How to Share Apple Watch Faces With watchOS 7

For a few years, Apple Watch owners were stuck with just a few watch faces to choose from. There was very little customization, along with limitations in terms of the complications that could be added. With watchOS 7, part of the puzzle has been solved, as one app can now display multiple complications on your Watch Face.

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Although Apple has been slowly adding new Watch Face options, we are still holding out hope for completely custom options. Obviously, the Apple Watch can only handle so much, and you don’t want to create a custom Watch Face only to have your battery last a few hours. Nonetheless, the possibilities have opened for using and creating new watch faces with Apple’s defaults along with complications.

What’s new with watchOS 7?

One of the biggest additions to the Apple Watch with watchOS 7 is Sleep Tracking. This has been rumored for a few years now, especially after Apple acquired Beddit, which offers sleep monitoring devices. However, it’s clear that Apple wanted to get the software experience just right.

With watchOS 7, you can create Sleep Goals and Sleep Schedules. After they’ve been created, you will be awoken with a silent haptic alarm, or gentle sounds. Plus, your Watch will give you a breakdown of the day.

There are a couple of other “firsts” with watchOS 7, as users can now use more than a single complication. This goes hand-in-hand with the new ability to share user-created watch faces. Shortcuts users can finally breathe a sigh of relief, as Shortcuts can be activated right from your wrist.

During the “Time Flies” event, Apple also decided to add a few more new watch faces to the mix:

• Timezones
• Count Up
• Chronograph Pro
• Typograph (3 different styles)
• Stripes
• Memoji watch face

How to share Apple Watch faces

Not only has Apple made it possible for you to add multiple complications, but you can finally share watch faces. But what makes this even more amazing is that if you come across a watch face you enjoy, chances are you can download it to your Watch. There are a few ways for you to share Apple Watch faces with friends, family, or on social media.

Share from your Apple Watch

The quickest and easiest way to share your Apple Watch face is from the Watch itself.

1. From your Apple Watch, press and hold the clock until the Watch Face picker appears.
2. Tap the Share icon next to the Edit button.
3. Enter the name of the contact you wish to send the Watch Face to.
4. Tap Send.

For some watch faces (i.e. Infograph), you can choose whether to share the watch face with your data or not. Tapping the name of the watch face will give you two options. Opting to send without including the data will launch the accompanying app on the recipient’s watch, but none of your data will appear. Including the data will feature your info in the message, but none of the data will appear if the recipient adds the watch face to their Watch.

Share from iPhone

As you would expect, Apple also made it possible to share watch faces from the Watch app on your iPhone. Here’s how you can share those faces from your iPhone:

1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
2. Locate and select the watch face you wish to share under My Faces.
3. Tap the Share icon in the top right-hand corner.
4. Choose where you wish to send the watch face.

You can share your watch face through any of the apps that are listed in your Share Sheet. This even includes saving it to your Files app, just to have a backup in the event something happens.

Send your Apple Watch face to anyone

In the event that you want to share your watch face on Twitter and provide a download link, Apple made it possible. This is a bit more labor-intensive compared to sharing between iOS users, but it’s still possible.

1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone, then select the watch face that you want to share.
2. Tap the Share button, then choose Mail.
3. Email the watch face to yourself.
4. Open the email message that you receive and find the attachment that ends in “.watchface” at the bottom of the message.
5. Touch and hold the .watchface file, then tap Share.
6. Tap Save to Files, select a location, then tap Save.
7. Open the Files app and find the .watchface file that you saved.
8. Touch and hold the .watchface file, then tap Share.
9. Tap Add People.
10. Tap Share Options, then tap “Anyone with the link” if you want anyone to be able to download the watch face.
11. Tap the back arrow to go back. Swipe left on the sharing app icons, then tap Copy Link.
12. Use the link that you copied to share the watch face online.

What happens if you send/receive a watch face with specific complications

From time to time, you may come across a new Watch Face with complications you don’t recognize. Maybe it’s because an app you have installed features new complications. The more likely reason is that you don’t already have that app.

In the event that you download a watch face with unknown complications, Apple makes it easy. Follow the steps above to download the watch face. Then, if the app’s complication is not available, you will be prompted to download or purchase it from the App Store.

Where to find new Apple Watch faces

If you head over to Twitter and just search for, you’ll come across more screenshots than you have time for. Everyone loves creating unique screenshots and now you can download watch faces without doing any of the “work”. Here are a few ways that you can find new Apple Watch faces.

Apple’s App Store Showcases

One thing that Apple is doing really well with watchOS 7 is showcasing new watch faces. These are manually curated by the App Store team. The only problem is that these curated watch faces are a bit “buried” in the App Store.

1. Open the App Store on your iPhone.
2. Tap the Apps button in the bottom toolbar.
3. Scroll down until you find Top Categories.
4. Select Apple Watch Apps.
5. Locate the Discover New Watch Faces section.

From here, there are a few different Watch Faces that are being showcased. These are hand-curated and added to the App Store by Apple. If you find one that you like, tap on the sliding panel and then scroll down until you see the Add watch face button. Then, follow the instructions to add it to your list of available Watch Faces.

buddywatch

buddywatch was one of the first apps to hit the App Store to offer a single place to find created watch faces. In addition to the iOS app, you can also head over to the website and peruse the various categories. There are some fun ones to support your favorite NFL team, or maybe to get in on some of the Star Wars fun.

Watchfacely

Watchfacely does not currently offer an app here in the U.S., but you can still use the website. Find the watch face you want to download from your iPhone, and just tap on it. Then follow the instructions and enjoy some new watch faces. There are even some categories to browse, including the ability to find watch faces with specific apps in-tow.

Andrew Myrick

Andrew is a freelance writer based on the East Coast of the US.

He has written for a variety of sites over the years, including iMore, Android Central, Phandroid, and a few others. Now, he spends his days working for an HVAC company, while moonlighting as a freelance writer at night.