Custom Watch Faces Might Not Be A Thing

[parseckadet]

There's been a bunch of speculation lately, including by John Gruber, that custom watch faces might not ever be a thing. Or at least not something that happens soon. Wondering what everyone thinks of this possibility.

Honestly, I think Apple could get a lot of mileage out of just offering some choices for the hour and minute hands on the analog faces. Excluding the Micky face, there's really one one set of hands. The white hands with rounded ends. Another face uses the same hands but "skeletonized" (i.e. just a white outline with black in the middle). If they just had three or four more options the user could choose from it would take them so much farther.

 

[shandyman]

There's been a bunch of speculation lately, including by John Gruber, that custom watch faces might not ever be a thing. Or at least not something that happens soon. Wondering what everyone thinks of this possibility.

Honestly, I think Apple could get a lot of mileage out of just offering some choices for the hour and minute hands on the analog faces. Excluding the Micky face, there's really one one set of hands. The white hands with rounded ends. Another face uses the same hands but "skeletonized" (i.e. just a white outline with black in the middle). If they just had three or four more options the user could choose from it would take them so much farther.

The same was said about third party apps on the original iPhone. It'll happen at some point.

 

[Pupi]

The same was said about third party apps on the original iPhone. It'll happen at some point.

3rd party apps are also coming to the Apple Watch.

I know what you mean, but I don't think there's an equivalence. If anything, watch faces are like lock screens or app launchers. And those Apple never let 3rd parties do them.

I don't think Apple will let go of full control over such a core part of the experience. But they will add more faces, sure.

 

[Dub1ous]

3rd party apps are also coming to the Apple Watch.

I know what you mean, but I don't think there's an equivalence. If anything, watch faces are like lock screens or app launchers. And those Apple never let 3rd parties do them.

I don't think Apple will let go of full control over such a core part of the experience. But they will add more faces, sure.

We could offer the counter that Apple didn't allow customization of lock screens, period, so the watch is different on that front. It doesn't seem impossible.