Question What are the features you look for when buying a watch face? - Samsung Galaxy Watch 4

Each user is different, and has a different requirement.
Yet, what are the specific things you look for when purchasing or installing a watch face?
At the moment, here is what i look for:
1. AOD face: I keep AOD on at all times, so this is critical for me to avoid screen burn-in problems. The watch face i use must have extremely minimal and simple AOD face, preferably configurable.
2. Phone battery: I don't know why, but this is something I look for specifically.
3. World Clock: I prefer a watch face that allows me to quickly see the time in another time zone (my brother lives in another time zone).
4. Day, Date and Weather: These 3 are a must.
5. Chance of rain: Another good addition.
6. Watch battery: Usually present in all watch faces.
7. Multiple app shortcuts.
I look for one that accomodates all of the above.
I personally don't prefer a watch or an app telling me about my health or reminding me to drink water, etc. I find those quite absurd. More importantly, these are unreliable. So steps, heart rate, BP, etc. are not important for me.
RELATED POSTS
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Wear OS - Facts
Hello community! In this post, I am giving you info on some aspects of Wear OS, which you may or may not know. All the details presented are based on my experience with Samsung Galaxy Watch4 (WiFi model), running on Wear OS 3.x. So they may not...
forum.xda-developers.com

I just make My own using the galaxy watch face program
Watch Face Studio downloads | Samsung Developers
The world runs on you.
developer.samsung.com
Tips:
Create a Watch Face Using Tag Expressions | Samsung Developers
Learn how to create a watch face that responds based on the date, time, step count, heart rate, and battery level using Tag Expressions in Watch Face Studio.
developer.samsung.com

djdarkknight96 said:
I just make My own using the galaxy watch face program
Watch Face Studio downloads | Samsung Developers
The world runs on you.
developer.samsung.com
Tips:
Create a Watch Face Using Tag Expressions | Samsung Developers
Learn how to create a watch face that responds based on the date, time, step count, heart rate, and battery level using Tag Expressions in Watch Face Studio.
developer.samsung.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol same, I don't know if it's just me but it just gives a certain satisfaction using a watch face made by my own hands and logic, I started making by searching random watch face on Google images(most simpler ones) on my OG GW46 then by the time I got GW4 I was lucky to have WFS all ready for me to use and with the prior experience with GWS this was just a different UI but with less number of customisations, I guess their defence is that Google has not shared the API details with them to add other functionalities, but yeah it is fun to make our own and use it, I have created a lot of them by looking up images on Google but I hardly use any, I just like creating them.

TheMystic said:
Each user is different, and has a different requirement.
Yet, what are the specific things you look for when purchasing or installing a watch face?
At the moment, here is what i look for:
1. AOD face: I keep AOD on at all times, so this is critical for me to avoid screen burn-in problems. The watch face i use must have extremely minimal and simple AOD face, preferably configurable.
2. Phone battery: I don't know why, but this is something I look for specifically.
3. World Clock: I prefer a watch face that allows me to quickly see the time in another time zone (my brother lives in another time zone).
4. Day, Date and Weather: These 3 are a must.
5. Chance of rain: Another good addition.
6. Watch battery: Usually present in all watch faces.
7. Multiple app shortcuts.
I look for one that accomodates all of the above.
I personally don't prefer a watch or an app telling me about my health or reminding me to drink water, etc. I find those quite absurd. More importantly, these are unreliable. So steps, heart rate, BP, etc. are not important for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use I-DIGIT. Covers everything you listed.

dalepl said:
I use I-DIGIT. Covers everything you listed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check this out:
HMKWatch Digital 146 - Apps on Google Play
Comfortable and clear digital watch face.
play.google.com
This is even better and more informative:
01. Day & Date
02. Weather, with location
03. Moon Phase
04. Phone Battery
05. Watch Battery
06. Calendar
07. World Clock
08. Feels like Temperature
09. Chance of Rain
10. Sunrise and Sunset
11. One custom app shortcut
And all of these are extremely well laid out too, which makes everything easy to read with just a glance.
Haven't seen anything more informative and neat yet!

