If theres one thing I love about the possibility of wearables, its swapping in new watch faces.
If you want to make your very own, custom watch face that nobody else has, read on.
Even iOS users can do it!
Im an iPhone user with an Android Wear watch.
Because I think the Apple Watch is a confused, mostly pointless piece of technology.
Google does offer a handful of cool choices, but I found most of them too limiting.
They look nice, but few provide useful information and not one displays the current temperature.
Youll also need to grab drivers for your smartwatch.
Youre on your own there.
Back in the controls menu, go to the newly accessible Developer Options section and enable ADB Debugging.
(Sideloading will happen over USB, so you might leave Bluetooth debugging disabled if you want.)
Take the watch face APK you want to sideload and change its file extension from .apk to .zip.
Extract this zip file you just made and dig into it for the actual APK file.
You should find it in /res/raw.
If you havent already, connect your watch to your machine via USB.
Pick your computing platform below to finish up the sideloading process.
key in in this command (but dont press enter!
The whole sideloading process should take about a minute.
Dont worry if you dont get immediate feedback.
It can take some time to let you know whats up.
In Windows
Open up the command prompt by typing cmd in search.
Just to check that everything is working okay, typeadb devicesto check that your gear can see your watch.
If it can, youll most likely get a serial number with the machine next to it.
key in in this command (but dont press enter!
Fortunately this wont be a problem on your Android Wear equipment.
Now I have an awesome personalized watch face (which you’re free to see above).
UseWatchFaceProto create your own.
It doesnt have an option to display the weather, though.
If you had an Android phone theyd work wonderfully.
Unless youre a savvy Android developer (in which case, why are you taking tips from me?
), youll find more robust watch faces by sideloading third party options.
Nevertheless, making your own unique design can often trump additional features.
Try both and find out what you like!
Regardless of the outcome, its really fun.
Adam Dachisis a Los Angeles-based writer and consultant.
Youll find him writing and making stuff over atAwkward Human, including his podcast theAwkward Human Survival Guide.
