When you think of customizing the face of a smartwatch, you can probably imagine something like choosing a new wallpaper on an Android device, or changing the color scheme a bit. But no [Sebastian SARBU], His plan was a little bigger than that. So he cracked Open Android Studio and started writing the face of a truly custom watch that would benefit the most from the device’s display. Fortunately for us, he not only released the source code for others to study, but also documented the development process in a series of videos that you will see below the break.
He called the new interface his “Pizza Watch Face” because it shatters the round screen into pieces with multi-colored “crust” bits that can display different notifications using as few pixels as possible. There is no question that the layout is capable of packing a lot of information in a relatively small space, and while the aesthetics are naturally thematic, we think it looks quite chic.
While this may sound technically correct for Android Studio templates, we actually think it’s a misnomer to call it a mere “clock face”, because it’s really close to the total UI overhaul. As [Sebastian] As explained in the second video in his series, part of his design includes a refined interface for viewing data from other apps, such as battery levels and weather conditions, allowing him to maximize how much information he can access with a minimal number of taps. And swipes across the screen.
He even shuts down the video series with a demonstration of how to upload an Android Studio project to your WearOS device via WiFi, making it a valuable start-to-finish guide to custom face development even if you don’t use his code. We’ve seen some mixed reactions to smartwatches in the community, but while they may not be something we’re all particularly interested in, there’s no arguing that giving more information about working openly with them is a net positive.
Of course, if you really want to get something you want, then maybe a custom open source smartwatch is more than you.