Underscore David Smith has launched a new Apple watch app that — quite frankly — blows my mind. Named Watchsmith, it makes Complications a lot more useful and flexible, as he writes on his blog:
First, it provides a wide array of complications. Each of these is completely customizable, with controls for things like font, color, hand type and location. The initial set is just over 50 unique complications, with dozens more planned down the road. My goal is to provide a complication for just about every use and let you make it look just how you want. In the absence of 3rd-party watch faces, this is the closest I can get to making my own watch faces.
A rich collection of customizable complications would be enough to check this app out, but the real magic comes when you set Watchsmith up to change out complications based on time. In his review of the app at MacStories, Ryan Christoffel explains the feature:
Based on the schedule you set for a given complication type, that complication slot on your watch face will automatically update per your schedule. So you can have certain complications occupy that slot at relevant times of day, getting the most out of each slot on your watch face. If you want to get really crazy, you can even have a different complication show up every hour of the day.
This means if you want to see a calendar on your Watch’s screen from 9 AM to 5 PM, but want to hide it after work, Watchsmith can handle that for you. If you just want to see the Weather for the first few hours of the day, no problem.
Then there’s this magic:
The math involved in building out the “Avoid Watch Hands” feature is probably the thing I’m most proud of in the app. It was one of those ideas that I thought _should_ be possible, but really had no idea how to even begin building it. pic.twitter.com/N32o3w2rh2
— David Smith (@_DavidSmith) April 8, 2020
Smith says he is already working on new complication types, and I expect Watchsmith will continue to grow in features over time. Few people know watchOS development like he does, and it shows with this app.
Watchsmith is a free download with a $1.99/month or $19.99/year subscription to unlock all the complication types.