On an Apple Watch, the watch face is your main way to interact with the device. Along with the most important task—telling the time—it lets you view other data and even jump directly to apps using complications.
And just like on iOS devices, you have many ways to customize the watch’s home screen. While some focus on providing as much data as possible, Apple also includes several options with great visuals.
We’re highlighting some of the best Apple Watch faces that can help your device stand out.
How to Change Your Apple Watch Face
There are two different ways to add or change an Apple Watch face—on the watch itself or using the companion Watch app on your iPhone. On the iPhone’s Watch app, head to the Face Gallery section. Using an Apple Watch, long-press the screen and use the Digital Crown to scroll to the New section with a Plus.
Make sure to take a look at our complete look on how to customize your Apple Watch with watch faces for further instructions.
Cool Apple Watch Faces
For a slick look, these cool Apple Watch faces tell the time in style.
1. California
The California Dial—made up of half Roman and half Arabic numerals—has been a staple of high-end watches for decades. You can bring that elegance to an Apple Watch with the aptly named California face.
It lets you customize the numbers on the dial for the regular California style or other options, such as all Roman. There are a number of different colors to select from as well.
The full-screen face option on the Series 4 and later features two complication spots. There are four complication spots in the smaller circular face.
2. Timelapse
Another jaw-dropping face, Timelapse features a number of beautiful locations around the world. These include New York, Hong Kong, London, Paris, Shanghai, and Mack Lake in California.
Using the namesake photography technique, the landscape or cityscape will dynamically change depending on the time of day at your location. So even if you’ve never actually been to the locations, you can experience a bit of their beauty on your Apple Watch face.
The two complication slots are nicely situated and don’t distract from the face at all.
3. GMT
GMT is another fun face borrowed from classic analog watches. This face shows the difference between local and Greenwich Mean Time by using two different dials. The inner face shows the local time, while the outer dial is a 24-hour dial to track a second time zone.
To make the most of the face, tap its center to select a curated city from the list. You can also add a specific city from the World Clock list. The two-toned color scheme shows day and night, along with sunrise and sunset, in the selected city. There are a huge number of color choices to select from, with many matching the hues of Apple Watch bands.
There are four complication spots on the outside corners to further customize the face.
4. Astronomy
One of the original Apple Watch faces is sporting a great refresh. With Astronomy, you can select to see a view of the moon, Earth, or Solar System. Depending on what you choose, turning the Digital Crown will show the passage of time. For example, on the Solar System, you can see the alignment of the planets in the past and future. There are three different time fonts to select from.
You can place a complication on the top and bottom of the screen.
5. Portraits
The Portraits face is a different way to customize your Apple Watch with the moments that matter the most to you. On the companion Watch app on your iPhone, you can select up to 24 Portrait photos taken by your iPhone. Portrait photos highlight the subject with a blurred background. The photo will change each time you raise your wrist.
You can further customize the face with one of three fonts or a background or duotone image style. There is a complication spot for the top and bottom of the face.
Cute Apple Watch Faces
Looking for something adorable? These cute Apple Watch faces fit the bill.
6. Memoji
The Memoji face takes the fun characters from your iPhone and brings them to the Apple Watch. You can choose from the standard cast of characters Animoji—everything from a unicorn to a giraffe—or any of the Memoji you’ve created. You can choose a custom background color.
There is a top and bottom spot for complications.
7. Stripes
With just a quick glance, you probably wouldn’t think much of the Stripes face. But surprisingly, it is one of the most customizable choices available.
To start, you can pick the number of stripes: anywhere from two to nine. Then you can pick a color for each stripe. For a final twist, you can even select the angle of the stripes.
A full-screen version for the Series 4 and later doesn’t offer any complications. But there is a smaller, circular version for all models with four outer complications.
8. Mickey Mouse
Any fan of Disney is sure to love the Mickey Mouse watch face. You can select from the iconic Mickey Mouse or Minnie Mouse as the centerpiece of the face, and even have the option to customize the look of their clothes with many color options.
There are three complication spots available. And trying touching the famous characters for a fun surprise—they’ll speak the time.
9. Numerals Duo
The Numerals Duo face is sure to turn heads. This face shows the large numbers of the time in a font specifically designed for the Apple Watch.
As a minimalist option, it doesn’t have any complication spots. But there’s a huge number of different color options to choose from, as well as three different styles of numbers.