I prefer the I-DIGIT. It has just as much information:
1. Top three are user defined widgets (I have heart rate, weather and world time)
2. watch battery
3. phone battery
4. time
5. UTC time
6. date
7. four user defined short cuts (I have watch settings, agenda, stopwatch and remote camera control)
So, both have 11 items showing, I can user define 7 of mine. Also like the analog watch hands. Many other settings for the watch face. The one you show is nice, it is just this one gives me more of what I wanted. I am a Test Engineer and require UTC time for testing. Hard to find nice watch faces with that. The rest is just items I like. I show Manila time because my wife is from the Philippines, but if you select it, it will bring up the world clock. Watch faces are personal preference as for functionality and what they show. I do agree I do not use the health apps, so I did not want that showing. I can if I want but chose not to. I cannot use most because I have a bad heart and an ICD implant. Enjoy.

dalepl said:
I prefer the I-DIGIT. It has just as much information:
1. Top three are user defined widgets (I have heart rate, weather and world time)
2. watch battery
3. phone battery
4. time
5. UTC time
6. date
7. four user defined short cuts (I have watch settings, agenda, stopwatch and remote camera control)
So, both have 11 items showing, I can user define 7 of mine. Also like the analog watch hands. Many other settings for the watch face. The one you show is nice, it is just this one gives me more of what I wanted. I am a Test Engineer and require UTC time for testing. Hard to find nice watch faces with that. The rest is just items I like. I show Manila time because my wife is from the Philippines, but if you select it, it will bring up the world clock. Watch faces are personal preference as for functionality and what they show. I do agree I do not use the health apps, so I did not want that showing. I can if I want but chose not to. I cannot use most because I have a bad heart and an ICD implant. Enjoy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't include time in the list, because that is present on all watch faces. So with time included, there are a total of 12 items displayed on the watch face. Out of that, 8 are customisable.
What I like specifically about this watch face (HMK Digi 146) are some specific features which I find missing in most other watch faces:
1. Weather, WITH LOCATION
2. Chance of rain
3. Moon Phase
UTC time is available too, but it requires the companion app here:
Complications Suite - Wear OS - Apps on Google Play
Add some missing Custom Complications to your Wear OS Watch Face.
play.google.com
If you have the above app installed, you'll be able to add UTC time to all watch faces.
Most of the info displayed will open the corresponding app when tapped. For example, tapping on Date will open calendar, tapping on weather will open weather, etc.
This watch face can show health related info too, but I haven't added them.
As you said, it is a matter of personal choice. I have tried over 50 watch faces so far, and this is the most comprehensive one i found, because of the reasons mentioned above.
Wish you good health and recovery.

One that actually fills the full screen, nearly every watchface i try on specials/coupons etc isnt made to take up the entire screen of a 44mm Watch 4...wasted space, so the text and details are smaller than they should be., and a stupid 4-5mm gap around the outside before the bezel
Apparently people only design for Watch 4 classic and the bezel, which is cutting off about 70% of your market, in case me telling you youre doing it wrong in literally every feedback request for your watchface hasnt already sunken in yet
Short version: just install Pixel Minimal watchface, pay for premium, and get on with life. Its the best there is...

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73sydney said:
One that actually fills the full screen, nearly every watchface i try on specials/coupons etc isnt made to take up the entire screen of a 44mm Watch 4...wasted space, so the text and details are smaller than they should be., and a stupid 4-5mm gap around the outside before the bezel
Apparently people only design for Watch 4 classic and the bezel, which is cutting off about 70% of your market, in case me telling you youre doing it wrong in literally every feedback request for your watchface hasnt already sunken in yet
Short version: just install Pixel Minimal watchface, pay for premium, and get on with life. Its the best there is...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the ones I have tried look good. I'm not sure if there is so much of wasted space as you claim, although I will admit I haven't paid attention into so much minute details. I also think that many of the designs are limited by the software used, and the complications chosen. So the app developers may not be entirely to blame.
Pixel Minimal is good, and so are the ones I have linked in OP.

Related

Editing or requesting changes to stock watch faces?

Hello worldxda!
I've finally received my Frontier and I've been playing around with it for a few days. I'm useless with analogue watch faces, and I need two different time zones displayed at the same time due to work. The Gear Dashboard is almost perfect with world time, battery, and heartrate around the main clock. However, I'm sorely lacking a Date option in place of my current Steps counter! Is this something I could somehow achieve myself through GWD (is there a .gwd file for it?), or is there a way I could get in touch with the watch face creator to request such an added feature? Has anyone come across a similar watch face that offers these things?
This was my favorite as well and i also missed the date, so i created my own watch face (picture attached)
Called G-Dashboard in Galaxy Apps store (hope its available in your country)

GWD - display altitude on watch face

Recently upgraded to S3 and am loving it. I've never been into designing watch faces as I usually just want functional but with the altimeter / barometer options, I thought I'd had a go. The face is simple (bit like me really) / minimal as battery life is important but I'd like the option to display altitude on the watch face. I have added a picture and configured it as a button to open the Barometer / Altimeter app but I'd love to have the data on the face itself. In reality, I'd prefer a link to the widget rather than individual setting but that doesn't look possible.
There is reference on various forums to various APIs that allow you to access the data but I can't figure out how they would function, nor can I figure out how to incorporate an API call with the image interaction in the designer.
Any help / guidance appreciated.
Did you ever get the Alt/Baro to work on the face?

