Using a Series 3 Ceramic Edition Apple Watch is like driving a weekend car.

I use my White Ceramic Series 3 occasionally, and it is a joy to look at that thing. Sure it’s an old Apple Watch, but it has that pearlescent white finish that just contrasts well with the black screen and colorful watch faces.

It is the most “Apple-like” color.

Playful…

Serious.

Band compatibility is also great with a white watch. Most color combos would work in my opinion, except for the Natural and Gold Stainless Steel, and Natural Titanium bands. Black Steel and Black Titanium would look amazing.

There’s a lot of work involved though in getting this watch up to speed even for just the weekend. I mentioned earlier that it takes about 9 minutes to boot and have the watch connect to my device, but in reality, it takes about 20-30 minutes for the watch to sync all the messages, weather information, email, etc., to my watch from the past week of living.

I was quite surprised last Saturday when I wore it, and my Messages counter on the watch went from “No new messages,” to 40 new messages, down to 22, and then eventually to “No new messages.”

It really is a device you need to be patient with unless you use it every day.

It’s like an old, weekend car you want to enjoy for a few days, but then you’re glad it’s over by Sunday afternoon because the car is nice and fun, but also a bit cumbersome, makes a few rattles, is missing many creature comforts, needs to be warmed up before you throw it around, and takes premium gas.

Apple found a good balance with this watch by stopping the updates at watchOS 8. I know people like to complain that new updates have slowed down their Apple devices and that’s probably true for the Series 3 on watchOS 8, but you can never please anyone, and you have to find that perfect balance where you can update a device with more features, while keeping it as zippy as possible.

If I wear the Series 3 for weeks on end (which I did earlier), then it doesn’t have to do a massive sync of all the data, and it runs just fine. Just don’t let it run out of battery for the love of God.

Once again, it is absolutely illogical to buy a Ceramic Edition Series 3 for productivity reasons. You’re buying this watch for nostalgia and aesthetics, and you’re trying to experience luxury at a discount. You can do the same with the Stainless Steel models, which were beautiful.

I’ll use Adam Savage’s analogy (also fitting for my line of work), and say that the Series 3 Ceramic and Stainless Steel models are like a gateway drug into experiencing Apple’s premium watches at a steep discount.

Apple Watch Meridian Face - Unique colors you didn’t know about.

I’ve written two earlier pieces about the unique colors for the California and Chronograph Pro watch faces, but what really surprised me was the Meridian watch face.

Meridian is another analog watch face like California and Chronograph Pro and is the simplest of the bunch. It just has 4 complications in the middle of the watch in a diamond-shaped pattern.

The dial can be either black or white contrasted with white or black hour markers. The color that you choose only changes the color of the complications.

The Meridian watch face keeps a low profile with color strictly restricted to the complications. (Standard colors shown.)

There are 139 custom colors to choose from, but only four of those give you a unique look that also change the color of the hour and seconds markers. Combine that with either a white or black face, and you have 8 unique watch faces.

And they look amazing.

Those four colors are Clover, Starlight, Red, and Abyss Blue, and they’re located under the Fall 2021 collection.

Whether you use the white or black face, you get an interesting look that you probably didn’t know existed among the other 135 custom colors.

Just for scale, take a look at all the custom colors below, with the four unique colors highlighted:

4 out 139 have the special color feature.

Not only are the hour markers color-coded, but so are the second markers. In an alternate world, these colors would be: Sour Cream and Onion, Salted Caramel, Peppermint Red, and Gorgonzola.

Now, let’s go dark:

The darker versions really pop more due to the contrast.

Once again, among all the standard and custom colors, only these four give you that extra splash of color.

My theory for why these four colors are special? In Fall 2021, the Series 7 aluminum models came in four special colors: Green, Starlight, (PRODUCT) RED, and Blue.

They also came in the standard Space Gray which was called Midnight, but no one cares.

There are many shades of red to choose from, but the red from Fall 2021 definitely resembles (PRODUCT) RED. I think Apple wanted matching watch face colors with the debut of these new colors and the newly remodeled edge-to-edge screen on the Series 7.

Whatever the reason, I hope you enjoy these new colors on your Meridian watch face.

How to add the Apple logo to your Apple watch face.

Update 2/10/25 @ 8:14pm: added additional image for instructional clarity.

Just like all watch brands that showcase their logo right below the 12 o’clock marker, you can brand your Apple Watch with a Monogram on several watch faces.

Per Apple’s statement:

Choose up to five characters to appear in the Monogram complication on the Typograph, Infograph, Meridian, California, and Color watch faces.

You could add any five characters, but I find it best suited to put the Apple logo in the Monogram complication.

Also, Apple’s statement is wrong. You can also apply the Monogram to the Contour and Solar Analog watch faces (image below).

Go to your Watch App under Clock > Monogram and simply copy and paste this Apple logo: 

Then go to one of the compatible watch faces, and for the “Sub-dial Top” complication, go to Personalization and add the Monogram.

You can have your Apple Watch faces looking like this:

The  logo gives your watch face some class.

