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Watch face, visual vs. functional

S

Skylitfly

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 3, 2014
583
215
Just a simple question for you folks.

Do you prefer to use watch face that has purely just visual appeal for your tastes vs. functional with complications set just for your usage preferences?

I do realize that there is possibility for compromise, but just wanted to hear your thoughts. Answer with text, photos, screenshots etc. or how ever you like to.
 
I prefer the Modular watch face because of the amount of customization that you can do with it, I like as many complications available as possible plus I prefer a digital as opposed to an analog watch face.
 
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ladytonya said:
I prefer the Modular watch face because of the amount of customization that you can do with it, I like as many complications available as possible plus I prefer a digital as opposed to an analog watch face.
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Good answer. I also like the modular watch face functionality wise, but it doesn't please me aesthetically.
 
Visual. I do actually really like the modular face but the faces I prefer are the ones with just the time on them. No complications. Looks great on the Space Black. Even better on a dark night when you look down at your wrist and see the watch hands emerge from the abyss ;)
 
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I prefer a combination of both. That's why I have the Simple face with 5 complications. More elegant faces like the ones found on Hermes but with complications would be even nicer.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
The Modular face isn't that aesthetically pleasing, ...
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It sure looks more pleasant than a G-Shock's LCD, though (plus, it's easier to read, too).

I'll ask the OP this, then: Does a watch face really need fancy decoration to be "stylish"?
 
Both! You can change watch faces in a matter of seconds :cool:

I switch watch faces depending on my needs. If I'm at work I am more likely to use a high-information face with multiple complications like Modular, Utility, Simple or Color. I usually go with Modular because I attend a lot of meetings and it's nice to have Fantastical showing me when and where my next meeting is in the large complication. In Utility the complication is a single line, so it truncates my meeting info.

At home, or a day at the office when I don't have many meetings, I tend to use a less busy watch face. Maybe even a fun one like Motion, Photo Album or Astronomy. I like the visual of Solar as well. If I'm outdoors in bright sun, I might switch to X-LARGE because it's easy to read.

I used to have a preference for the analog faces, but after some time I decided that Modular is my most useful watch face at the office. I think it looks quite nice, and I like to alternate between various solid colors as well as the multi-color on occasion. I still like the aesthetic of an analog face. There is something about the circular representation of time... in a glance my brain understand where I am in the hour. Not that my brain can't translate simple numbers to how much time I have until the next thing... but there is something about a classic clock-face (even as a digital representation). But sometimes you need information, and Modular excels at providing it. Everything is nice, big and easy to read on Modular, and you can see more detail in that big complication. It's a nicely balanced layout as well. I think Modular is quite elegant, but all of the face options are in their own way.

Sean
 
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BarracksSi said:
It sure looks more pleasant than a G-Shock's LCD, though (plus, it's easier to read, too).

I'll ask the OP this, then: Does a watch face really need fancy decoration to be "stylish"?
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No, not at all. If you read my post again you'll realize that I said there can be a compromise. What I asked is which is your personal number one priority when choosing a watch face.

PS. This is highly subjective matter and there is no right or wrong. Just your personal opinion.
 
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I want all of my watch faces to be beautiful (which is why I rarely/never use the modular face --- haha), but when I need absolutely no useful information in a given day, I absolutely love using the motion and astronomy faces. Those faces are just gorgeous, but it's a rare day when I don't want to see my calendar or the weather at a glance.
 
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My personal favorites. I switch between them a lot. Maybe too much actually. :D

meduusa.jpg moon.jpg chrono.jpg simple.jpg
 
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Qqueenie said:
I want all of my watch faces to be beautiful (which is why I rarely/never use the modular face --- haha), but when I need absolutely no useful information in a given day, I absolutely love using the motion and astronomy faces. Those faces are just gorgeous, but it's a rare day when I don't want to see my calendar or the weather at a glance.
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The Motion face is absolutely gorgeous but you can get absolutely no useful information on it! I wish they would add complications to that face, until then I keep using Modular because that's where I can get the most useful info. I don't hate the Modular face though because at least the activity circles are colorful!
 
Skylitfly said:
Just a simple question for you folks.

Do you prefer to use watch face that has purely just visual appeal for your tastes vs. functional with complications set just for your usage preferences?

I do realize that there is possibility for compromise, but just wanted to hear your thoughts. Answer with text, photos, screenshots etc. or how ever you like to.
Click to expand...

Depends on the day. The only one face showing calendar events large and clear is the digital one so I use that when it's a busy day. If it's a formal event, meal or holiday, I change that to one that is more visual and appealing. At most switching between 2-3 though.
 
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Non-owner here: Is there a way to have the watch automatically switch between certain preferred watch faces based on a schedule? It seems like many people would like to have a high-information face during working hours and a stylish, low-information face at other times. Possible?
 
bluespark said:
Non-owner here: Is there a way to have the watch automatically switch between certain preferred watch faces based on a schedule? It seems like many people would like to have a high-information face during working hours and a stylish, low-information face at other times. Possible?
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No, but it only takes a second to switch your watch face.
 
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I wonder if Apple gets anonymous usage data to tell which faces people are using? Because I've seen quite a few Apple Watches out and about lately and I only see them using the modular face. I use it exclusively as well.

Who woulda thought people would want to use complications? It's only one of the only reasons to own a smartwatch.
 
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I prefer the visual aesthetics of an analogue watch face, but I also prefer a digital watch face for ease of readout. As a result I now have the Simple watch fave with a small digital readout complication on top of it :p

I really want to like modular but I can't. I just don't like the design. I don't like that you can't put the time in the center, for example. Being able to add a wallpaper would be awesome as well.

I hope we will see some more face designs in watch os 3.
 
I use the modular on my Sport at work but Simple showing just hands and the date at the three o'clock position on my Space Black when out.
 
I tend to switch between Utility, Modular and Motion, though Utility definitely gets the most use. Just enough information to be really useful yet still looks quite nice.
 
Speaking of switching watch faces: Does anyone know how to re-order the watch faces? It would be nice to move my most frequently used faces to the beginning of the list. I suppose one way is to delete all the faces and add them again in the order of preference. That's kind of a pain though, because you have to set your customizations and complications up again.
 
sean000 said:
Speaking of switching watch faces: Does anyone know how to re-order the watch faces? It would be nice to move my most frequently used faces to the beginning of the list. I suppose one way is to delete all the faces and add them again in the order of preference. That's kind of a pain though, because you have to set your customizations and complications up again.
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That's currently the only way to re-order them, unfortunately.
 
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