BALLOZI Vero Watch Face

First Impression

I grabbed this watch face about 13 months ago because I needed something cleaner for my Samsung Galaxy S23. The default watch faces felt too basic or too busy, and I had a part-time job at a coffee shop where I needed to glance at the time quickly without getting syrup on the screen. I saw BALLOZI Vero Watch Face had good ratings and a ton of screenshots showing different colors and complications. On a Tuesday morning before class, I paid the couple bucks and installed it. At first, I was impressed by how crisp it looked—the numbers were bold, the background wasn’t cluttered, and I could actually read it when my hands were wet from washing mugs. It felt like I finally had a watch face that looked like it cost more than I paid.

What It Does Well

The customization is where this app shines for me. I like switching the color based on my mood or what I’m wearing, and there are at least 20 presets to mess with. The step counter complication actually updates in real time, which my old free face never did. I also keep heart rate and battery life on the display, and they refresh without lag. The weather info is decent, though it sometimes pulls data a little slower than I’d like. For my daily routine—walking to campus, checking notifications between lectures, timing my lunch break—it does everything I need without making me dig into menus. The battery drain is minimal too; I end most days around 60%, which is way better than those animated faces that eat power like candy.

Where It Falls Short

Honestly, the biggest disappointment is the support. A few months ago, the watch face stopped syncing the step count properly—it would freeze at 3,000 steps even after I’d walked twice that. I emailed their support address listed in the app description. It took them five days to reply, and the response was super vague: they said to restart the watch and reinstall the app. I did that three times; nothing changed. When I asked for a refund because the core feature was broken, they just repeated the same advice and then stopped replying. Also, the app store page says it works with more devices than it actually does. A buddy tried it on his older Fossil watch and it wouldn’t even install. The free version is basically useless—it only shows one color scheme and hides half the complications behind a paywall. And once you pay, you still can’t add custom photos or unique widgets like some pricier faces offer.

Is It Worth the Price?

For the few bucks they charge, I’d say it’s fair—if you’re patient and the thing works out of the box. I’m a student so I’m not throwing money around for apps that crash or ghost me when something breaks. The first six months were great, so the price felt like a steal. But after the sync issue and the radio silence from support, I started to feel like I wasted money on something that’s now half-functional. If you’re the type who buys a watch face and never talks to the developer, you’ll probably be happy. But if you want support when things go wrong, don’t hold your breath. I think it’s worth trying on a day when you’ve got a gift card or spare change, not when you need a reliable tool for work or school.

Developer & Support

Look, I get that BALLOZI is probably a small team or one person making watch faces in their spare time. The faces look good, so they clearly care about design. But the support experience was garbage. I sent my first email on a Wednesday afternoon with screenshots of the step counter stuck at 3,000 and a description of what I tried. I got an automatic reply, then nothing until Monday. When they finally answered, it felt like a copy-paste script: “Please restart device and reinstall app.” No apology, no acknowledgment of the screenshots, no timeline for a fix. I followed up twice and got ghosted. The app hasn’t had an update in the year I’ve owned it, so I doubt they’re actively fixing bugs. If you’re okay rolling the dice on a static product, fine. But don’t expect help if something breaks.

Privacy & Safety

This app asks for permissions to access health data, location for weather, and sensors for heart rate. On my Galaxy S23, it never asked for anything weird like contacts or photos, which I appreciated. The permissions are pretty standard for a watch face with complications—you can’t get step count without body sensors, obviously. But I did notice the app’s privacy policy link in the store page is broken; it just shows a 404 error when I clicked it. That made me a little uneasy, even though I haven’t seen any sketchy behavior like ads or battery drain overnight. A girl in my study group warned me about apps that harvest HR data, so I keep location turned off except when I actually check the weather. Nothing shady has happened yet, but the missing policy is a red flag.