One of the defining features that separates watchOS and the Apple Watch from Google’s Wear OS and the variety of Wear OS smartwatches out there, is the inability for third-party developers to release custom watch faces.
The Apple Watch’s faces have become significantly more customizable over the years — especially with the release of watchOS 4 — but it’s still not possible to download watch faces from any one other than Apple. According to code uncovered in watchOS 4.3.1 by 9to5Mac, however, that could soon change.
The latest developer version of Apple’s wearable operating system includes a message that reads: “this is where 3rd party face config bundle generation would happen.”
It’s possible that this is just a placeholder reference, but it could also indicate Apple plans to add the ability for developers to release their own custom watch faces at some point in the future.
Apple is expected to reveal watchOS 5 at the its 2018 Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) on June 4th.
Source: 9to5Mac
