Not even a hint of a rumor about custom dials?

[mcdj]

For a device that doesn't really do a whole heck of a lot, and one which could probably use a puff of wind in its sails around the holidays, I can't believe that this far into the game we're still not hearing even the faintest chatter about custom watch faces/dials.

If there ever was a layup, it's a custom dial store, with 99 cent bespoke dials, and free branded dials from various companies/entertainers/etc.

Not to mention apps that ARE the dial...weather app dials with live wallpapers that animate the current conditions, scrollable to different locations. Game dials like slot machines, black jack. Tamagotchi dials.

The possibilities are endless, and yet Apple seems perfectly complacent in this area.

 

[AndrewR23]

This is apple. They didn't bring copy/paste until a year later with iPhones lol.

 

[convergent]

Yep, I'm kind of disappointed in that one myself. I guess its like the first iPhone that didn't have an App Store or something. Even if they weren't going to create a store, you'd think they would have at least developed a few extra ones by now or come up with some additional configuration. With all the hoopla about the Mickey Mouse Dial, you'd think they would of added additional animated ones.

 

[jasie02]

I am disappointed also. By this time, Apple should create a new product does not feel like 1st gen, even though it is 1st gen, and should function 100 times better than all other smart watch competition with half of price, blow away all competition and not only capture all 100% smart watch market, but also capture more than 99% of traditional watch market. Did I mention all should be done with half cost of competitions?
Very disappointed, Apple, you got to do it better, faster, and cheaper!

 

[Chundles]

Dialses?? They sound like nasty hobbitses yes they do Precious.

 

[maflynn]

I'm rather disappointed in the offerings of custom watch faces (which I'm assuming that's what the OP meant)

 

[Newtons Apple]

Seems few are paying attention to getting new faces and decent apps for the AW.

 

[gppittjk]

I think there are a couple of things going on here that are holding custom watch faces back. The watch|HERMES points to a business plan of getting other brands to market the watch as part of their luxury offerings. This necessitates restrictions on faces - think of the number of counterfeit HERMES faces that would be available by now otherwise. Given that the custom face is the only typically visible difference between the watch|HERMES and the standard watch, it would need to be protected for that partnership to continue. Apple's business plans moving forward will dictate how they will handle this - was watch|HERMES a one-time trial or part of a larger brand partnership strategy? Time will tell.

The second part is the watch's third-party refresh rate. Devs have pointed out that their complications can only refresh every half-hour or so. In the case of the weather face above, the weather conditions on the face would be outdated by as much as a half hour, making them much less useful than the user would like. I honestly don't think Apple will fix this in the Gen 1 watch. I think we're looking at wOS3 at the very least, and likely watch Gen 2 or 3.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

It should be obvious they're deliberately disallowing third-party watch faces to drive the sales of special editions like Hermes (and I'm sure more to come).

 

[convergent]

It should be obvious they're deliberately disallowing third-party watch faces to drive the sales of special editions like Hermes (and I'm sure more to come).

Well if that were the case, they are failing miserably since they have only mustered one special edition in so many months, and that one is priced at a point where unit sales will be less than a nat hitting the windshield of a bullet train impact on Apple's business.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Well if that were the case, they are failing miserably since they have only mustered one special edition in so many months, and that one is priced at a point where unit sales will be less than a nat hitting the windshield of a bullet train impact on Apple's business.

Not necessarily. They likely want the majority of sales to be Apple's own products, and the vast majority of customers are content with whatever Apple has to offer. It's the diehards here who would like more variety in terms of watch faces. Any "special editions" are likely to be priced higher than the base models.

 

[handsome pete]

Not necessarily. They likely want the majority of sales to be Apple's own products, and the vast majority of customers are content with whatever Apple has to offer. It's the diehards here who would like more variety in terms of watch faces. Any "special editions" are likely to be priced higher than the base models.

They may be content, as in not complaining, but I'd imagine if specifically asked then most would agree the current offerings are lackluster. I do imagine there is a lot of licensing/trademark issues with getting other faces out there or even completely opening it up to the public. However I don't think they're going to strictly limit it to the special edition models (Hermes) since that seems like a pretty poor business model. I'd think opening up a watch face store where customers can buy multiple different faces would be better in the long run than just depending on a smaller customer base buying a more expensive watch.

The current crop of watch faces isn't bad, but I also would have expected more options by now. The additions with watch OS2 are a joke. Sweet, I can now use a custom picture as a watch face. I only have to give up the rest of the functionality of the screen to do so.

 

[Armen]

For a device that doesn't really do a whole heck of a lot, and one which could probably use a puff of wind in its sails around the holidays, I can't believe that this far into the game we're still not hearing even the faintest chatter about custom watch faces/dials.

If there ever was a layup, it's a custom dial store, with 99 cent bespoke dials, and free branded dials from various companies/entertainers/etc.

Not to mention apps that ARE the dial...weather app dials with live wallpapers that animate the current conditions, scrollable to different locations. Game dials like slot machines, black jack. Tamagotchi dials.

