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10 Best Wear OS Watch faces Apps to Use in 2023

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Smartwatches have become quite popular in recent years, with many tech companies releasing their versions of these handy devices. One of the best smartwatch operating systems currently is Wear OS by Google. It powers watches from brands like Fossil, Mobvoi‘s TicWatch, Oppo, and Google‘s own Pixel Watch.

One of the best things about Wear OS is the ability to customize your watch face. The default options offered by manufacturers tend to get boring after a while. This is where third-party Wear OS watch face apps come in. They provide tons of stylish and feature-packed watch faces to choose from.

In this guide, we will look at the top 10 Wear OS watch face apps you should try out in 2023.

Benefits of Customizable Watch Faces

Before jumping into the apps, let‘s first understand why you may want to use custom watch faces:

  • Personalization – Custom watch faces allow you to tailor the look and feel of your smartwatch to match your style. You can find faces with colors, designs, complications etc. that appeal to you.

  • Variety – Watch face apps provide far more designs and options compared to the built-in ones from your watch maker. You can change the face to suit your mood or occasion.

  • New Features – Many third-party faces integrate additional useful features like new widgets, animations, customization options etc.

  • Improved Aesthetics – Custom watch faces simply look cooler than default ones. They can make your smartwatch stand out with stylish modern designs.

  • Long-Term Engagement – Changing up your watch face periodically keeps things feeling fresh. The variety gives you a reason to keep glancing at your wrist.

Now let‘s get into some of the best Wear OS watch face apps and creators available today.

1. Facer

Facer is likely the most popular Wear OS watch face app out there. It gives you access to thousands of user-created watch faces for free. Both square and round watch formats are supported.

Facer Wear OS watch faces app

Some of the key features and capabilities of Facer include:

  • Massive library of unique watch face designs. New faces added daily.
  • Filter by style, color, shape, app integration etc. to find the perfect faces for you.
  • Create your own custom watch faces using the Facer Creator web app.
  • Custom complications for information like weather, battery, calendar, activity stats etc.
  • Support for interactive watch faces with animations.
  • Premium Facer faces available starting at $0.99.
  • Completely customizable faces where you can tweak every element.

Facer offers an unparalleled selection of stylish and nerdy watch faces. Even the free ones rival premium faces in quality. It‘s a must-try app for Wear OS users.

Download: Facer for Wear OS (Free, in-app purchases available)

2. Watchmaker

Watchmaker is another excellent open platform for Wear OS watch faces, also with a web-based creator tool. It positions itself as highly customizable and feature-rich.

Some standout aspects of Watchmaker include:

  • Create highly advanced dynamic watch faces with interactive features.
  • Build your own faces using JavaScript scripting capabilities.
  • Access stats like heart rate, steps, battery etc. to include on the face.
  • Animate graphics and make faces react to touch gestures.
  • Customize all elements including background, hands, numbers, colors, etc.
  • 100,000+ watch faces available, including premium options.
  • Facilitates sharing and downloading other user-created faces.

Watchmaker offers deep customizability for those who want to recreate classic watch designs or build info-dense futuristic interfaces. The advanced scripting support also allows for dynamic data-driven faces.

Download: WatchMaker for Wear OS (Free, $4.99 for the Premium version)

3. Pujie Black

Pujie Black is another established name in the Wear OS custom watch face ecosystem. It offers a good selection of digital and analog faces.

Some notable features:

  • Create your own watch faces from scratch with various templates.
  • Customize complications and set data fields for info like weather, alerts, etc.
  • Choose from a wide selection of animated faces.
  • Support for ambient mode with low power usage.
  • Create your own widgets and applets to extend watch functionality.
  • 1000+ free faces available with more premium options.

Pujie Black watch faces offer extensive quality customization options. The ability to create your own widgets also helps provide additional glanceable information to users.

Download: Pujie Black for Wear OS (Free, in-app purchases available)

4. Pear Watch Face

If you want watch faces with a minimal aesthetic, Pear should be on your list. As the name suggests, the app offers subtle round watch faces focused on simplicity.

Some of the highlights include:

  • Multiple minimal pear-themed watch face designs.
  • Customize colors of the face elements.
  • Option for a ticking seconds hand.
  • 12/24 hour time formats.
  • Show/hide day, date, battery info etc.
  • Support for active mode to save battery life.
  • Available in both digital and analog styles.

Pear watch faces will appeal to you if you prefer the simplicity and elegance of less rather than more on your smartwatch screen. The designs perfectly complement the round displays of watches like the Pixel Watch.

Download: Pear Watch Face (Free, $1.49 for the Pro version)

5. Dashboard – Squared & Round Watch Face

As the name makes clear, Dashboard watch faces are perfect for those who want widget-style information on their Wear OS watch. It offers a highly customizable tile-based modular interface.

Here are some noteworthy features of Dashboard:

  • Multiple widget layouts to add info tiles and touch actions.
  • 20+ data field options like date, battery, activity etc.
  • Customize widget styles with various text colors and backgrounds.
  • Create your own watch face themes.
  • 1000+ faces available including user-created ones.
  • Support for dictating text responses and sending canned messages.

