Personalizing our devices is hugely popular in 2023, letting us put our own stamp on the technology we engage with daily. When it comes to wearable devices like Wear OS smartwatches, swapping custom watch faces can completely transform the style and experience.
With the global smartwatch market expected to grow over 15% annually in the next years as Android-compatible watches gain adoption, watch face customization apps are more important than ever.
But with so many options to choose from, which Wear OS watch face apps are worth using? What sets them apart and how do you get the most personalization power from each? This definitive guide will answers those questions and more as we explore the top apps for creating your own watch identity.
Why Customize Your Wear OS Smartwatch Face?
Beyond just telling time, our watch faces are one of the most visible accessories we wear daily. With standard defaults feeling generic after a while, customizing your Wear OS smartwatch face allows you to:
- Reflect your personal style – Choose from an incredible variety of designs from minimalist to rugged across any color scheme imaginable.
- Match different activities – Sporty faces for workouts, elegant options for nights out.
- Display useful data – Complications & widgets keep data like steps, heart rate, next calendar entry etc at your wrist.
- Save battery life – Faces optimized for OLED screens minimize power drain.
- Show off your fandom – Branded faces from entertainment franchises, celebrities and more.
- Enjoy fresh designs – New styles are created every day by the community.
Brands know how important personalization is – a 2022 consumer survey found over 70% of participants expectcustomized experiences from companies.
By using specialized Wear OS apps that offer an endless watch face buffet, you can always match your mood or activity. Let‘s check out the top options!
Top Criteria for Ranking the Best Wear OS Watch Face Apps
With hundreds of watch face apps available on the Google Play Store, limiting our list required carefully evaluating against criteria most important for Wear OS owners:
- Design Variety – Number of unique free/paid watch face designs and ability to filter styles easily.
- Customization Power – Options to personalize all aspects including colors, complications, text or via creator tools.
- Presentation – Visual flair, animations and themes that look great on circular/square displays.
- Software Optimization – Lean performance and battery saving settings for real world use.
- Ease of Use – Intuitive editors and manager make picking faces and applying hassle-free.
- Sharing Integration – Ability to share, recommend faces or browse creations trending within app community.
- Support & Updates – Developer communication via forums, ratings and frequency/recency of updates.
Balancing these factors provides a comprehensive view of the most useful and polished Wear OS watch apps as we head into 2023. Now let‘s explore the top recommendations!
1. Facer – The Most Robust Watch Face Platform
Facer stands in a league of its own when it comes to Wear OS watch customization capabilities and community.
By the Numbers:
- 50,000 User-Created Watch Faces and Counting
- 10,000,000 Total App Downloads
- 1,500,000 Monthly Active Users
- 4.6/5.0 Review Rating With 125K Reviews
These stunning statistics show the adoption and longevity Facer has achieved since being founded in 2013. The app offers both highly polished pre-made faces as well as tools to craft your own.
Let‘s see what makes Facer tick and why it has staying power!
Massive Design Selection
The core of any watch face app is the design catalogue – and Facer leaves all competition in the dust with over 50,000 faces created by its community.
Browse by:
- Style – Minimal, Classic, Modern, Sports etc.
- Brands – Star Wars, Pokémon, NFL Teams and many more
- Sort – Featured, Top Rated, Recent
Filter by colors, shape, features and more to find the perfect looks.
Complete Customization Power
Every aspect of Facer‘s pre-made designs can be tweaked to your liking with no design experience needed.
- Background Colors
- Indexes, Hands & Dials
- Complications & Widgets
- Text Styles & Colors
Take an existing watch face as inspiration and put your own spin for a unique Facer!
Create Fully Custom Watch Faces
Facer also offers a full-fledged web-based watch face creator studio with everything needed design your artistic vision.
- Hundreds of Backgrounds, Parts & Items
- Layout Tools
- Text Options
- Realtime Previews
- Share & Sell Your Creations
With some learning, you can construct elaborate faces like this stunning Zelda tribute.
Active Development & Community
No app thrives for over a decade without responsive development and a supportive community.
Facer‘s 100K member online community and Discord channel makes recommending, sharing and discussing watch styles a breeze. Alongside frequent version updates shows continued investment after nearly 10 years.
For less than $1 per month, Facer Premium unlocks:
- Exclusive Watch Faces
- Ad-Free Experience
- Upload Profile Photo
- Post Comments
Final Verdict
Offering virtually endless Wear OS watch customization between its massive catalogue and creation studio paired with the ecosystem around it, Facer is a must download.
It wins our best overall recommendation for designers, tinkerers and smartwatch fans alike!