The possibilities are endless, and yet Apple seems perfectly complacent in this area.

Blame The ex-Adobe Lynch guy who is in charge of the watch. Dude must have no imagination at all. I submitted so many ideas through the Apple watch feedback page such as:

- Music watch face: Displays album art of what is playing, has back/forward pause complications.

- Better Photo watch face: choose a custom picture for a watch face, apple adds the complications and dials as a 2nd layer on top of your picture. Hell, they can even do a circular stencil that your photo fits into kind of like how the stop watch facee has a main circular center you can change the colors for.

 

[kdarling]

It's Apple. They dribble out big updates so they have something to brag about each year.

Plus they'll probably claim the old model "can't support" the new custom watchface feature, to force the user to buy the latest version.

A post like this would normally have a "", but unfortunately it's way too true to life.

 

[douglasf13]

I really don't see Apple handling this any differently than OSX or iOS, where we have the option of using our own pics, but Apple controls most of the overall layout setup and designs.

On a more positive note, as I see more and more smartwatches in the wild, I am noticing something that I think Apple got right, in terms of design. When I see other smartwatches on the wrist designed to look like analog watches, they look odd with the bright little OLED display always on, yet they also look odd with the display turned off, because the case isn't designed with a blank, black screen in mind. With the screen on or off, no one is going to confuse a watch like that for an actual mechanical watch.

I think the strength of the Apple Watch design is that, rather than attempting to mimic an analog watch design, it looks nice in its own right with the display turned off, which is what the Watch looks like most of the time.

With that in mind, I rarely even bother with the analog style watch faces anymore. No one really sees it, anyways, except for maybe a few seconds at a time, and the modular watch face in red is nice and subdued, IMO.

 

[BarracksSi]

With that in mind, I rarely even bother with the analog style watch faces anymore. No one really sees it, anyways, except for maybe a few seconds at a time, and the modular watch face in red is nice and subdued, IMO.

Your preference (I agree with your post, btw) for the modular face is the opposite of my preference for the analog faces. Taken together, we illustrate how Apple was able to satisfy a range of tastes by keeping the body of the watch simple and clean.

(I also understand that "simple" doesn't mean "easy", especially when it comes to Ive and his crew)

I would not mind a custom face similar to, say, my Seiko diver, with a unique marker at 12:00 and different shapes for the hour and minute hands.

But, opening this door may cause conflicts with Apple's design language, too, and result in a sloppy appearance. We already can see how jarring some users' photos can be when they're used as backgrounds, and that's without any other complications. I can't even say if a dive watch-style dial will look "correct".

So much of the visual identity of other watches depends on their dials, too. But, they can't change dials on the fly, either -- you have to use a different watch.

I guess this leaves us at the choice between Apple's style and individualist style. I've seen some of the custom dials available elsewhere for Android and Pebble, and frankly, I think most of them are ugly, or illegible, or both. I don't know if I could come up with any that are better than Apple's, either. Somewhere, there's got to be a gallery of user-created dial concepts for the AW that don't suck.

Edit: here's a slap-together idea of how my Seiko's dial would look, for better or worse, on my AW [second edit for better OLED-like color]:

 

[douglasf13]

Your preference (I agree with your post, btw) for the modular face is the opposite of my preference for the analog faces. Taken together, we illustrate how Apple was able to satisfy a range of tastes by keeping the body of the watch simple and clean.

(I also understand that "simple" doesn't mean "easy", especially when it comes to Ive and his crew)

I would not mind a custom face similar to, say, my Seiko diver, with a unique marker at 12:00 and different shapes for the hour and minute hands.

But, opening this door may cause conflicts with Apple's design language, too, and result in a sloppy appearance. We already can see how jarring some users' photos can be when they're used as backgrounds, and that's without any other complications. I can't even say if a dive watch-style dial will look "correct".

So much of the visual identity of other watches depends on their dials, too. But, they can't change dials on the fly, either -- you have to use a different watch.

I guess this leaves us at the choice between Apple's style and individualist style. I've seen some of the custom dials available elsewhere for Android and Pebble, and frankly, I think most of them are ugly, or illegible, or both. I don't know if I could come up with any that are better than Apple's, either. Somewhere, there's got to be a gallery of user-created dial concepts for the AW that don't suck.

Edit: here's a slap-together idea of how my Seiko's dial would look, for better or worse, on my AW:
View attachment 603916

Yeah, I do like design of the analog faces, particularly the chrono face. I just use the modular face (with the center info section blank,) because I can make it mostly red, so it's rather subdued and doesn't light up like a flashlight when it turns on. I've attempted to find the most subdued watch face combination that I can still easily read, because, whether the screen is always on, like Android Wear, or constantly turning off and on with our Apple Watch, the bright watch faces are distracting in the wild, to me. With the red modular face, you'd have to really be looking to notice it turning off and on in most lighting conditions.

 

[OneMike]

Watch definitely needs more faces.