watchOS 26 Adds Four New Apple Watch Faces

When Apple previewed watchOS 26 in June at WWDC, the company didn't reveal any new watch faces, but now we know Apple was just holding them back to show off with the new Apple Watch models that it unveiled on Tuesday.

watchos 26 faces
During its "Awe dropping" event, Apple also dropped the release candidate of watchOS 26. As it turns out, there are four new watch faces included in the upcoming update, some of which you may have already seen adorning the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3.

According to Apple's release notes, they are as follows:

  • Exactograph is a modern re-imagination of a traditional regulator watch which separates out hours, minutes, and seconds for more precise timekeeping
  • Flow uses Liquid Glass numerals that refract a fluid orb of color that responds to your wrist movements
  • Waypoint acts as a live compass that shows where you are in relation to saved locations in Maps or points of interest (Available on Apple Watch Ultra)
  • Hermès Faubourg Party features animated shorts that appear based on the time of day or your movements, with a series of characters (Available on Apple Watch Hermès)

These faces are coming to older models too. Waypoint is exclusive to Apple Watch Ultra models, adding to the two existing Ultra faces called Wayfinder and Modular Ultra.

Meanwhile, Hermès Faubourg Party – as the name suggests – is limited to Hermès models.

That leaves Exactograph and Flow, both of which will be available to all Apple Watch models that support watchOS 26. As a reminder, the existing Photos face has also been enhanced by a new design with Liquid Glass, elevating numerals so more of your photos are visible. Apple says the watch faces can be explored more easily thanks to a redesigned watch face gallery, where faces are grouped into collections.

watchOS 26 will roll out to all users on Monday, September 15.

Popular Stories

iphone 17 models

No iPhone 18 Launch This Year, Reports Suggest

Thursday January 1, 2026 8:43 am PST by
Apple is not expected to release a standard iPhone 18 model this year, according to a growing number of reports that suggest the company is planning a significant change to its long-standing annual iPhone launch cycle. Despite the immense success of the iPhone 17 in 2025, the iPhone 18 is not expected to arrive until the spring of 2027, leaving the iPhone 17 in the lineup as the latest...
duolingo ad live activity

Duolingo Used iPhone's Dynamic Island to Display Ads, Violating Apple Design Guidelines

Friday January 2, 2026 1:36 pm PST by
Language learning app Duolingo has apparently been using the iPhone's Live Activity feature to display ads on the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island, which violates Apple's design guidelines. According to multiple reports on Reddit, the Duolingo app has been displaying an ad for a "Super offer," which is Duolingo's paid subscription option. Apple's guidelines for Live Activity state that...
Clicks Communicator Feature

'Clicks Communicator' Unveiled — Will You Carry This With Your iPhone?

Friday January 2, 2026 6:35 am PST by
The company behind the BlackBerry-like Clicks Keyboard accessory for the iPhone today unveiled a new Android 16 smartphone called the Clicks Communicator. The purpose-built device is designed to be used as a second phone alongside your iPhone, with the intended focus being communication over content consumption. It runs a custom Android launcher that offers a curated selection of messaging...
Low Cost MacBook Feature A18 Pro

Low-Price 12.9-Inch MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Reportedly Launching Early This Year

Friday January 2, 2026 9:08 am PST by
Apple plans to introduce a 12.9-inch MacBook in spring 2026, according to TrendForce. In a press release this week, the Taiwanese research firm said this MacBook will be aimed at the entry-level to mid-range market, with "competitive pricing." TrendForce did not share any further details about this MacBook, but the information that it shared lines up with several rumors about a more...
Apple Fitness Plus hero

Apple Announces New Fitness+ Workout Programs, Strava Challenge, and More

Friday January 2, 2026 6:43 am PST by
Apple today announced a number of updates to Apple Fitness+ and activity with the Apple Watch. The key announcements include: New Year limited-edition award: Users can win the award by closing all three Activity Rings for seven days in a row in January. "Quit Quitting" Strava challenge: Available in Strava throughout January, users who log 12 workouts anytime in the month will win an ...
Low Cost A18 Pro MacBook Feature Pink

Apple's 2026 Low-Cost A18 Pro MacBook: What We Know So Far

Friday January 2, 2026 4:33 pm PST by
Apple is planning to release a low-cost MacBook in 2026, which will apparently compete with more affordable Chromebooks and Windows PCs. Apple's most affordable Mac right now is the $999 MacBook Air, and the upcoming low-cost MacBook is expected to be cheaper. Here's what we know about the low-cost MacBook so far. Size Rumors suggest the low-cost MacBook will have a display that's around 13 ...
Mac Pro Feature Blue

What's Happening With the Mac Pro?

Wednesday December 31, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Mac Pro since 2023, and according to recent rumors, there's no update coming in the near future. In fact, Apple might be finished with the Mac Pro. Bloomberg recently said that the Mac Pro is "on the back burner" and has been "largely written off" by Apple. Apple apparently views the more compact Mac Studio as the ideal high-end pro-level desktop, and it has almost...

Top Rated Comments

turbineseaplane Avatar
17 weeks ago
Why can't 3rd parties make their own Apple Watch faces yet?

This is such a huge missed opportunity.

It's incredible to see what folks come up with at garmin.watchfacebuilder.com and the like.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Séamus Boyle Avatar
17 weeks ago
These new ones are hideous and also useless for most of the styles because you can’t have complications. So absurd.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Plerf Avatar
17 weeks ago
I still think it’s asinine that watch faces can’t be designed either through submission and review of a “watch face store” or with some sort of end user tool.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheJackal Avatar
17 weeks ago
So the most simple, uncomplicated and elegant one still remains California :)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Phogro Avatar
17 weeks ago

Why can't 3rd parties make their own Apple Watch faces yet?

This is such a huge missed opportunity.

It's incredible to see what folks come up with at garmin.watchfacebuilder.com and the like.
If Apple wanted to they would have by now. By not supporting 3rd party faces they are basically showing us they want to maintain control of the watch face. There's also likely some amount of protecting the "upsell" for the Ultra/Hermes with exclusive faces.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Eric_WVGG Avatar
17 weeks ago

For sure.
I'm just surprised they haven't monetized it yet.

There is surely way more money to be made by doing a 3rd party Watchface store.
Everything could be paid if they wanted... no free options
This probably isn't the main reason, but I just realized that there would be a huge problem with people doing "inspired by 1982 Casio" copyright-infringing suits.

There's this developer who made a Mac app called Bauhaus clock and immediately got slapped with a legal threat. Had to back up and remove all references to his inspirations and possibly alter the design a bit. https://bauhausclock.com/
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)