Don't expect third-party faces for the Apple Watch

Cupertino VPs Kevin Lynch and Deidre Caldbeck confirmed that third-party watch faces for the Apple Watch aren't something Apple is considering. The pair joined Swiss media TagesAngzeiger for an interview.

Because the watch face is effectively the homescreen of the watch, Apple would rather it be first-party. The pair illustrated that Apple wouldn't otherwise be able to ensure the third-party watch face would continue to function properly after a software update.

The two also shared that the decision to change the single press on the Digital Crown from the app switcher to the Control Center was driven by user feedback. People want to have ready access to the Control Center and this creates one. A double press opens up the app switcher.

The big move to the Smart Stack widget system in WatchOS 10 was also influenced by user feedback.

Finally, the pair touched on Force Touch - the feature that allowed users to press harder to get access to more information in the early Apple Watches. Apple needed Force Touch because of the smaller screens of its earlier watches but with the increase in size, the company found better ways to display information, making Force Touch redundant.

Source | Via