Evan Pratten
Evan Pratten
Software Developer

It started from a simple question. What would it be like to use a 24-hour analog clock?

<img src="/images/software/apps/slice/slice.png" style="border-radius: 100%; box-shadow: 0 0 10px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5); width: 100%; max-width: 300px; margin: 0 auto; display: block;" alt="Slice watchface"

Slice is an analog/digital hybrid watchface that features four main components:

The Center Cluster

The center cluster features the key elements that make a watch useful to me.

Somewhat surprisingly, I mainly check my watch to know the date. As such, the current date is displayed in a minimal, yet unambiguous manner at the top of the cluster.

The dual timestamps are a recent addition to my watchface setup. I've found the presence of a UTC clock to be quite useful when coordinating with people in different timezones, and understanding server logs.

The Outer Ring

The outer ring features four ticks at 00:00, 06:00, 12:00, and 18:00. These ticks act like the "homing keys" of the outer ring, allowing for a rough estimation of the current time.

Additionally, a thick tick and a thin tick slowly make their way around the outer ring to represent hours and seconds, respectively.

Observations

Slice has been the one and only watchface on my smartwatch since 2022.

I quite like the "hour hand" on the outer ring, and use it as a quick visual indicator of my progress through the day. The "second hand" was a later addition, allowing me to use my watchface as an impromptu timer.

In the future, I plan to add a Google Calendar integration to the watchface. I would like to display important calendar events as arcs across the 24-hour timeline, allowing me to quickly see how my day is structured.

Try Slice

Slice is available for purchase on the Google Play store.