About MD170B: Digital watch face
I’m the kind of person who hates unlocking my phone for something as stupid as the time or weather. I got this app because I needed a watch face that actually shows me what I need at a glance — no swiping, no tapping, no nonsense. MD170B is a digital watch face for smartwatches that gives you a modern, clean display with all the basics. Time, date, battery level, weather — it’s all right there on the screen. I use it on my Apple Watch Ultra paired with my iPhone 15 Pro, and it syncs right from the companion app on my phone. It’s not trying to be flashy or artistic; it’s just functional. And honestly, that’s exactly what I wanted. I don’t have time to admire design flourishes. I need to see that it’s 8:47 AM and that I have 10 minutes before my next call. This does that.
Core Features
The main draw here is how much info you can pack onto the screen without it looking like a mess. You can choose from a bunch of different layouts, color schemes, and complication slots. I set mine to show the time big and bold in the center, then around it I’ve got the date, my next calendar event, battery percentage, and current temperature from my location. There are also options for heart rate, step count, and even a second timezone if you travel a lot. The customization is deeper than I expected — you can tweak fonts, accent colors, and background styles to match your mood or whatever watch band you’re wearing that day. The app itself is pretty basic; it’s just a browser of faces and a sync button. That’s fine by me. I don’t want a bloated app with social features or ads. I want to pick a face, sync it to my watch, and get on with my life. The battery drain on my watch has been normal — no worse than any other face I’ve used.
Real-World Use
I’ve been using this for about two weeks now, and it’s become my daily driver. Last Tuesday, I had back-to-back meetings starting at 9 AM. I was walking from my car to the office and a client called me early. I glanced at my watch, saw the temperature was 34°F, and knew I needed to grab my jacket from the car. That one-second glance saved me from being cold for the next hour. Little things like that add up. The only weird thing I’ve noticed is that sometimes the weather complication takes a few seconds to update when I walk outside from a building — but that’s more of a watchOS thing than the face itself. Otherwise, it’s been rock solid. I’ve tried maybe five other paid faces before this one, and they all had some annoying quirk like a laggy second hand or a complication that refused to show my calendar properly. This one just works. No crashes, no weird glitches. I set it up once and haven’t touched it since.
Pricing & Value
This is a paid app — I think I paid like $3.99 or something. For a watch face, that’s actually pretty standard. Some of the popular ones are $5 or $6, so this is on the lower end. And honestly, I’d pay that again without complaining because it actually solved my problem. There are no in-app purchases or hidden fees. What you see in the app is what you get. No subscription garbage, no “premium” tiers for basic features. That’s refreshing. I hate when I buy an app and then find out I have to pay again to unlock colors or fonts. This developer kept it simple. Is it worth $3.99? For me, yes. I look at my watch dozens of times a day. If every look saves me two seconds because the info is where I expect it, that’s two minutes saved per day, or an hour per month. My time is worth more than four bucks.
Updates & Support
I haven’t needed to contact support, so I can’t speak to that experience directly. But I did read through the App Store reviews before buying, and the developer seems responsive. I saw a few people complaining about syncing issues with older watch models, and Matteo (the dev) replied to each of them with troubleshooting steps. That’s better than most app developers in this space. There have been a couple of updates since I installed it — one added a new font option, and another fixed a glitch where the compass complication wouldn’t rotate properly. The update cadence seems decent, like once every two months or so. That’s good enough for me. I don’t need weekly updates for a watch face. Just fix bugs and maybe add a couple new styles once in a while.
Data & Privacy
The app asks for location access for weather, and health data access for heart rate and steps. That’s standard for any watch face with those features. I noticed it also asks for calendar access if you want the next event complication. I granted all of that because it’s necessary for the face to work. The privacy policy in the app says they don’t collect or store any of that data on their servers — it all stays on-device. That’s what I expected, and I believe it based on how lightweight the app is. No weird permissions requests, no pop-ups trying to sell me something. It just uses what it needs to show the information on your wrist, and that’s it. I’m not worried about it.
What information can I display on the MD170B watch face without needing to tap or swipe?
You can see the time, date, battery level, weather, next calendar event, heart rate, step count, and even a second timezone all at a glance. The layout keeps everything clean and readable, so you don't need to interact with the watch to get the info you need.
How do I customize the layout and colors on MD170B?
Use the companion app on your iPhone to choose from multiple layouts, color schemes, and complication slots. You can tweak fonts, accent colors, and background styles, then sync the face to your watch with a single button press.
Why does the weather complication sometimes take a few seconds to update after I go outside?
This is a common behavior tied to watchOS, not the watch face itself. The weather data refreshes based on your watch's connection and location updates, so a brief delay is normal when transitioning from indoors to outdoors.
Will MD170B drain my Apple Watch battery faster than other watch faces?
No, battery drain is normal and comparable to other watch faces you've used. The reviewer noted no worse battery life than any other face, and the face is designed to be efficient without laggy animations or excessive processing.
How does MD170B compare to other paid watch faces like the $5–$6 options?
MD170B costs around $3.99, which is on the lower end for paid watch faces. Unlike some competitors that have annoying quirks like laggy second hands or broken calendar complications, this face is rock solid, functional, and stays reliable after initial setup.
