Samsung’s newly launched Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra do not support Facer watch faces, and neither company is to blame. Instead, a Wear OS policy change from Google made these watches incompatible with Facer. The popular watch face provider is working with Google to solve the issue. It plans to release some of the faces on the Play Store soon.
Wear OS policy change breaks Facer support for Galaxy Watch 7 and Ultra
Facer is a popular name in the watch face industry. It offers thousands of premium faces for your Wear OS-powered Galaxy Watch. However, Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra buyers were stunned to discover that their favorite Facer faces weren’t compatible with their new watches. They looked for workarounds on the internet but to no avail, because there is no workaround. The new Samsung watches have officially dropped support for Facer.
However, it isn’t Samsung’s or Facer’s fault. Wear OS 5, Google’s updated watch platform that debuted with the Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra, only supports its Watch Face Format. Since Facer doesn’t use this format, its watch faces aren’t compatible with the new Samsung wearables. In fact, this policy change means Facer won’t work on any smartwatch that runs Wear OS 5 out of the box, including Google’s upcoming Pixel Watch 3.
Devices that shipped with older Wear OS versions, like Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 6, would continue to support Facer even after they are updated to WearOS 5. But new watches that run the latest Wear OS version out of the box won’t. At least not until Facer and Google work out a resolution. Facer says it is “actively discussing” the matter with the tech titan. Well, they have been in contact since the Watch Face Format was announced last year. Hopefully, they find a resolution soon.
Watch out for Facer on the Play Store
Since Facer offers additional features, it cannot convert its faces to the Watch Face Format. This will “result in loss of functionality,” the firm says. Also, it isn’t logistically feasible for Facer to convert over 500,000 faces and manually upload them to the Play Store. Even if it decides to remove some features and covert the entire catalog, people who have purchased or subscribed to its faces will lose their purchases and subscriptions. They have to purchase again from the Play Store.
As such, Facer is trying its best to bring its faces to the Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra via traditional means, so users get a full-fledged premium experience. In the meantime, it is in the process of bringing some of its best offerings to the Play Store so buyers of the new Samsung watches have something to play with. Watch out for more information in the coming weeks. The Galaxy Watch Ultra is a powerhouse of a smartwatch and is available for $649.99 on Amazon.
Sumit is passionate about technology and has been professionally writing on tech since 2017. He’s a mathematics graduate by education and enjoys teaching basic mathematics tricks to school kids in his spare time. Sumit believes in artificial intelligence and dreams of a fully open, intelligent and connected world.
