What you need to know
- watchOS 8 is getting not one, but two new watch faces.
- A new World Timer watch face was revealed during a WWDC21 session.
During the WWDC21 keynote, Apple highlighted a new portrait watch face that users could choose with the new watchOS 8 update that is set to release to all users this fall. However, that does not appear to be the only new watch face coming to the Apple Watch.
As reported by 9to5Mac, a new watch face called "World Timer" has been revealed in one of the developer sessions at WWDC21.
During the "What's New in UIKit" session that highlights the latest updates and enhancements to the iOS user interface framework, Apple shows a screenshot of the Watch app in one of the demos. Interestingly, this screenshot reveals a new watch face never announced by the company.
This new "World Timer" watch face is shown at 8:48 in the "What's New in UIKit" session! pic.twitter.com/OkMBodEc6ZThis new "World Timer" watch face is shown at 8:48 in the "What's New in UIKit" session! pic.twitter.com/OkMBodEc6Z— Duraid Abdul (@duraidabdul) June 8, 2021June 8, 2021
The new watch face features a world map with time zones of cities around the world.
Named World Timer, the new watch face shows a world map with the time zones of dozens of cities around the world. This replicates some traditional mechanical watch models that also show the time zones of multiple cities around the world, similar to GMT watches — which also inspired one of the new watch faces in watchOS 7 last year. GMT watches, however, only indicate the time of two time zones at once.
The report makes a point that Apple held off on announcing a number of new watch faces until the Apple Watch event in the fall last year, so it could be planning to do the same with the Apple Watch Series 7 this year as well.
Last year, Apple revealed only two new watch faces for watchOS 7 at WWDC 2020 and held back other new ones for the September event. This could indicate a new strategy by the company to just unveil the new watch faces with the announcement of a new Apple Watch model instead of introducing them at a developer event, similar to when the final iOS releases bring even more new wallpapers.
If you want to use the World Timer watch face to track the time of cities around the world, you'll be able to do so when watchOS 8 releases to the public this fall. Check out our list of the Best Stands to Charge Both iPhone and Apple Watch 2021 to ensure your watch has enough juice to track all of those time zones.