WatchOS 11 gets more well deserved criticism.

First it was Zac from 9to5Mac, and now John from Daring Fireball sharing my pain with their Apple Watch frustrations.

Here’s John’s Apple Watch Report Card:

APPLE WATCH: C (LAST YEAR: B)

Series 10 watches feature a new display that supports once-per-second updates while in energy-saving always-on mode. So the seconds hand on an analog face can “tick” once per second even when the display isn’t fully on. But Apple only enabled this ticking seconds indicator on two watch faces, both new to WatchOS 11: Flux and Reflections. Setting aside the fact that I personally don’t like either of those faces (Flux in particular seems deliberately obtuse), this is ridiculous. WatchOS 11 offers, by my quick count, at least 33 different watch faces that offer a non-digital seconds hand or indicator. And only 2 of them support the new 1Hz refresh rate? That’s bullshit. And it wasn’t just a launch thing, because here we are in February, with WatchOS 11.3, and zero additional watch faces have been updated to support it. This is not how a serious watchmaker treats its watches. I will admit to caring far more about always-on seconds hands than most people, but this isn’t how a serious watchmaker deals with technical breakthroughs like this new display with a 1Hz refresh rate. Not just most, but every single watch face should have been updated to support ticking seconds. Apple Watch is turning more into a fitness tracker that happens to show the time, and away from serving as a proper watch.

Also: no Ultra 3 this year. The year-old Ultra 2 did gain a very nice black titanium color option, but that’s it. Kind of weird for a watch that starts at $800 — and that seems quite popular — to skip a year of silicon improvements.

I really hope watchOS 12 fixes all previous watch faces and complications that are compatible with the 1Hz refresh rate, if not sooner.

As for the Ultra 2, marketing wise they get an A for selling the same watch at the same price with a worse color that everyone seems to love even though it rubs off worse than Jet Black.

6 settings you must have for your Apple Watch

Whenever I get an Apple Watch (it’s a yearly thing for me), I always do these six things to give me peace of mind. 

Note: You can setup most of these features on the Apple Watch under Settings, but it is easier to use the Watch app on your iPhone.

1. Add a passcode

This seems like a no-brainer, but our watches are now phones, whether we like it or not. There is too much sensitive data on our watches, and you don’t want anyone looking at your messages, emails, and photos, just to name a few apps. If you jump in the shower and take off your watch, all someone has to do is pick up your watch, and you just gave them access to your life. 

You can choose between a simple 4-digit passcode, and go up to a 10-digit passcode. Pick what works for you, and get peace of mind.

Open the Watch app and go to Passcode, and follow the prompts to set up your passcode.

Adding a passcode is also the only way to get Apple Pay on your watch, which is #2 on my list.

2. Adding Apple Pay

I had an issue recently with my bank where I had a fraudulent transaction posted to my account. Someone somehow used my debit card and it was time to file a fraud claim. Of course I had to wait 5-7 business days to get my new card in the mail. 

What I didn’t have to wait for was my digital card. I could login to my Bank’s app, and activate the digital card instantly. Having Apple Pay on my watch gave me the ability to purchase goods without having to resort to another credit card or bank account.

A more common occurrence is when you forget your iPhone or wallet, and now you can’t pay for anything. Having Apple Pay on your Apple Watch will bail you out in these all too common situations and once again, give you peace of mind.

Open the Watch app and go to Wallet & Apple Pay, and select which cards to add to your watch. If you scroll down, you can even Allow Payments on Mac and use your watch to confirm payments.

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3. Unlock your Mac with Apple Watch

This is a handy feature that any Mac user can appreciate. It is compatible with macOS Sierra and onwards, so odds are it will work with your current Mac. 

It works on my 2013 MacBook Pro. 

On your Mac, go to Settings > Touch ID and Password and scroll all the way down to the Apple Watch section, where you can allow the Apple Watch to unlock your Mac. This is especially handy on older macbooks that don’t have Touch ID. Now you don’t have to be paranoid that someone might be watching you enter your password when your watch will unlock it for you, and give you peace of…you get the idea.

If you have an older mac with the older Settings menu, just search “Apple Watch” in Settings and you will see the option to unlock with Apple Watch.

4. Swipe to change watch faces

This used to be a staple feature of the Apple Watch, but now it is hidden. The draconian way of changing watch faces is to tap and hold your finger on the current watch face screen until it zooms out, swipe left or right to another watch face, and then tap your finger on the screen to select your new watch face. You can do this a lot faster and get access to more information by simply swiping from the edge of your screen to the next watch face, just like in the early days of the Apple Watch.

Open the Watch App and go to Clock, and toggle ON Swipe to Switch Watch Face. 

5. Configure your Live Activities

This is a personal preference, but I would recommend setting up this feature from the get go so you’re not confused. Live Activities give you more upfront information about a particular activity, such as current media being played, workouts, parking timers, stopwatch, etc.

