Due to a policy change by Google, new Wear OS 5 watches, including the Pixel Watch 3, Samsung Galaxy Watch7, and Galaxy Watch Ultra, are not compatible with Facer watch faces today. The only watch faces usable on these smartwatches are those that have been built using Google’s “Watch Face Format”.

Why can’t Facer switch to using the “Watch Face Format”?

The Watch Face Format is not compatible with Facer for multiple reasons:

• Its capabilities are more limited than Facer’s, and converting our faces to that format will result in loss of functionality in a number of cases.

• Faces in this format can only be published in the Google Play Store, a manual process which is not logistically feasible for our catalog of 500,000 faces.

• Faces purchased within Facer would not be recognized by Google Play and users would have to repurchase all their watch faces.

• Faces in that format do not support a subscription model and Facer Premium subscribers would lose access to all their watch faces.

In other words, the Watch Face Format was not designed to support a service such as Facer, which is why we are not able to support it today.

We understand these issues are detrimental to Facer users and we have been actively discussing a resolution with Google since the Watch Face Format was announced last year. The change was unfortunately rolled out before a solution could be reached.

What does this mean for you today?

If you are using a Wear OS watch with Wear OS 4 or earlier, nothing changes and you will still be able to access the largest catalog of watch faces in the world. This remains true even if this watch is updated to Wear OS 5.

If you decide to upgrade to the Pixel Watch 3, Galaxy Watch7, or Galaxy Watch Ultra, you will unfortunately no longer be able to use Facer, the watch faces you purchased on our platform, or access all 500,000 watch faces from our catalog via your Facer Premium subscription.

What’s next?

Facer was born on Google’s first version of Android Wear in the summer of 2014 and has been a vibrant part of this ecosystem ever since. From that initial release, Facer grew to become the leading watch face platform on all major smartwatches, enjoyed by 20 million users, accessing a catalog of over 500,000 watch faces. We have fostered tens of thousands of the most creative independent designers on the planet, and our Facer Creator Partner Program has redistributed millions of dollars to them.

WearOS is where Facer started, it is dear to our hearts, and will continue to do our best to support this platform in the best way we can. For our millions of users of Facer-compatible smartwatches, we will continue to serve you with the best watch faces in the world, and bring you the best independent designers and brands to your wrists.

For users of the Pixel Watch 3, Samsung Galaxy Watch7 and Ultra, we are working hard with Google to bring the Facer service to you as well, and until that is done we will progressively bring some of our best watch faces to you in the Google Play store.

The Facer team very much appreciates your patience as we work through this less than ideal situation. We strongly believe in providing you with choice and in having a diverse ecosystem of watch faces, and are working hard with Google to solve this issue. If you also believe this is important, we recommend reaching out to Google to make your voice heard as well.

Thanks a million for your support throughout the years. For any questions, please reach out to our support team at support@facer.io.

The Facer team
Los Angeles, CaliforniaDescription text goes here