iOS 11 Streamlines Creation of Custom Apple Watch Faces With New Share Sheet Option in Photos

Apple has made it easier than ever for users to create custom watch faces on their Apple Watch in iOS 11, thanks to a new share sheet option within Photos on iPhone.

On the current operating systems for iPhone and Apple Watch, users can choose a "Photo" watch face to add to their Apple Watch, but the only way to change the picture is to customize the face on the Apple Watch and swipe left and right through photos in a synced album. "Photo Album" is also available, which automatically shuffles up which picture will appear on Apple Watch -- again, within a selected album -- each time the wrist is raised.

ios 11 watch face creation
Now, Apple has added in a simple new share sheet to Photos on iOS 11, as spotted by French site Watch Generation [Google Translate]. After a photo is selected the sheet gives the option to "Create Watch Face," then users have to choose which face they prefer: a typical photo face where the image is presented as normal, or they can turn the image into one of Apple Watch's new kaleidoscope faces.

For the Photos face, users can now also select 10 custom images directly within the Watch app to add into the photo rotation of the watch face. This should make creating a custom Photos watch face much easier than the current method in iOS 10, where users either have to choose from one of the pre-set albums in iOS, or go into the Photos app to build a custom one with the images they want to see on their Apple Watch face.

ios 11 watch faces 2
For the kaleidoscope watch face, Apple appears to have multiple pre-set images to choose from that result in the distorted images seen at WWDC this week, including a flower and a few of the colorful exploding sand imagery already available as iOS wallpaper options. When users add in a custom image, it'll appear at the end of this list. There are also custom styles of kaleidoscope to choose from, including one that distorts images with triangular geometry ("Facet") and one with softer circles ("Radial").

Check out previous MacRumors coverage from WWDC week for more iOS 11 tidbits, including easier Wi-Fi password sharing, new AirPods controls, Control Center customization, QR code support in Camera, and more. There's also our hands-on video with the new iOS that walks through a few of the biggest additions to the iPhone software, which will launch for everyone sometime this fall.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
Related Forum: iOS 11

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

iPhone Foldable Display Said to Feature iPad-Style 4:3 Aspect Ratio

Friday March 28, 2025 3:44 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming "iPhone Fold" will feature a foldable screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio, according to a Chinese leaker who previously leaked the book-style device's display dimensions. The Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station claims that Apple will adopt a "roughly" 4:3 aspect ratio on the inner display in order to achieve consistency between the outer display, as well as to ensure parity...

Top Rated Comments

44267547 Avatar
102 months ago
This is interesting. But what the Apple Watch really needs, is its own watch face store with an array of watch faces that the user can choose from. And allow a developer kit that the developers can have access to and create hundreds of watch faces to expand on the ones they have currently .
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
576316 Avatar
102 months ago
Not good enough. Why aren't Faces open to developers yet? This is the killer customisation feature that the Watch really needs. Keeping a tight control over it is garbage.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LordQ Avatar
102 months ago
Users: We want to be able to customize the hands, the minute and hour marks, and add the Monogram to more faces!
Apple: Here's the Kaleidoscope face!
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
102 months ago
This is interesting. But what the Apple Watch really needs, is its own watch face store with an array of watch faces that the user can choose from. And allow a developer kit that the developers can have access to and create hundreds of watch faces to expand on the ones they have currently .
This. It seems like a no brainer. People like having the ability to personalize. If anything the sheer amount of watch bands on offer, OEM and 3rd part, should give Apple an indication that personalized watch faces is a good idea that would be nearly universally appreciated by AW owners.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrGimper Avatar
102 months ago
The new watch faces are only useful to 5-year-olds or people who want to relive their LSD experiences of the 60s. Everyone else is out of luck.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Vanilla35 Avatar
102 months ago
While I think it's great that they're continuing to add to customization...at least let devs create watch faces. I would think that would be one of the top 5 features of a smart watch before it's released, not something that's still being tinkered with 3 generations in and 4 watch OS's later.

What harm could it do?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)