Just when I thought I’d discovered all the best hidden features of the Apple Watch, I found a top-notch, and I mean top-notch tool when changing the watch face of the Apple Watch. I think those who are interested in planets in the solar system will love this little trick.
If you know how to use your Apple Watch, you probably already know how to change the look of your Apple Watch. Maybe you even know how to use a photo as a watch face on your Apple Watch. But have you explored the Astronomy watch face yet?
While the original Astronomy watch face debuted on the first-generation Apple Watch, it got an update in watchOS 9 with the release of the Apple Watch Series 8. All new watchOS 9 watch faces interact in some way, but the Astronomy watch face has a particularly cool feature.
The default view of the astronomical dial shows the Earth, pinpointing your current location, and real-time cloud cover. When editing the watch face, you can also choose the Moon and Solar System views. You need to enable Solar System View to see this hidden feature.
After saving the solar system view as your watch face, simply turn the Digital Crown in either direction and you’ll see all 8 planets aligning in orbit around the sun. You can scroll past or future years to see how the planets have lined up in their orbits before, or how they will align one day. While it’s not really the answer to the next Mercury retrograde, it’s a fun way to explore the solar system from your wrist. At least, it’s a clever party trick, since I guess most people don’t know about this feature.
How to get the Apple Watch Astronomy watch face
- Long press your watch face.
- Swipe left until you see the plus (+) icon, then tap it
- Scroll down to Chronometer Dial and press Add. The faces are listed alphabetically, so it’s towards the top.
- Swipe to View Options in the Customize menu and scroll down to select Solar System.
- Press the Digital Crown twice to see the new watch face in action.
This feature looks great on the big screen of the Apple Watch Ultra, but it works with any Apple Watch updated to watchOS 9, including the Apple Watch SE (2022) and some older watches.