How To Change The Clock Display On Apple Watch?

Discover how to change the clock display on Apple Watch. Customize faces, styles, and complications to suit your daily needs.

RKWritten byRahul Kumar
Updated 4 min readComment

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How To Change The Clock Display On Apple Watch
© WearableXP
What’s inside6 sections · 4 min read
  1. 01What Exactly Can You Change?1 min
  2. 02How to Change Your Clock Face?1 min
    1. The Tap and Hold Method (Right from the Watch)
    2. The iPhone Way
    3. Automation Magic
  3. 03Can You Just Show the Time Only?1 min
  4. 04What You Can’t Do1 min
  5. 05Wrap Up1 min
  6. 06Frequently Asked Questions1 min

Are you tired of the same old watch face staring back at you? Let’s face it (pun totally intended)- if you are checking your Apple Watch all day, it might as well spark some joy, right? That can happen when you know how to change the clock display on Apple Watch.

How amazing would it be to glance at your wrist and see something that truly matches your style? Personally, I love that clean, classy, minimalistic vibe, and my Apple Watch nails the look. And I bet you’re ready to make yours match your vibe, too.

Here’s the deal: you can customize it your way. It can be a sleek design you like, or you can pack it with every stat imaginable- heart rate, lunar phase- you name it.

Changing your clock display is super simple… once you know where to tap and twist. It’s like giving your wrist a mini glow-up.

What Exactly Can You Change?#

  • Clock Face: This is the overall look or vibe of your watch. Think of it like the outfit your watch is wearing. Classic, sporty, artsy- take your pick.
  • Complications: These are the tiny widgets (like weather, battery, calendar) that say, “I am organized”. 
  • Style: You get to choose between digital or analog time, tweak the fonts, and play with colors.
  • Layout: Want the time front and center? Extra big numbers? Or a more minimal setup? Totally your call.

Basically, your Apple Watch is the Barbie version of you smartwatch., you can dress it up however you like.

How to Change Your Clock Face?#

The Tap and Hold Method (Right from the Watch)#

  1. Tap and hold the watch face until it zooms out.
  2. Swipe left/right to browse watch faces.
  3. Tap “Edit” to customize colors, style, or complications.
  4. Swipe through the options, scroll the digital crown to easily navigate through various customisation options available, and boom! You are a stylist now.

Tip: Want a chill weekend face and a work-week data overload? You can switch between them in literal seconds.

The iPhone Way#

  1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
  2. Tap Face Gallery.
  3. Browse and choose a watch face you like, tap and customize.
  4. Once you are happy with the customisation, tap Add.
  5. It will be automatically added to your Apple Watch.

Bonus: You can go extra with custom faces using third-party apps like Facer.

Automation Magic#

Want your watch to show a sleek, professional face at work and a sporty one at the gym? You can totally make that happen.

Just use Focus Modes to automatically switch your watch face based on:

  • Time of day (like 9–5 for work mode)
  • Location (office, gym, home)
  • Activity (when you’re working out or relaxing)

Here is how to do it:

  • On your iPhone, open the Settings app
  • Tap on Focus, then select the focus mode you want to customize( work, sleep, personal).
  • Under Customize Screens, tap Choose below the Apple Watch image.
  • Select the watch face you want to associate with the focus mode you have selected
  • Tap Done and save your selection.

Now, whenever you activate that focus mode, your Apple Watch will automatically switch to the designated watch face.

Now, your Apple Watch can literally read the room- kinda spooky, mostly awesome.

Can You Just Show the Time Only?#

If you’re all about that no-fuss, just-show-me-the-time life, you can totally strip things down:

  • Turn off complications to remove all the extra widgets.
  • Choose minimalist faces like Simple, Modular, or Numerals Duo.
  • Want a retro vibe? Go full analog- no data, no distractions, just time.

What You Can’t Do#

  • No custom fonts (Apple says no fun allowed).
  • No third-party full-face designs (unless you’re jailbreaking).
  • Basically, Apple Watch is customizable… but only within Apple’s sandbox.

Wrap Up#

You glance at this little screen like a hundred times a day, might as well make it scream ‘you’, right? Whether you are all about bold pops of color, moody minimalism, or “I need to see five different stats and my next meeting at all times” energy, your Apple Watch face is prime real estate. Style it. Own it. Flaunt it.

Seriously, tap, swipe, tweak, repeat. Worst-case scenario? You accidentally make your wrist look too cool. That was it for changing the clock display on Apple Watch.

Your wrist ends up looking too cool, and people start asking you for style tips. Tragic.

Frequently Asked Questions#

01Can you have different faces for different times or situations?

Sort of! You can manually switch or use Focus Modes to change faces automatically based on time, location, or activity.

02Can you download third-party watch faces?

Not fully custom ones as Apple doesn’t currently allow third-party watch faces. But you can customize official ones with third-party complications (like from apps).

03Do all watch faces work on every model?


Nope. Some faces (like the portrait or full-screen ones) require Series 4 or newer. Series 7 and up get extra options thanks to their bigger screens.

Found this useful?

Share it with someone who is shopping for their next wearable.

RK

Written by

Rahul Kumar

With a focus on real-world usability, Rahul at WearableXP covers smartwatches and wearable fitness tech. He evaluates how devices combine activity tracking, health metrics, battery life and connectivity. His work helps readers understand how smartwatches fit into everyday routines through practical performance and software-driven features.

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