Watch Face with Battery, Weather, Steps and Heart Rate

I am looking for a watch face for my Fit 2 Pro that displays battery life, heart rate, weather, steps, time and date.. Much more and I find it gets hard to read. I can live without the weather. Any suggestions?
I'd be surprised if there's not a face out there that has all that included, however it may be tough finding one. If you cannot find such a face, I'd recommend designing your own with the Gear Watch Designer. While the gui takes a little getting used to, its a fairly easy program to use, especially if you take the time to watch the tutorial on YouTube and use the docs on the Samsung dev site as needed.
YJ
Ps. Sorry I didn't include links to those resources, I can't post links yet.

[APP] New Altimeter app - working core, collecting suggestions for design

Hi,
I want to do a little survey about redesign my app. Somebody may remember it - Elevation Tracker (here you can find some info: https://forum.xda-developers.com/gear-s3/themes/app-elevation-tracker-gear-app-store-t3635451). I'm using it for a year and I want to find out if there will be enough interest from users.
Mission
To make the most out of the Gear S3's barometric data.
Default Altimeter has nice design, but it's not so practical.
Features
Algorithm for automatic recognizing of altitude change due to movement or barometric change due to weather. Example: You are sitting in the office for 4 hours withnout movement, than took a lunch in the kitchen - two floors higher, then come back for another 4 hours. The weather changes during the day, raining...
Samsung's altimeter: Shows growing the altitude, because the pressure decreases. Looks like you ascended 50m, descended 6m.
This app: Altitude is polished by Suunto algorithm (rule = alti change less than 2 meters in 2 minuts is marked as weather change). It shows you exacly ascended 6m and descended 6m. Graph is clearly flat when you are sitting, ignoring weather changes.
Ascended and descended elevation counter in selected interval. You can go 30 days back in precision of 1 minute. Of course, only if Gear S3 is turned on. Otherwise, gap if filled by flat line.
Using the bezel, you can read single altitude at specified time (date pickers, time pickers implemented). At specified time, you can calibrate altitude, which is taken as reference point for whole selected interval.
Graph shows MIN / MAX.
Main problem
It's not possible to support Tizen OS 2.3 and 3.0 at the same time. That's the reason I deleted the app from store. I updated it to support OS 3.0, but many users are still on 2.3 (I don't know why). Samsung did there very very bad job, unpossible to support both OS at the same time. Also, OS 3.0 is full of bugs for developers, but that is another story...
I like the circle graph. But most of you don't. So I want to add other layouts, recommended by you!
What I need from you
Do you want to use this app? Are you using Tizen OS 3.0? (app will not support OS 2.3)
Please help me with layout, post here some samples. It is easy to redesign the app now, because I have working core. But when I look at Garmin Fenix 5 or Suunto Spartan (see layouts in attached files) altimeters, I'm not sure if that is what the most pople want.
What another function you would like to see in the app?
Donate would be nice - in XDA profile The app will be always free, as it's mainly for me
Other...
My idea of using this app is:
-You are on trail and you can switch Gear S3 to offline mode with display turned off. At evening, in basecamp, you can analyse altitude data. Or event after 30 days!
-During working day, you can easily track when did you used elevator, went the steps etc...
The process of loading a new data (when you select new interval):
1. Graph of barometric pressure[blue] ->
2. Graph of calculated altitude[orange] ->
3. Graph of polished altitude[green], now bezel is enabled.
Thank you so much for ideas!!
Hey mate,
i've been here on XDA for a while now, but you got my attention enough to finally make an account.
I'd love to support you and your app, but first of all, it needs to be downloadable in Europe (Gears S3 frontier, without LTE).
As a gliderpilot this App could be a real help.
Some ideas include:
- Increase and decrease of altitude (in ft/min and m/s)
- Warning at: above, below, passing through a certain height
- Time between heights (interesting for high altitude hikers as well, like: above XXX ft for YY minutes)
As a pilot I also would like to see the glide slope, but this wouldn't fit into this app.
I'd like to offer my help as developer. I'm goood in C#/Photoshop but never have written something for Tizen. I would need some advice.
Otherwise i could offer a donation (but prefer to work^^)
Greetings
Diego
Hi Diego,
thank you for your post!
About developing for Tizen - it's a bit nightmare It is not difficult, the problem is OS bugs and no compatibility between different versions of OS, which cause bad reviews, which caused suspend of my apps in store. I want to support only latest OS for Gear S3.
Overall, it's not a problem to code your ideas at all. I'm using chart.js, where it's possible to graph almost everything.
I'm using this app a lot by myself, but I deleted it from the store, because OS 3.0 has a bug with rotary bezel (bezel is frozen after date/time picker shows) and I don't want to receive bad reviews. I may rename it as "beta" and post it again...
About your effort, it would be really helpful to design a layout in Photoshop. Than I can try to code it.
As the app is now working in history mode (browsing collected data (1 sample minute)), I would imagine splitting the app for
REAL-TIME mode (new)
HISTORY mode
So, what do you think about making some layouts?
Thanks!
Really interested in this app for Tizen 3.0.
Will it be available in the app store at some point?
Hi Dev,
Thanks for your work.
I used and installed your app, but as many users say, the 360 deg chart is counter-intuitive and ended up uninstalling.
I very much prefer the Suunto one, Garmin in second place.
Altitude charts always with linear x-y axis in my opinion, very intuitive.
Have you considered using altitude data based on location (like Strava does) instead of relying on barometric changes?
If the chart was linear I'd be happy to use again and donate.
IIRC, it was somewhat intricate to pick the timespan for the chart -don't remember the details.
Thanks
Hello,
but many users are still on 2.3 (I don't know why) => because there is not Tizen os 3 on some devices (Gear S2 for instance).
I’ve just reset my watch because I have to change my phone.
There is no way to get all old apps
Dashboard Watchface and altimeter for exemple disappears from my watch and there is no possibility to get it from Galaxy store.
What a shame. This is planned obsolescence.

