Apple released watchOS 11 software to the public this week, and the surprising absence of several old Watch faces has enthusiasts in a frenzy.
Users noticed the change earlier this week after watchOS 11 rolled out to all top Apple Watch models on Monday. A poster on Reddit noticed that the Chronograph and Explorer Watch face were removed, with commentators quick to point out that the numbers had also been removed, along with the Siri face.
“I’m super disappointed that they removed both the Explorer and original Chronograph faces,” the user complained. “These were two of my favorites, and they’re a lot more functional than most of the new faces that have been introduced in the last few years.”
watchOS 11 arrives with a slew of new health and fitness features, but there’s also the expected sprinkling of new Watch faces. Apple has updated the Photos face, which now includes AI-powered recommendations to give you the best possible results. There’s also a new Flux face that takes advantage of the Apple Watch Series 10’s new 1Hz display, and a new Reflections face to complement the finish of the new Titanium version.
However, these new faces don’t seem to be landing with enthusiasts, who are more concerned about getting back some of their old favorites. In fact, users in the Apple Watch subreddit are filing feedback forms on Apple.com asking for the removed faces to return.
watchOS 11 delivers a hard blow
There doesn’t seem to be a technical or functional reason for Apple to remove these Watch faces. So it’s likely that Apple made this shift to refresh and improve the overall aesthetic and design language of watchOS, which is certainly more artistic and abstract than before.
The removal of the Chronograph watch face seems to have particularly irked some users, as it was one of the original watch faces that debuted when the Apple Watch launched in 2014.
Another post in the same subreddit calling the removal of Watch faces unacceptable has gained a lot of attention this week. one user He criticised the measure as “totally anti-consumer in every way”.
The obvious solution, also suggested by users on Reddit, would be to implement downloadable Watch faces on Apple Watch. Until then, it seems that fans of Chronograph, Explorer and the old Numerals face are out of luck on watchOS 11.