Recently, many people have been updating their existing Apple Watches to watchOS 11. Meanwhile, others have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of their new Apple Watch Series 10 or black Apple Watch Ultra 2 models, which come with watchOS 11 preinstalled. While this update adds many great features, it also removes some options.
Four watch faces have been removed from watchOS 11: the Chronograph, Explorer, Numerals, and Siri faces. Although it makes sense that Siri’s face has been removed because the new Smart Stack essentially replaces it, eliminating the others is indeed puzzling.
The Chronograph watch face has been available since the first Apple Watch launched a decade ago. Beginning with watchOS 7, it sat side by side with the remaining Chronograph Pro face.
The Explorer face (see above) launched alongside the Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE. Only ever available on LTE-capable Apple Watch models, the analog watch face offered a quick way to see the strength of someone’s cellular network.
The removal of the Numerals watch face is the biggest head-scratcher. It featured a numerical hour marker behind analog watch hands and added complications and as few customization options as possible on the face.
Apple has not publicly stated why these watch faces were removed with watchOS 11. This seems to be the first instance of removing available watch faces on the wearable device.
Bryan M. Wolfe / Digital Trends
Apple introduced three new watch faces in watchOS 11 while replacing four existing ones. The new Photos watch face uses machine learning to help users choose the best photo options based on aesthetics, composition, and facial expressions. It also includes a Dynamic mode that shows a different image each time the user raises their wrist.
The new dynamic Flux watch face scrolls the time upward in various colors to create a visually engaging experience. Lastly, the Reflections watch face includes animations and ripple effects that respond to wrist movements.
In addition to the four new watch faces and the upgraded Smart Stack, watchOS 11 includes a new Vitals health app, Translate app, and updates to the Workout, Activity, and Home apps, among other changes.