Think of it like Dynamic Island on your watch, except you get these cards at the beginning of your Smart Stack. This is nice when you’re playing a podcast and you want quick access to the pause and play buttons. However, it can also be annoying on other apps such as the ParkMobile app, where the information displayed is limited.

The ParkMobile Live Activity isn’t useful and clicking on the timer button on the right just tells you to “Open on iPhone.”

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The great thing about Live Activities is you can customize which apps are shown.

Open the Watch App and go to Smart Stack. Here you can disable or enable Live Activities altogether, and if you do allow them, you can customize which apps get to have the Live Activity feature. 

But do yourself a favor and disable Auto-Launch Live Activities. It’s just easier to access the Live Activities with a swipe up from your watch or by turning the Digital Crown when you want to, instead of fighting with it all the time when it pops up automatically.

There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to look at your watch and get some info from your complications (left), only to see that your Live Activities are automatically displayed with just the time and date (right).

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6. Unlock your watch with your iPhone

Open the Watch App and go to Passcode, and toggle on Unlock with iPhone. Now once you unlock your iPhone, your watch will be unlocked as long as you are wearing it. This is great if you have a longer passcode for the watch.

Apple Watch compatibility with iPhones.

There’s a slew of iPhones and Apple Watches out there, but not every watch is compatible with every iPhone. How do you get around the confusion?

Apple has a convenient website that lets you know what is compatible, but the chart does not help you if you own an iPhone SE.

I am here to fill in the gap so you know what is compatible with your iPhone SE 1st, 2nd, or 3rd generation. This will be updated as new iPhones, watches, and software updates are announced.

Here’s the link: Apple Watch Compatibility Chart (updated 12-22-24)

To find out what iPhone SE or Apple Watch model you have check out these links:

Identifying your iPhone model

Identifying your Apple Watch model

Updated 12/22/24 @ 8PM: Spreadsheet was updated with more accurate iPhone SE compatibility.

What watch faces are included with the Apple Watch?

Note: This information is based on watchOS 11.

This is a loaded question, and it really comes down to what Apple Watch you have.

Here are all the Apple Watch faces included with watchOS 11.

Not all of these are available on all watches, so let’s mention the exceptions and highlights:

If you have an Apple Watch Ultra or Apple Watch Ultra 2, congratulations because you have all of Apple’s watch faces, including the Wayfinder and the Modular Ultra watch faces which are exclusive to the Ultra lineup.

If you have a Series 7, 8, 9, or 10, you have all the watch faces, excluding the Wayfinder and Modular Ultra watch faces from the Apple Watch Ultra.

Lastly, if you have the Apple Watch SE 2nd generation or Series 6, you get all the watch faces from the Series 7 thru 10, excluding the Contour and the Modular Duo watch faces. These 2 watch faces were introduced with the release of the Series 7 that had bigger displays. The SE and Series 6 have the smaller 40mm and 44mm displays instead of the bigger 42mm, 46mm, and 49mm displays.

Now if these watches were not enough to satisfy your deep pockets, you can distinguish yourselves from your fellow plebeian and get the Apple Watch Hermès Series 10. You get all the watch faces from the Series 10, plus 5 additional Hermès exclusive watch faces: Radial, Circulaire, Hermès, Horse, and Circuit H.

If you opt for the Apple Watch Hermes Ultra 2, you get all the watch faces from the regular Ultra 2, plus 3 bonus Hermès watch faces: Hermès, Radial, and the new Maritime watch face. You do not get the Horse and Circuit H watch faces. I can’t seem to find any information if the Circulaire watch face is included.

My beef with watchOS 10

Ever since watchOS 3, Apple has provided us with a very useful and convenient feature: The ability to easily swipe left and right to change watch faces.

Not anymore.

With watchOS 10, that feature is long gone, and doesn’t seem to be coming back anytime soon. It was missing from the earliest of watchOS 10 betas, and I was thinking that it will eventually come back in a future update. I naively kept waiting and waiting, but it seems to be gone forever.

A key navigation technique that millions have been using for years on their watches, and not a single peep about it from the tech community. Heck, even regular people should be pissed.

WatchOS 10 officially has the slowest method available ever to change watch faces.

A barbaric touch and hold, followed by scrolling right or left in the edit screen. Even the original Apple Watch had a faster way to change watch faces with its Force Touch ability giving you almost instant access to the watch face edit screen.

If Apple had used the swipe right and left gestures for a different function, that would have been one thing, but they completely removed the gesture altogether. I find it hard to believe that the gesture was in some way not compatible with Apple’s new control interface.

Currently a swipe up from anywhere on the watch face takes you to your Smart Stack. Maybe there could be some software "collisions" in detecting a swipe up from a left or right swipe? If that were the case, the Smart Stack gesture should only work when swiping up from the bottom of the display and not anywhere on the display. With this setup, you could easily avoid issues with left and right swipes.

Quite frankly, I don’t think that it is a software issue, since there are hundreds of apps with much more complex touch controls and gestures.

Hopefully Apple will bring back this gesture once they realize how much people miss the ability to switch watch faces on a whim.