Checklist when choosing a watch face

Hello community,
When shopping for watch faces, it is possible that you get attracted to certain designs and buy them, only to realize later that the watch face is missing one or more things that you would like to have. Then it becomes a question of whether to keep the watch face or get a refund.
Watch faces come with the following types of customizations:
1. Complications: which display information directly from another app, e.g. weather, date, etc. - VERY USEFUL
2. App Shortcuts: which are simply shortcuts to apps on your watch - NOT very useful.
A good watch face will support more number of custom Complications. Some of the elements in a watch face are fixed, and cannot be customized. Most Developers deliberately make some of the information on the watch faces non-customizable (not sure why, so my guess is to sell more watch faces). So look specifically for what can be customized. Typically, 4 or more custom complications would make for a great watch face.
Personally, I prefer watch faces that show basic things prominently such as time, date and weather. There are many watch faces whose designs may look good, but not as functional as one would like it to be. The designs often obscure the information, making them difficult to read at a glance. It is a smart watch, and therefore, should present info in as easy to read manner, as possible.
So here is a handy checklist that can be used to see what all features are available in a watch face:
TIME & DATE: These are obvious, so I won't include them in the list (and these don't make a watch 'smart'):
01. DAY of the week
02. Weather
03. Weather, with location name: very few watch faces support this.
04. Moon Phase: very few watch faces support this.
05. Phone Battery*
06. Watch Battery: present in most watch faces.
07. Calendar, preferably with the ability to display 'Agenda': very few watch faces support this.
08. World Clock
09. Weather related info like 'Feels like Temperature', Sunrise and Sunset, UV index, etc: most watch faces support these.
10. Chance of Rain: very few watch faces support this.
11. UTC time**
12. Day of the year**
13. Week of the year**
14. Step Counter***
15. Distance Covered***
16. Calories burnt***
17. Heart Rate (bpm)****
18. Blood Pressure (BP)
19. Google Fit (or other similar apps/ service like Samsung Health) integration: only some watch faces support this.
* if not supported natively, you can enable this on most watch faces by installing this app.
** if not supported natively, you can enable this on most watch faces by installing this app
*** if not supported natively, you can enable this on most watch faces by installing this app.
**** if not supported natively, you can enable this on most watch faces by installing this app.
Do take note of the AOD mode when selecting a watch face. This is very important. Some watch faces only offer a 'DIM' mode for AOD. This is bad as this will not only drain more battery, but will also cause screen burn-in. The AOD mode must ideally offer a 'Time only' option, and preferably shifting pixels too!
There are two types of watch faces I have come across so far:
1. One that allows use of complications available with WearOS, as well as 3rd party apps.
2. One that relies on its own set of complications, and you need to install a companion app on the phone: This severely limits the amount of information you can have.
Watch faces in the 1st category are usually preferred due to their versatility and number of complications supported.
SUMMARY
What I look for before buying a watch face:
1. Prominent Time, Date & Day (text should be big enough)
2. 4 or more custom complications (excluding the above)
3. Minimal AOD (such as Time-only option to help avoid screen burn-in and save battery)
Hope this helps.
RELATED POSTS
You'll find more info and related links here:
Wear OS - Facts
Hello community! In this post, I am giving you info on some aspects of Wear OS, which you may or may not know. All the details presented are based on my experience with Samsung Galaxy Watch4 (WiFi model), running on Wear OS 3.x. So they may not...
forum.xda-developers.com
Watch Faces with support for rare complications
Hello community! In an earlier post where I provided a checklist to refer to when choosing a watch face, I had mentioned a few complications that were to be found only in very few watch faces. In this post, I will include links to some watch...
forum.xda-developers.com
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