The ins & outs of watch faces

One of the most fun parts of having a smartwatch is the countless watch faces at your fingertips. With so many to choose from, it’s important to know how to find and customize them. To help you explore, we’re breaking down a few watch face essentials.

Think of your watch face as your device’s home screen. While your watch comes with a standard face out of the box, developers from around the world have created a seemingly endless array of faces inspired by everything from sports to art to classic timepieces.

Open up Play on your phone, making sure you’re in the Apps section. Scroll right to the “Categories” tab under the search bar, then tap and select “Watch faces.” There, you can browse different collections of faces, including minimalist, artistic, botanical, and more.

You can also search for watch faces by using terms like “modern” or “zodiac,” then switching from “This device” to your watch right below the search bar and applying the watch faces filter. Refine results by rating, whether they’re premium (paid), and more.

Prefer to browse on your watch? Open Play on your watch and tap the magnifying glass. Then include "watch face" in your query, or tap "Watch Faces" below the search bar. Once you’ve made a selection, download it directly to your watch.

You can store lots of different faces on your watch and easily swap between them. Long pressing on your current watch face will bring you to a collection of your recently used faces (tap the plus sign to access all of your faces). Scroll through your looks, and tap the face you’re in the mood for.

Alternatively, use your watch’s companion phone app, where you can see your downloaded faces and choose which one you’d like to wear.

Many watch faces allow you to customize them. From your watch’s companion app, go to the watch faces section and tap the face you’d like to edit. Depending on the face, you can adjust things like color and numerical design. You can also choose which complications to display, including daily steps, heart rate, date, and more.

To change up your face directly from your watch, long press on the watch face, then tap the settings icon or “customize.” From there, it’s easy to adjust the face to your liking.

Watch faces are more than just a fashion choice. They can be a way to celebrate the season, wear cherished photos, and check in on your personal data. Now that you’ve got the basics down, go ahead and put your best face forward.