10. Kaleidoscope
As you could probably guess by the name, Kaleidoscope takes its cues from the children’s toy. Along with the ability to select your own custom photo, there are 16 other images to select from.
The face uses a special algorithm to highlight different elements that change throughout the day. A full-screen version is available only on the Series 4 and later; there are also three alternative styles to select from. Plus, the circular faces have three complication slots to use. There are no complications on the full-screen version.
11. Playtime
A fun and whimsical face made in conjunction with illustrator Joi Fulton, Playtime features a cast of characters in the shape of each number of the current time. Rotate the Digital Crown to change the background. You can also tap on the face to see the characters react. You can choose from a number of different face colors and even disable the background.
There are no complication spots, giving the entire watch face to the unique characters.
Beautiful Apple Watch Faces for the OLED Screen
Make the most of the stunning OLED display on your Apple Watch with these faces.
12. Contour
Only for the Apple Watch Series 7 and later, the Contour face takes inspiration from the passage of time. All of the numbers use a custom font and are designed to fit on the edge of the display. The current hour is highlighted.
You can choose from a regular or rounded style of face and a major color for the numbers. That same color can also fill the dial if you choose. There are two small complication spots in the middle of the screen.
13. Solar
While the Solar face is definitely minimalistic, it’s also another beautiful choice. Taking into account your exact location and time, the face will show the position of the sun relative to the horizon. You can turn the Digital Crown to see the exact time of the sunrise, sunset, dawn, dusk, solar noon, and solar midnight.
The face will change color to represent the color of the sky throughout the day. Plus, there are two complication slots available.
If you find the complications useful, check out our list of the best Apple Watch complications.
14. Lunar
A new option starting for watchOS 9, which is officially arriving this fall, is Lunar. Many of Apple’s most beautiful faces take inspiration from the heavens, and Lunar is no exception.
The striking face depicts the date and time to the phases of the moon. There are three calendars to select from—Chinese, Hebrew, and Islamic. Turn the Digital Crown to advance through each month and see how the lunar calendar compares to the Gregorian calendar.
You can choose to see a digital or analog time. The one small sliver of color you can select is for the second hand on the face. There are four complication slots available on each corner.
15. Solar Dial
Another option that takes inspiration from the sun, the Solar Dial features a 24-hour dial that moves opposite of the sun and shows the day and night. You can turn the Digital Crown to track the path of the sun throughout the day.
Select from an analog or digital clock on the center of the face. There are four spots for complications.
16. Motion
If you’re looking for one of the best Apple Watch faces, it’s hard to go wrong with Motion. There are three different collections to select from: butterflies, flowers, or jellyfish. When you raise your wrist or tap the display to check the time, a different object from each collection will animate on the screen.
Apple has made sure to keep all three collections interesting and unique. There are 25 different species of butterflies and six jellyfish species that move in slow motion. But the flower option is the most impressive; it has nine different flowers that move from bud to bloom. The entire process was captured with thousands of time-lapse images.
Each of the collections has room for up to three complications.
17. Typography
As you probably could tell, the Typography face celebrates different types of bold and unique type that looks great on the Apple Watch screen. To start, you can choose from a dial type with four or 12 numbers. From there, there are three styles to select from, each with its own font—classic, modern, or rounded.
Finally, there are a number of symbol types to choose, from like Roman or Arabic.
When choosing a face with 12 numbers, there is one spot for a date, monogram, stopwatch, digital time, or timer complication.
18. Fire and Water
The Fire and Water face definitely shines on the larger screen of the Apple Watch Series 4 and later. On those devices, the different elements will envelop the entire OLED screen.
Both the fire and water films were shot in a custom model to help them interact with the dial and act like they are truly contained in the watch face. The final result is stunning. You can select to see only one of the elements or a random selection of both.
A circular version of the face is also available for all models. That doesn’t take up the entire screen, but has three complication slots. No complications are available on the full-screen edition.
Show Off With the Best Apple Watch Faces
Thanks to a wide variety of options, the collection of available Apple Watch faces offer a little something for every type of user. While there are many faces that focus on providing as much information as possible, other beautiful choices show off the crisp screen and processing power of the wearable device.
And the device is more than just a beautiful face. If you’re looking to have some fun, there are a number of great games for the small screen of the Apple Watch.
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