18 Most Popular Apple Watch Faces

Like iOS devices, you can change the home screen of your Apple Watch in a variety of ways. Here are some of the most impressive watch faces on your Apple Watch.

How to change the watch face on Apple Watch

There are two ways to add or change the wallpaper on your Apple Watch. You can do it directly on the device or using the Watch app on your iPhone. In the Watch app, go to Face Gallery. If you're using your Apple Watch, press firmly on the screen, turn the Digital Crown to New, and a plus sign (+) will appear.

For detailed instructions, see: How to change Apple Watch wallpaper

Stunning Apple Watch Faces

1. California

The California Dial, which mixes Roman and Latin numerals, has always been the classiest-looking watch face on the Apple Watch.

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The California lets you set the numerals to the usual Cali style, or all Roman numerals. The watch face also comes in a variety of color options.

The full-screen watch face option on Series 4 and 5 will have two slots for other features.

2. Timelapse

Another beautiful watch face, Timelapse is a digital watch with beautiful locations around the world. The watch face will feature images of New York, Hong Kong, London, Paris, Shanghai, and Mack Lake in California.

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Named after a photography technique, the scenery on this watch face changes based on the time of the location you're in. So even if you've never been to the place on the watch face, you can still experience it a little bit from your Apple Watch.

The two feature slots will be placed where they won't interfere with your watch viewing experience.

3. Astronomy

You can reach for the stars with the Astronomy watch face. There are three options: 3D versions of the Earth, the moon, and the solar system.

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With the Earth wallpaper, you'll see the planet's actual rotation. The watch face will tell you exactly where you are with a green dot. With the moon, it will show exactly what phase it is in. Finally, the solar system will show the relationship between the planets.

Turn the Digital Crown on each watch face for a different view. The Earth face shows the exact time it takes to orbit the sun, the moon shows the day of each phase, and finally the solar system lets you see where the planets are in the past or future.

4. Mickey Mouse

If you're a Disney fan, you'll love the Mickey Mouse watch face. You can choose Mickey or Minnie as the center of the wallpaper, set up different expressions or clothes with a variety of options.

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5. Numerals Duo

Numerals Duo is a watch face that displays the time in large numbers, in a font designed specifically for the Apple Watch. This minimalist option doesn't leave much room for extra features. However, you can customize the appearance of the numbers in three ways and in a variety of colors.

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6. Kaleidoscope

As the name suggests, Kaleidoscope is inspired by a kaleidoscope. You get 16 different images to choose from as your watch face. Kaleidoscope uses a special algorithm to highlight different details and it changes throughout the day.

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7. Solar

The Solar watch face is also designed in a minimalist style. Based on your time and location, the watch face will display the position of the sun on a horizon. You can turn the Digital Crown to get the exact time of sunrise, sunset, etc.

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8. Solar Dial

Another sun-inspired option, the Solar Dial features a 24-hour display that represents day and night. You can turn the Digital Crown to track the sun's movements throughout the day. There are two options: a digital clock and an analog clock that sits in the center of the display.

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9. Motion

If you're looking for one of the best Apple Watch faces, you can't go wrong with Motion. There are three different collections of this watch face to choose from: butterflies, flowers, or jellyfish. When you raise your arm or tap the watch face to check the time, the objects on it move.

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10. Fire and Water

The Fire and Water watch face is sure to shine on larger Apple Watches like the Series 4 and Series 5. Both fire and water move, making them look like they're actually on a watch. You can choose one or the other, or you can choose two elements randomly.

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11. GMT

GMT is another fun watch face inspired by classic analog watches. This face displays the difference between local time and Greenwich Mean Time using two different dials. The inner dial shows the local time, while the outer dial is a 24-hour dial to track a second time zone.

To get the most out of this watch face, tap the center of the watch face to select a city from the list. You can also add a specific city from the World Clock list. The two-tone color scheme shows day and night, along with sunrise and sunset, for the selected city. There are a variety of color options to choose from, many of which match the color of your Apple Watch band.

There are 4 complications (additional functions beyond the basic function of displaying the time as usual) on the outer corners to further customize the watch face.

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12. Portraits

The Portraits watch face is another way to customize your Apple Watch with the moments that matter most to you. In the companion Watch app on iPhone, you can choose up to 24 portrait photos taken by your iPhone. Portrait photos highlight your subject with a blurred background. The photos change each time you raise your wrist.

You can further customize the watch face with one of three fonts or background styles or duotone images. There is a complication for the top and bottom of the watch face.

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13. Memoji

Memoji watch faces take fun characters from your iPhone and bring them to your Apple Watch. You can choose from the standard cast of Animoji characters—everything from unicorns to giraffes—or any Memoji you've created. You can choose a custom background color.

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14. Stripes

At first glance, you probably wouldn't think much of the Stripes watch face. But surprisingly, it's one of the most customizable options out there.

To start, you can choose the number of stripes: anything from 2 to 9. Then you can choose a color for each stripe. For a final twist, you can even choose the angle of the stripes.

The full-screen version for Series 4 and above doesn't offer any complications. But there's a smaller, circular version for all models with four complications on the outside.

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15. Playtime

A fun watch face created with illustrator Joi Fulton, Playtime features a cast of characters shaped like each of the current numbers. Turn the Digital Crown to change the background. You can also tap the watch face to see how the characters change. You can choose from a few different watch face colors and even disable the background.

There are no complications. This gives the entire dial unique character.

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16. Contour

Available only for Apple Watch Series 7 and later, the Contour face is inspired by the passage of time. All numbers use a custom font and are designed to fit the edge of the display. The current time is highlighted.

You can choose a round or regular dial and a dominant color for the numbers. The same color can also fill the dial if you choose. There are two small complications in the middle of the display.

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17. Lunar

A new option starting with watchOS 9, which officially arrives this fall, is Lunar. Many of Apple's best watch faces are inspired by the heavens, and Lunar is no exception.

This striking watch face features the date and time for the phases of the moon. There are three calendars to choose from – Chinese, Hebrew, and Islamic. Turn the Digital Crown to advance through the months and see how the lunar calendar compares to the Gregorian calendar.

You can choose to see the time digitally or analog. A small color you can choose is for the seconds hand on the dial. There are 4 complications available on each corner.

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18. Typography

As you may know, the Typography face celebrates different bold and unique typography styles that look great on the Apple Watch display. To start, you can choose from a 4- or 12-digit face. From there, there are 3 styles to choose from, each with its own font – classic, modern, or rounded.

Finally, there are several types of symbols to choose from, such as Roman or Arabic.

When choosing a 12-digit face, there is a complication for the date, monogram, chronograph, digital time or timer.

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Thanks to the wide range of options, the collection of available Apple Watch faces offers something for everyone. While many focus on providing as much information as possible, other beautiful options showcase the wearable's sharp display and processing power.

And it doesn't stop at just changing to a pretty watch face. If you're looking for some entertainment, there are some great games for the Apple Watch's small screen.

David Pac

Update 30 October 2024