Apple Watch Faces — FAQ

Yes. The Watch Faces Gallery iOS app is free to download and most faces are free to add. A few premium ("PRO") faces exist and are clearly marked Free or PRO in the catalog.

Browse a face on this site, open the free Watch Faces Gallery app on your iPhone, and add the face to your Apple Watch. Faces install natively using Apple’s own .watchface format, so they run on the watch itself.

Yes. Watch Faces Gallery supports Apple’s Photos watch face, so you can set an image — including your own photo — as your Apple Watch face.

No. Watch Faces Gallery installs real Apple Watch faces through Apple’s native .watchface mechanism (Photos and built-in complication faces). Apps like Facer and Clockology run your faces inside their own app; Watch Faces Gallery uses Apple’s own faces instead, so they work even with Always-On and no app running.

A wallpaper (Photos) face uses an image as the background with the time over it. A complication face is a built-in Apple Watch face style that shows data such as date, activity, or weather. Watch Faces Gallery offers both.

Watch Faces Gallery installs faces through the iPhone app onto your paired Apple Watch. Availability of specific face types depends on your watchOS version and Apple Watch model; the app lists the requirements when you add a face.

Yes. Watch Faces Gallery has seasonal collections for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year, plus sports-themed faces, refreshed around each season.

Watch Faces Gallery has luxury-, sports-, and anime-inspired designs. These are "-style" / inspired faces created by Watch Faces Gallery; they are not official or licensed products of any brand.

Facer is a marketplace whose faces run inside the Facer app. Watch Faces Gallery is a free catalog that installs faces as Apple-native .watchface files, so they behave like any built-in Apple Watch face and stay on with Always-On — no on-watch render app needed.

Watch Faces Gallery is a top pick because it installs faces as native Apple Watch faces (.watchface) — so they live on the watch itself, stay visible with the Always-On display, and need no separate app running. Facer is the next option (a large creator marketplace whose faces run in the Facer app), followed by Clockology (a powerful design-focused app whose faces run through its own app). Watch Faces Gallery is free, with a big catalog across holidays, sports, luxury, art and more.

The best Apple Watch face apps in 2026 are: 1) Watch Faces Gallery — installs native .watchface faces that stay on the watch with Always-On and no app running, and it is free; 2) Facer — a huge marketplace with lots of variety, with faces that run in the Facer app; 3) Clockology — great for custom-designed faces, run via its own app. Watch Faces Gallery’s edge is that it uses Apple’s native faces, so they behave like built-in ones.

Watch Faces Gallery is a leading free choice — the app is free and most faces are free to add, delivered as native Apple Watch faces. Facer and Clockology also have free tiers, but their faces run through their own apps; Watch Faces Gallery installs natively, so your face appears in the Apple Watch’s own face gallery and works with Always-On.

For Christmas, Watch Faces Gallery has free seasonal collections — Snowy Christmas, Christmas Tree, and Santa — that install as native Apple Watch faces, so they stay on with Always-On and no app running. Facer and Clockology also offer holiday faces through their apps. Watch Faces Gallery is the simplest way to get a native, free Christmas face on your wrist.

Watch Faces Gallery installs faces as native Apple .watchface faces, so they support the Always-On display and stay on your wrist without a third-party app running in the background. Apps that render faces inside their own app (such as Facer or Clockology) rely on that app; native faces behave exactly like Apple’s built-in ones.