The Apple Watch Series 10, and the lack of an Apple Watch Ultra 3, has sparked fresh discourse over which Watch model is actually ‘best.’ A key factor in comparing the Series 10 with the Apple Watch Ultra 2 involves software. Both models run watchOS 11, yet despite very similar screen sizes, there’s a key software advantage that remains exclusive to the Ultra. Here’s what you should know.
Two key watch faces remain Ultra-exclusive
The Apple Watch Series 10 officially hit users’ wrists last Friday, including my own.
One big question I had when buying mine had to do with watch faces. watchOS 11 features the brand new Reflections and Flux faces.
But what about the Apple Watch Ultra-exclusive faces? Does the Series 10, and its technically larger display, gain support for those big screen-optimized faces?
Unfortunately, the answer is no.
Apple Watch Ultra includes two very nice and very exclusive watch faces:
- Modular Ultra
- Wayfinder
I was especially hoping my Series 10 would gain support for the Modular Ultra face. Though the name, I suppose, should have been the tipoff to temper my expectations.
Modular Ultra would be great on Series 10’s large display
Modular Ultra is one of the most versatile faces available on Apple Watch. Here’s what’s makes it so unique:
- It offers a whopping seven complications.
- There’s a large center complication plus three small complications at the top and three at the bottom.
- The face features six options for customizing the size and layout of the time.
- Perhaps most uniquely, there’s a special area around the face’s bezel where you can display additional data. You can choose for the outer edges to display depth or elevation data, the seconds counting up to a minute, or the new Training bezel that features data from Vital on the left edge and Training Load on the right.
Top comment by Terry Benedict
For a device that apple claims is their "most personal device ever" it certainly isn't. These are watch faces we are talking about here. Insane that there still isn't a way for people to add their own. And customizing a face is just adding a complication or two which are also locked down to what Apple feels is right. As a former developer for the Apple Watch it was the greatest device and also the most frustrating. I understand locking down health features but thats it. There is no real reason that after 11 os updates there is no way to have a true custom watch face.
One other strength is that Modular Ultra offers Night Mode support, which turns the whole face red.
Wayfinder isn’t as appealing to me personally, but it’s a nice face option that specializes in offering info to runners, hikers, and underwater enthusiasts.
I would love to see Modular Ultra come to the Apple Watch Series 10 some day. There’s certainly nothing in the hardware that would prevent Apple from porting it over. But perhaps the company wants to retain a key feature that could motivate users to choose an Ultra.
Do you think Apple should bring these faces to the Series 10? Let us know in the comments.
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