Just when we thought we’d discovered all the best hidden Apple Watch features, a stellar—and we literally mean stellar—Apple Watch watch face changer was discovered. I think those interested in the planets of our solar system will like this little hack.
If you know how to use the Apple Watch, you’ve probably figured out how to change the Apple Watch face. You might even know how to use a photo as an Apple Watch face. But have you explored the Astronomy watch face yet?
Although the original Astronomy watch face debuted with the first generation Apple Watch, it received an update with watchOS 9 alongside the release of Apple Watch Series 8. All of the new watch faces with watchOS 9 are interactive in one way or another, but the Astronomy watch face has a particularly cool feature .
The default Astronomy watch face view shows the Earth, pinpointing your current location along with real-time cloud cover. When editing the watch face, you’ll also be able to choose between the Moon and Solar System views. You must enable Solar System views to see this hidden feature.
Once the Solar System view is saved as your watch face, simply turn the digital crown in either direction and you’ll see the alignment of all 8 planets in orbit with the Sun at the center. You can scroll several years into the past or future to see how the orbiting planets were lined up before or how they will be lined up one day.
While this isn’t a real answer and you won’t be able to see the next time Mercury goes retrograde, it’s a fun way to explore the Solar System from your wrist. At the very least, it’s a clever party trick, since we’re guessing most people don’t know about this feature.
How to get the Apple Watch Astronomy watch face
- Press and hold the watch face.
- Swipe left until you see the plus (+) icon and tap the icon.
- Scroll down to the Astronomy watch face and tap Add. The dials are listed alphabetically, so he’s at the top.
- Scroll to the View option in the customization menu and scroll down to select Solar System.
- Press the digital crown twice to see your 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 select older watches.