Not crazy about the current watch face on your Apple Watch? You can easily switch to one you prefer. Plus, you’re able to customize many of the device’s built-in faces to give them a different color or style and equip them with specific features, which Apple calls complications. In addition, each new version of Apple’s watchOS introduces new faces. In 2025, watchOS 26 added the Flow and Exactograph faces for all supported watch models, the Waypoint face for the Apple Watch Ultra, and the Hermès Faubourg Party face for the Apple Watch Hermès model. You can work with these faces and those from previous updates to give your watch a more personalized display. Here’s how to change and customize your watch face.
Update watchOS
In order to use the new watch faces, you’ll need to be running the latest version of watchOS (and iOS). If you haven’t already done so, upgrade your iPhone to iOS 26 by going to Settings > General > Software Update and installing the update. Then open the Watch app on your iPhone and head to General > Software Update or open Settings > General > Software Update directly on the watch to grab the latest update.
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
Switch Watch Faces
How you switch your watch faces depends on your settings. By default, you have to press down on your current watch face and swipe left or right to change to the one you want. If you’d prefer to simply swipe your current face without having to press down on it, you can easily set that up. Open the Watch app on your iPhone, tap Clock in the My Watch section, and then enable Swipe to Switch Watch Face. Now you can simply swipe left or right on the face to move to a different one.
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
Add and Organize Watch Faces
If you’re running watchOS 26 or higher, you can snag the latest watch faces in the Watch app on your iPhone. Tap the Face Gallery icon at the bottom of the screen and then select the New Watch Faces panel at the top. Depending on which model watch you own, you should see at least the Flow and Exactograph faces.
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
Tap the face you want to install and tap the Add button. When you’re done, tap the My Watch icon. If you swipe to the end of the list of watch faces, you’ll see the new faces you just added.
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
With watchOS 7, Apple opened the watch face landscape for third-party creators to share and sell their own faces. Several Apple Watch apps offer galleries of different faces that you’re able to add. Most of these require a one-time payment or subscription, but there are a few free ones. To check these out, open the App Store on your phone or watch, search for “watch faces,” and download an app that interests you. You can then select a specific face and add it to your watch. Apps, such as Facer and Watch facely, have popped up where people can create, upload, and download their own customized watch faces.
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
To edit or customize a watch face, you have to cycle through the ones in the My Faces section, which can be time-consuming if you’ve collected a lot. To speed up the process, remove any displays you don’t want. Under the My Watch section of the iPhone Watch app, tap the Edit button next to My Faces. Find a watch face you wish to remove, tap the minus (–) sign next to it, and tap Remove.
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(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
You can also change the order of the faces to make your favorites more accessible. Hold down the hamburger icon next to a face you want to move, then drag it up or down in the list to change its location. Tap Done when you’re finished to save the changes. The next time you swipe between watch faces, you’ll now see them all in the order in which you sorted them.
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
Edit Your Watch Face
Maybe you like the layout of a certain watch face but don’t care for the color or style. Many watch faces let you tweak certain elements. To edit one of your watch faces, open the Watch app on your iPhone and open the My Watch section. Select the watch face you want to edit, and you can change its color and style. Each change will be reflected in the preview face at the top of the screen. You can also edit a watch face before you add it to your watch. Tap Face Gallery, then select a watch face to edit. When you’re done, tap Add, then go to the My Watch section and swipe to the right to see the new face you added with the color and style you picked.
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
Want to change even more on your selected watch face? You can also add or modify complications—small widgets that add features not otherwise offered by your favorite watch face. There are complications for the date, heart rate, music, podcasts, reminders, weather, workout, and a variety of other features and apps. Many faces let you add three or more complications in various locations on the screen.
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If you’re at the gym, for example, and need access to the complications for heart rate and workout, you can add them from the Watch app. Tap the face you wish to tweak, then tap the location of the first complication you want to change and switch it to Heart Rate. Tap the second complication and set it to Workout. When done, tap the My Watch link in the upper left and the watch face will now display the complications you chose.
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
Add Your Own Photos to a Watch Face
Want to personalize your watch face with your own photos? Go to My Watch > Photos in the Watch app. By default, your Favorites album is used, but you can change it. Choose Album to cycle through albums that are synced with your iPhone. Pick Photos to manually select pictures to display. Use the Dynamic option to use new photos and recent memories. As an alternative, tap Choose Photos to create a photo album that syncs to your watch. You can either mirror an existing album from your iPhone or create a custom album for your watch. You can also set a limit to the number of photos in the album at 25, 100, 250, or 500.
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
If you’re running watchOS 8 or higher on your watch and have an iPhone that supports Portrait mode in the Camera app, you can turn your Portrait mode photos into watch faces with 3D effects. After snapping some portrait photos on your phone, go to the Face Gallery in the Watch app and tap the Portraits watch face. Tap Choose Photos, then select the portrait photos you wish to add (up to 24) and tap Add. At the Portraits screen, tap Add to add the new watch face. Now when you view the Portrait face on your watch, the photos should show a 3D effect when you move your arm. Turn the Digital Crown to zoom in and out of each photo.
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
Share Watch Faces
You can share a watch face with others directly from your Apple Watch, allowing them to add that face to their watch. Just press down on the watch face you want to share and tap the Share icon. Select the contact, compose your message, and then tap Send to forward the face to them as part of a text message.
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
About Our Expert
Lance Whitney
Contributor
Experience
I’ve been working for PCMag since early 2016 writing tutorials, how-to pieces, and other articles on consumer technology. Beyond PCMag, I’ve written news stories and tutorials for a variety of other websites and publications, including , ZDNet, TechRepublic, Macworld, PC World, Time, US News & World Report, and AARP Magazine. I spent seven years writing breaking news for as one of the site’s East Coast reporters. I’ve also written two books for Wiley & Sons—Windows 8: Five Minutes at a Time and Teach Yourself Visually LinkedIn.
I’ve used Windows, Office, and other Microsoft products for years so I’m well versed in that world. I also know the Mac quite well. I’m always working with iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and Android on my various mobile devices. And these days, I write a lot about AI, so that’s become another key area for me.
My wife always jokes about all the tech products we have around the house, but I manage to put them to good use for my articles. I like Lenovo computers, so I own a couple of Lenovo desktops and several laptops. I have three MacBooks and a Mac mini. For my mobile life and work, I use an iPhone 16 Pro, iPad Pro, and iPad mini as well as an Apple Watch. But since I write about Android, I own several Android phones and tablets. Like any tech person, I have a cabinet full of cables, wires, and assorted mysterious gadgets. And when it’s time to take a break from writing, I have an old Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, both of which I use for exercise and fitness games.
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