If you want your Wear OS watch to feel like an at-a-glance dashboard for important information, this app delivers. The custom widget creation providesglanceable data and touch actions.

Download: Dashboard – Squared & Round Watch Face (Free, $2.49 for Premium)

6. Marine Commander

Marine Commander offers a selection of good-looking analog watch faces. They have a nautical aesthetic with neat rotating bezels.

Some notable aspects:

  • Multiple analog watch designs with maritime style.
  • Option to link the rotating bezel to app actions.
  • Customize elements like hands, colors, text etc.
  • Additional features like compass, stopwatch, alarms etc.
  • Track health data like steps, heart rate, calories.
  • Monitor battery level, timezone, moon phase etc.

For those who like analog watch faces styled after maritime designs, Marine Commander is a great option. The customization options allow tweaking the faces to suit your preferences.

Download: Marine Commander (Free, $0.99 for Premium)

7. Minimal & Elegant

As the name suggests, Minimal & Elegant watch faces focus on graceful text-based designs. If you want an uncluttered stylish look on your Wear OS smartwatch, give this a try.

Some interesting features:

  • Multiple minimalist faces with a text/word clock.
  • Customize colors and add a background pattern.
  • Option for bold/slim fonts and letter spacing.
  • Show day, date, battery info etc.
  • 12/24 hour time formats.
  • Create your own custom phrases to display.
  • Tap target to launch apps.

For those times when you want an elegant text-based face with no distractions, Minimal & Elegant fits the bill. You can also set custom phrases for additional personalization.

Download: Minimal & Elegant (Free, $1.99 for the Pro version)

8. Digi Style

Digi Style provides a collection of digital watch faces with bright colors and pixel-like designs. If you want a stylish retro-futuristic tech look, these faces deliver.

Some interesting capabilities:

  • Large selection of pixelated digital watch designs.
  • Customize colors and elements for each face.
  • Set 12/24 hour time format.
  • Configure display of battery, calendar, steps etc.
  • Animated faces available.
  • Add backgrounds like abstract shapes or colors.

Digi Style watch faces will appeal to fans of pixel art and retro digital aesthetics. The customization allows matching the colors and elements to your preferences.

Download: Digi Style (Free, $0.99 for the Pro version)

9. Sharp and Classy

As the name indicates, Sharp and Classy offers watch faces focused on elegant and refined designs. These faces will lend your Wear OS smartwatch a touch of sophistication.

Notable features:

  • Multiple analog and digital faces with classy style.
  • Customize colors and scale of face elements.
  • Configure complications and info displays.
  • Option for bold/slim hands and typography.
  • Show stats like steps, calories, heart rate.
  • Battery saving mode available.

If you want to make your smartwatch exude refinement and good taste, the Sharp and Classy collection has appealing options. The customization also allows tailoring the faces to your preferences.

Download: Sharp and Classy (Free, $0.99 for the Pro version)

10. DuoTone Square

As the name suggests, DuoTone Square offers a collection of two-tone square digital watch faces. They use a stylish duotone aesthetic with your choice of colors.

Some interesting features:

  • Multiple color duotone themes available.
  • Customize the background and main color.
  • Option for bold/slim time font.
  • Show date, battery %, steps and more.
  • 12/24 hour time formats.
  • Easy application of color themes.

For fans of square smartwatches like the Pixel Watch, DuoTone Square provides artsy duotone faces to change up your look. The color themes and customization offer plenty of styles to choose from.

Download: DuoTone Square (Free, $1.99 for the Pro version)

How to Change Watch Faces on Wear OS

Now that you‘ve seen some of the best Wear OS watch face apps available, here is a quick guide on how to change your watch face:

  1. Open the Wear OS app on your Android phone.
  2. Tap on your watch at the top.
  3. Scroll down and tap on "Customize watch face".
  4. This will display installed watch faces on your phone.
  5. Tap on the desired watch face app.
  6. Select the specific watch face you want.
  7. Tap "Set on your watch" to change the face.

The process is pretty straightforward and can be done in under a minute. Most watch face apps make it easy to browse and switch faces by directly clicking options on your watch.

Some things to note:

  • Certain watch faces may be restricted to specific watch hardware like round vs square displays.
  • You generally need to install the watch face app from the Play Store on both phone and watch.
  • Some faces have free and premium versions with extra features.
  • Picking an uncluttered face improves battery life.

And that‘s it! With Wear OS, changing your watch face is a breeze. Take advantage of the vast selection of styles offered by third-party watch face apps. Be sure to experiment with different faces to find designs that match your personality and preferences. A stylish watch face can do wonders in making your Wear OS smartwatch feel like a fashion accessory.

AlexisKestler

Written by Alexis Kestler

A female web designer and programmer - Now is a 36-year IT professional with over 15 years of experience living in NorCal. I enjoy keeping my feet wet in the world of technology through reading, working, and researching topics that pique my interest.