Apple needs to show some love for the old watch faces with watchOS 9
We’re a month away from WWDC when Apple will unveil the next major updates to its operating systems – including watchOS. While some users are certainly hoping for new features and even new watch faces with watchOS 9, I just wish Apple would show some love for the old watch faces in the Apple Watch operating system.
I’ve been using Apple Watch for years now, and one of my favorite features is the ability to customize it with different watch faces. With watchOS 8, users have over 40 styles that can be customized any way they want, resulting in even more combinations of watch faces.
The Apple Watch has changed a lot over the years. The Apple Watch has evolved to be faster, and it has been slightly redesigned with bigger screens. Apple introduced new watch faces in order to make the most of its new hardware. However, old watches faces remain and look the same as when they were first introduced.
The Siri watch face, introduced in 2017 with watchOS 4, was one of my favorites. Based on your iPhone or Apple Watch usage, it automatically determines which information to display, including the weather, stock prices, home automations and reminders. It’s super convenient for a smartwatch.
However, this watch face has been all but abandoned by Apple. It was never updated to include more complications, support for more apps, or even to show more information on larger screens. It’s the same watch face created with Apple Series 3 in mind but now expanded for the Apple Watch Series 7 giant screen.
And just like this one, there are other watch faces that are still available in watchOS in the same situation. They just look outdated on today’s hardware. It would be wonderful if the watch faces had a modern, more contemporary look.
watchOS 9 might fix this
Luckily, there seems to be hope for users who, like me, believe that the old watch faces still have the potential to shine on modern Apple Watch models. According to a recent report, Apple has been working to refresh many of the Apple Watch faces with watchOS 9.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman also heard from sources that the next version of watchOS will feature a Low Power Mode that, unlike Power Reserve Mode, will save some battery without shutting down all Apple Watch apps and features. This is something that other smartwatches already offer and is quite useful for extending battery life without having to give up on smart features.
But what about you? Are there any old watch faces that you’d like Apple to revamp? Comment below.