Apple Watch International Collection: How To Download Your Country’s Watch Face

Apple has announced several new International Collection bands for its Apple Watch. The bands are themed to look similar to those of the flags of the countries represented and to complete the look, Apple Watch faces with stripes of varying widths and colors come even closer to the flag designs. Here’s how to find where to download the watch faces from, so that an Apple Watch can be customized to match a country of choice.

Apple released limited-edition Apple Watch bands in 2016 with national flag color themes for the Olympic Games in Rio. The collection included 14 countries. The 2020 Olympics which were to be held in Tokyo, were postponed until 2021 due to the pandemic and the safety concerns for the athletes and others that would be involved. The Olympic Games have been canceled before, but this is the first such postponement. Barring any changes, the event is scheduled to begin on July 23, 2021. The timing of the international Apple Watch band and face collection is most likely connected to the Olympics.

Apple didn’t specifically tie its new international collection of Apple Watch bands and faces to the 2020 Olympics, but did feature Olympic Gold Medalist Amy Van Dyken in the press release with Van Dyken modeling the U.S. International Collection Sport Loop. In total, twenty-two countries are represented in the color themes of the new Sports Loop bands. The Apple Watch faces are available for download and an App Clip code that is included with the band can be scanned by an iPhone to download the watch face. The faces can also be downloaded from Apple’s website, but it might not be immediately obvious how to do so.

How To Get The New Apple Watch Faces Now

Apple used the international Apple Watch band collection as a way to demonstrate the usefulness of its new App Clips feature. While the App Clip code included with the watchband purchase allows downloading of a national flag-themed watch face, there’s no need to wait for the band to arrive before getting and using them now. By visiting the Apple Watch page on Apple’s website on an iPhone, then scrolling about a quarter of the way down, the international collection can be found. After tapping the button labeled ‘See the countries‘ a pop-up window reveals the list of 22 nations. Selecting any of the color icons will show a preview of both the band and the face matching the national flag. Scrolling again will reveal a button labeled ‘Add Apple Watch Face.’ Finally, tapping this button will download the watch face and add it to the paired Apple Watch.

It’s worth noting that each international watch face is just a custom Stripes face and the same style can be created without downloading Apple’s designs. However, Apple has done a good job with the design and it can be tedious setting stripe widths and colors, so it saves some effort to use Apple’s remade international collection of Apple Watch faces. Not to mention, they pair nicely with the associated Apple Watch Sport Loop bands.

Source: Apple

About The Author

Alan Truly
(1141 Articles Published)

Alan is a Tech Writer living in Nova Scotia, Canada. A tech-enthusiast since his youth, Alan stays current on what is new and what is next. With over 30 years experience in computer, video and photo equipment, you can expect useful tips and insights in his writing. Alan has a degree in programming, many years focused on design, editing, and animation. A period of managing logistics and e-commerce operations for a mobile accessories company rounds out a diverse background. Alan is a true jack of all digital trades in this ever-changing computer-enriched world. To stay flexible in mind and in body, he practices yoga, light cardio, and eats a whole food diet, based on minimally processed plants.

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