

Those queries for data are expensive, not only for the detail to receive, but screen refresh, and likely added CPU use on the watch.

"The system limits the number of background download tasks you can perform; however, if you have an active complication on the watch face, you can safely schedule four download tasks an hour."

Keeping your complications up to date | Apple Developer Documentation

Replace or extend the data in your complication’s timeline.

developer.apple.com

"WidgetKit’s daily budget for reloading the timeline works differently than ClockKit’s. Your widget-based complication receives up to 75 updates per day, based on how often they’re viewed. If you have a complication on the Apple Watch face, it’s always considered viewed, so your budget tends towards the higher end of that range."

Migrating ClockKit complications to WidgetKit | Apple Developer Documentation

Leverage WidgetKit’s API to create watchOS complications using SwiftUI.

developer.apple.com

 

[MisterSavage]

ALL of Apple's watch faces suck. It's just a question of how badly.

There is ONE watch face with digital seconds, and there's no way to get rid of the stupid activity rings on it.

Yep! If you want a digital time your options are so limited and if you want seconds it's even worse.

 

[jz0309]

ALL of Apple's watch faces suck. It's just a question of how badly.

There is ONE watch face with digital seconds, and there's no way to get rid of the stupid activity rings on it.

All 50 of them? Really???
I’ve done just fine for almost 8 years now…

 

[Night Spring]

ALL of Apple's watch faces suck. It's just a question of how badly.

There is ONE watch face with digital seconds, and there's no way to get rid of the stupid activity rings on it.

Yep! If you want a digital time your options are so limited and if you want seconds it's even worse.

Modular Compact and Nike Compact has the seconds tick off around the digital time. But yeah, that and Activity seem to be the only faces with seconds in digital time.

 

[CarlJ]

Ok, then maybe have more than 2 watch faces that adults would use then. Thanks.

I'm an adult. I've used far more than 2 of Apple's Watch faces. It sounds like you want something staid and "respectable" and consider anything else to be "too much fun".

That said, if they ever came up with WatchFaceKit, there's a number of ideas I'd like to try out - Display clear digital time along with analog time in a variety of non-traditional formats, along with several large complications (or possibly a permanent screen spot for the most currently relevant widget, in the new design, sorta like the Siri face of old).

 

[dukebound85]

sounds a lot like apple explaining why initially no native 3rd party iOS apps

 

[CarlJ]

There is ONE watch face with digital seconds, and there's no way to get rid of the stupid activity rings on it.

I'm using the Modular watch face. With digital hours/minutes in the upper right, and digital seconds in the upper left (complete with a ring of second progressing around it). And it has an Activity complication showing, but only because I want it to show. I also have a California watch face, which has analog time along with a digital hours/minutes/seconds display. Your statement seems pretty inaccurate.

 

[CrownSeven]

Ah yes. The apple sheep once again proving why they are called apple sheep.

MORE CHOICE IS GOOD PEOPLE. GUESS WHAT? If you are fine with the stock faces, great! Use them! Plenty of us would like the CHOICE of making our own. There are ZERO and I repeat ZERO reasons to support LESS CHOICE. Its not a techincal issue, it has nothing to do with battery life. They could do it, but elect not to for reasons (MONEY).

 

[ericwn]

Ah yes. The apple sheep once again proving why they are called apple sheep.

Not sure what name calling would improve on the debate.

 

[superscape]

I appreciate that Apple would want some kind of quality control over what gets made available by third parties. However, surely Apple could review and approve/reject third party faces in much the same way as they do apps for the App Store.

It feels like a problem that Apple could fix very easily if they wanted to.

 

[MisterSavage]

Modular Compact and Nike Compact has the seconds tick off around the digital time. But yeah, that and Activity seem to be the only faces with seconds in digital time.

Thanks! I hadn't looked at that one yet. It's still not what I want (large digital time with seconds in the middle with complications around) but it might be a nice alternative to infograph modular sometimes.

 

[FasterQuieter]

It is a shame that modular is the only one I have ever found useful. Maybe a 3rd party could think of something better.

 

[OlliFlamme]

The answer is a bit of a mixed bag. it is an answer, yes but also no. It's a walk around the subject like politicians do.

The interviewer could have anticipated the closed door, and could have asked for a more in depth explanation, elaborating the statement. Not all watch faces need to be complicated or include complications.

I personally would love to have more colours and shapes for the hands. I'd like a glow phosphor'ish look in the dark, and some other effect for them, like thin metal rather than always white including looks.

Thanks to focus, I can enable adapted versions of the watch face I am using being swapped at a given time of the day / sunset / location or whatnot. That a necessity for less eye strain, but the damn hands always have to include white.

WatchOS 10 swaps the Wayfinder face to red automatically (on Ultra) using brightness detection. That is a long overdue function, and should be elaborated.

 

[MisterSavage]

Thanks! I hadn't looked at that one yet. It's still not what I want (large digital time with seconds in the middle with complications around) but it might be a nice alternative to infograph modular sometimes.

Good news: This is FINALLY going to be a watch face (without seconds).
Bad news: It's for the Ultra, which I won't have. 😐

 

[Unregistered 4U]

The interviewer could have anticipated the closed door, and could have asked for a more in depth explanation, elaborating the statement. Not all watch faces need to be complicated or include complications.

I’m guessing the interviewer wanted to be able to schedule more interviews in the future?

 

[OlliFlamme]

I didn't write that he could have hit him on the face and forced him to answer more profoundly

Well, the job of an interviewer is to engage the target to speak, and the target is in the best of cases is trying to set boundaries. That's in politics, in big business...
The quality of an interviewer is to be able to have a vidvid convo, and to comfort the target to soften his boundaries. If he/she cannot do that, it's okay they voluntarily never interview that same person again. I don't believe he'd be rejected if he was able to have a more enticing conversation instead of being so docile and thankful for just any answer.

 

[jjwwqq]

Apple needs to either allow 3rd party watch faces, or greatly expand the types of watch faces they provide. I want a digital face which displays seconds, but there is only a single face providing this option.

 

[MisterSavage]

Apple needs to either allow 3rd party watch faces, or greatly expand the types of watch faces they provide. I want a digital face which displays seconds, but there is only a single face providing this option.

It's a nightmare for people like us that prefer digital faces.

I want digital time (preferably with seconds) displayed horizontally in the center. Ridiculously standard setup for a regular digital watch.

If we had third party watch faces I'd have an abundance of ways to achieve that.