How to switch, customise and add new watch faces on Apple Watch.
⏱ 2 min readEasyUpdated June 2026
Quick Answer
On the watch: press firmly (long press) on the current face to enter face editing mode. Swipe left or right to switch faces. Swipe to the far right and tap the + button to add new faces. Tap a face to set it.
Switch Between Watch Faces
1
Swipe left or right on the watch face
On the watch face screen, swipe left or right to cycle through all your saved watch faces. This is the fastest way to switch between faces you have already set up.
Add and Customise Watch Faces
2
Long press the current face
Press and hold (firm press) on the watch face until it zooms out and enters editing mode. Scroll right past all existing faces to find the + Add button. Tap it to browse available face styles.
3
Browse and select a face style
Scroll through all available face designs (Modular, Infograph, Portraits, Siri, GMT, Chronograph, etc). Tap any face to preview it. Tap Add to add it to your collection.
4
Customise complications and colours
After adding a face, tap Edit (or long press the face and tap Edit). Swipe left to move through customisation screens: Colour, then each Complication slot. Tap a complication to change what it shows (weather, activity rings, heart rate, calendar, etc). Press the Digital Crown when done to save.
Using the Watch App on iPhone
Open the Watch app on your iPhone → Face Gallery tab. Browse all available faces, customise them, and tap Add to My Faces. Managing faces on the iPhone is often easier than on the watch screen due to the larger display.
Sharing watch facesIn watchOS 7+, you can share watch face configurations. In the Watch app → My Watch → long press a face to share it. This sends a link that another Apple Watch owner can tap to add your exact face configuration including complications.
Frequently Asked Questions
Some faces require specific Apple Watch models. Faces like Portraits, Unity Lights, and Memoji require newer models. Faces like Infograph Modular are exclusive to Apple Watch Ultra and Series 4+. The Face Gallery in the iPhone Watch app shows which faces are compatible with your specific model — incompatible faces are greyed out or not shown.
No — Apple does not allow third-party watch face apps on Apple Watch. Only Apple-designed faces are available. However, some complications (the small widgets on watch faces) can be from third-party apps, which allows a degree of customisation. This limitation is a frequently requested change but Apple has not opened the watch face ecosystem to developers.