Watch Face Format: What the Wear OS Watch Face Change Means for You
2 min read
If you use a Wear OS watch — Samsung Galaxy Watch, Google Pixel Watch and others — the way watch faces are built has changed. Google now requires the Watch Face Format (WFF) for faces on Google Play.
What is the Watch Face Format?
Want to install one? See how to install a watch face on a Galaxy Watch.
Google introduced the Watch Face Format at Google I/O 2023. It is a declarative XML format: the designer describes what the face looks like and what data it shows, and the watch's system draws it. No app code runs inside the face. That makes faces more efficient, more consistent and easier to keep working across watches.
The timeline
- January 27, 2025: new “legacy” watch faces (built with the older AndroidX or Wearable Support Library tools) could no longer be published on Google Play. Existing ones could still be updated.
- January 14, 2026: legacy faces can no longer be installed from Google Play, receive updates, or be bought (one-off purchases, in-app purchases and subscriptions ended).
What happens to faces you already have?
Legacy faces already installed on your watch keep working, and existing purchases and subscriptions keep working too — but they will not renew. If a favourite face disappears from Google Play, the designer has not (yet) rebuilt it in the new format.
Why it is good for users
- Battery: the system draws the face efficiently instead of running code for it.
- Reliability: faces behave the same way on different watches and keep working after system updates.
- Safety: no executable code means less that can go wrong.
For designers
Faces made with Samsung's free Watch Face Studio must be rebuilt and resubmitted with version 1.8.7 or later to stay on Google Play.