How to Change the Screensaver on Apple Watch
Apple Watch doesn't use screensavers in the traditional sense — but it does give you meaningful control over what appears on your wrist when the display is active. What most people are actually looking for when they ask this question is how to change the watch face, which is Apple's equivalent of a screensaver: the always-visible display that shows the time, complications, and your chosen visual style.
Here's a clear breakdown of how it works, what you can customize, and why the "right" setup varies significantly from one user to the next.
What Apple Watch Actually Shows Instead of a Screensaver
On a traditional computer, a screensaver activates when the device is idle. Apple Watch works differently. When your wrist is raised or the screen is tapped, it shows your watch face — a fully customizable display that functions as both the home screen and the primary visual identity of the watch.
When the watch is idle and the screen dims, it enters a low-power state. On models with an Always On Display (Series 5 and later, Ultra series), a dimmed version of the watch face remains visible. On older models, the screen goes dark entirely.
So "changing the screensaver" on Apple Watch really means changing or customizing your watch face.
How to Change Your Watch Face
There are two main ways to do this:
Directly on the Watch
- Press the Digital Crown to go to the watch face (if you're in an app).
- Touch and hold the current watch face until it zooms out into editing mode.
- Swipe left or right to browse your existing faces.
- Tap the "+" icon to add a new face from the available library.
- Tap any face to set it as active.
Using the Watch App on iPhone
- Open the Watch app on your paired iPhone.
- Tap "My Faces" to see your current collection or "Face Gallery" to browse all options.
- Choose a face, customize it, and tap "Add" — it will sync to your watch automatically.
The iPhone method gives you a larger screen for previewing and editing, which makes it easier to fine-tune complications and colors. ⌚
What You Can Customize on a Watch Face
Apple Watch faces aren't just cosmetic. Each one supports a different level of customization:
| Customization Option | Details |
|---|---|
| Style / Theme | Choose from dozens of face designs (Modular, Infograph, Siri Face, Portraits, etc.) |
| Color | Adjust the accent color or overall tone |
| Complications | Add functional widgets (weather, heart rate, calendar, etc.) |
| Dial style | Some faces let you change the appearance of watch hands or numerals |
| Photos or portraits | Faces like Portraits or Photos allow personal images |
Not every face supports every option. A face like Modular Compact prioritizes information density, while California or Chronograph leans more traditional and visual.
Variables That Affect Your Options 🎨
The customization available to you depends on several factors:
watchOS version: Apple regularly adds new faces and features with each watchOS update. Some faces are only available on newer software versions. Running an older version of watchOS limits what appears in your gallery.
Apple Watch model: Hardware generation matters. Faces that use the Always On Display feature only work correctly on Series 5 and later. Certain high-resolution complications and faces are optimized for the larger screens on Series 4 and beyond, or the Apple Watch Ultra's larger canvas.
iPhone pairing: Watch faces with photo-based designs pull from your iPhone's photo library. The quality and organization of your photos affects how well those faces work in practice.
Third-party apps: Some apps add their own complications, which you can then place on compatible watch faces. If you use a specific fitness tracker, sleep app, or calendar tool, the face that best supports those complications may narrow your choices.
What Apple Watch Doesn't Support
It's worth being direct about one thing: Apple Watch does not support custom third-party watch faces from outside the App Store ecosystem. Unlike some Android-based smartwatches, you cannot download a watch face file from a website and install it directly.
Apple maintains full control over the watch face library. Third-party developers can contribute complications (the small data widgets on a face), but the faces themselves are Apple's own designs. This is a deliberate platform decision that won't change without Apple choosing to open that door.
If you've seen screenshots of highly customized Apple Watch faces online, they're almost always using clever combinations of Apple's built-in faces with well-chosen complications and color schemes — not third-party faces.
The Always On Display: A Related Setting
If you have a Series 5 or later model and want to control what the watch shows when your wrist is down, the Always On Display setting is relevant here:
- Go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Always On on the watch, or find it in the Watch app under Display & Brightness.
- You can toggle it off entirely, or control whether complications and notifications appear in the dimmed state.
This doesn't change the watch face itself, but it does affect what's visible during idle moments — which is the behavior most similar to a traditional screensaver.
The Part That Varies by User
The watch faces Apple offers span a wide range of visual styles and functional densities. Someone who wants the screen to show rich real-time data will configure their face very differently from someone who wants a clean, minimal look. Portrait photographers might lean into the Portraits face; fitness-focused users might center their setup around activity ring complications.
The "right" watch face isn't a universal answer — it's shaped by which apps you use, how much information you want at a glance, which Apple Watch model you have, and whether your watchOS is up to date. Those details are specific to your setup, and they're what ultimately determines which options are actually available to you.