Apple Explains Why Third-Party Watch Faces Still Aren't Supported on watchOS 10

A common request from Apple Watch users over the years has been the ability to use third-party watch faces, but watchOS 10 still does not support this. In an interview with Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger published today, Apple's VP of Technology Kevin Lynch and product marketing employee Deidre Caldbeck explained why.

Apple Watch Faces watchOS 10 Feature Iridescent
The interview was spotted earlier by 9to5Mac's Benjamin Mayo, and the quotes below are machine translated from German.

Lynch said Apple puts a "huge amount of effort" into every watch face to ensure they work "uniformly and simply," and said Apple needs to plan ahead to make sure watch faces continue to work "if we want to change something or add new possibilities."

Caldbeck added that developers are able to create complications for their watchOS apps, which adds a layer of customization to watch faces by allowing for glanceable information to be displayed, such as a CARROT Weather forecast. Starting with watchOS 10, the new Smart Stack widgets feature offers space for up to three complications.

That's everything Apple had to say about the lack of third-party watch faces in the interview, which touches on several other watchOS 10 details.

watchOS 10 will be released later this year for the Apple Watch Series 4 and newer, and is currently available in beta for users with a free Apple developer account. A public beta is coming in July for users who do not wish to use the developer beta.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch Series 9
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

Top Rated Comments

DMG35 Avatar
14 weeks ago
Weak. They should allow them, period. It's not like they change the overall shape of the watch, ever. The watch faces from series 0 all work for God's sake on the Series 8 so I don't see how compatibility is an issue. Apple just wants control over the faces like they do everything else. That's fine, but spare me the BS of uniformity.
Score: 57 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
14 weeks ago
It should be allowed. We pay a premium price for Apple Watch. I would love something like this.

Apple Watch face concept — Planning view

- Showing how your upcoming 12 hours are arranged
- Current 'timeblock' is highlighted
- Icons are linked to your different calendars, so you can see how much time you spend on different projects


Credit: Twitter- Fons Mans

Attachment Image
Score: 56 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannyyankou Avatar
14 weeks ago
I don’t understand. Any third party watch faces would use watchOS’s APIs anyway, so if they break in a future software update, that’s on Apple, not the developer. Stop making excuses.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macsplusmacs Avatar
14 weeks ago
All I have to say is way back at Apple Watch 1 or 2, my friend bought an Android watch.

Never have I ever seen SUCH UGLINESS as I did when he took me to the Android watch face store.

Horrific.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrGimper Avatar
14 weeks ago
Ok, then maybe have more than 2 watch faces that adults would use then. Thanks.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jz0309 Avatar
14 weeks ago
so in other words - 3rd party watch faces will never come to watchOS, which is actually fine with me.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Mock Header With Dynamic Island

Skipping the iPhone 15 Pro? Here's What's Rumored for iPhone 16 Pro

Friday September 22, 2023 9:29 am PDT by
Are you skipping the iPhone 15 Pro and waiting another year to upgrade? If so, we already have some iPhone 16 Pro rumors for you. Below, we recap new features rumored for the iPhone 16 Pro models so far:Larger displays: The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be equipped with larger 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays, respectively, according to Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain...
Apple WWDC23 macOS Sonoma hero

macOS Sonoma Launching This Week With These New Features

Sunday September 24, 2023 12:45 pm PDT by
Apple previously announced that macOS Sonoma will be released this Tuesday, September 26. The free software update includes many new features and changes for the Mac, including the five that we have highlighted below. In addition to these five features, we have shared the full release notes for macOS Sonoma below for a complete overview of everything new. Desktop Widgets macOS Sonoma...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 double tap gesture 230912

watchOS 10.1 to Enable Apple Watch's New 'Double Tap' Gesture

Thursday September 21, 2023 12:52 pm PDT by
The new Double Tap gesture for the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 will be enabled starting with watchOS 10.1, according to Marques Brownlee, host of the popular tech-focused YouTube channel MKBHD. The first beta of watchOS 10.1 will likely be available by next week, and Apple announced that the software update will be released next month. Brownlee shared his impressions...