Level 1

60 points

New GMT face

Is it just me, or is something not quite right in the new GMT face? My understanding of a GMT watch is that the red hand is somewhat like an hour hand, however it does a 360 degree sweep in 24 hours instead of 12 hours. E.g. pointing straight up should be 00:00 GMT, whilst at 12:00 GMT the hand should be pointing straight down.

Playing around with the watch face, it appears to me like the red hand is instead pointing to the current time in London which is British Summer Time (GMT + 1).

It's 13:00 in London now, which means it's 12:00 GMT. The red hand is not pointing straight down, it's actually pointing at the 13:00 indicator.

Is this a bug, or is my understanding of the watch face misplaced?

Apple Watch

Posted on Sep 16, 2020 5:04 AM

Top-ranking reply

horton_river

Level 1

4 points

Posted on Sep 24, 2020 2:05 AM

I think the way Apple's GMT watch face works is confusing (and different to most GMT watches). Many of the responses on this thread are not quite right and people are unnecessarily confused by the implementation.

Below I will refer to the alternate time as GMT (it could be any alternate time choosable).

The way most GMT watches works (and how I think the Apple GMT Face should work) is like this:

Separate bezel numbered up to 24
The GMT bezel doesn't have to move (and usually doesn't)
The GMT hand indicates the 24 hour time
If it is12 noon GMT the GMT hand would point straight down (to regular the regular 6 is)

Currently the Apple GMT Watch Face GMT bezel rotates (apparently to indicate offset from your current time zone) and the GMT hand only goes between 1 and 12 with the colour of the GMT bezel used as a guide as to whether it would be night or day (am/pm).

Apple could rectify the issues by changing to the regular method I have described or at least providing the option to have a fixed or offset GMT bezel in the face options.

An important user group of watch faces like this are pilots who use UTC for precise, reliable and consistent time sharing. For pilot's the world over the time is the same (UTC time) and it is stated in 24hr format. Apple, please label the GMT bezel up to 24 or have the number in the circle (at the end of the GMT hand) going from 00 up to 23. eg. 15 minutes after midnight UTC is zero zero one five (WATCH should show 00) and 1045pmUTC is 2245 (should show 22). Hopefully you get the idea.

Examples:

View in context

Similar questions

91 replies

fwerlang

Level 1

4 points

Sep 22, 2020 2:02 PM in response to C5Pilot

i am also curious to see if this difference between dark and light is really the sunrise and sundown hours.

Sep 25, 2020 5:33 AM in response to C5Pilot

off topic - doesn’t the Omega “Mars Watch”

also have the capability to display “Sol” (a Martian day) too? (Curious)

C5Pilot

Level 1

45 points

Sep 28, 2020 11:04 AM in response to airman2482

I don't see that listed as a function for the Omega X-33, but a great idea I'm sure they could add with a firmware upgrade when they need to wear them on a manned Mars mission.

Sep 28, 2020 9:04 PM in response to C5Pilot

I wondered what the Martian Explorers would do since the time is slightly different for a Day on Mars.. thanks for the answer!

Oct 1, 2020 6:53 AM in response to ElkeM

The red hand never changes regardless of what time zone is selected. Thanks for the effort, but your explanation did nothing to make this watch face understandable.

Oct 1, 2020 7:57 AM in response to Tednol

I'm having the same problem. I have it set to "none" & it still has a red line 12 hours opposite of my minute hand.

Oct 12, 2020 2:21 PM in response to akcshooter

Thanks, akshooter! Never would have thought if that. All the best!

Oct 16, 2020 10:18 AM in response to mgrad92

This is the best explanation I have found too. Once you have viewed this video, it's not hard to understand a GMT watch.

Nov 7, 2020 7:38 AM in response to Tednol

Related, but I can't get the date to show. The option is there within the GMT face complications (Middle (Date)), but it's set to off and I can't figure out how to turn it on. Stupid, but help me :)

sapper

Level 4

1,768 points

Sep 16, 2020 6:47 AM in response to Tednol

If your watch is showing time in BST or GMT, it should only do a 360 degree sweep in 24 hours, depending on whether you have set the watch in 12 hour or 24 hour time.

On my imac, I can get it to show the time in 12 hour format or 24 hour format

By unchecking the Timestamp box, your watch will show time in 12 hour format, but will place am or pm after the time.

In 24 hour time, it will show the time in the 24 hour format. The am and pm won't show.

Your watch should be set to BST right now, but on October 25th at 2am, your watch SHOULD automatically show GMT. It works on all of my Mac devices, so it should work on your watch.

The reason the hour hand is at the 13:00/ 1 o'clock indicator is that that is what it should be in BST. At 2am on the 25th October, the hour hand should revert to the 1am position, in other words, it shouldn't move.

Forget about GMT until 2am on 25th October, if you are still up and about at that time. 😀

Sep 17, 2020 4:33 PM in response to Tednol

I get the red hand, but not how the outer ring lines up. For instance I am on the West coast of the US. If I set the other time to NYC, which is 3 hours ahead, the midnight hour of the outer ring lines up with 10:30 on the inner ring. Why?

Sep 19, 2020 9:04 PM in response to deardhakal

The minute hand is still the minute hand. It never changes. The red hand just becomes another hour hand for a different time zone. Unless of course you aren’t tracking a standard full hour deviation such as in Newfoundland, India, Iran, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Marquesas, as well as parts of Australia use half-hour deviations from standard time, and some nations, such as Nepal, and some provinces, such as the Chatham Islands of New Zealand, use quarter-hour deviations.

KiloSBB

Level 1

4 points

Sep 21, 2020 11:19 AM in response to mgrad92

I'm using the GMT face and I have 24 hour on the outer ring and 12 hour on the inner ring. I believe this is because I have set my watch default to 24 hour time. Try setting it to 24 hour time and you should see the 1-12 scale on the inner ring and will display your outer ring in 24 hour time. (If my theory is correct)

It is kind of a bummer though that Apple did not opt to use the graduated 24 hour outer ring like a real GMT analog watch. it just has tick marks and the time indicator is right next to the GMT hand... C'mon Apple! give it to us like a real watch!

mgrad92

Level 1

66 points

Sep 21, 2020 1:40 PM in response to olof224

I might be misunderstanding the issue, but it looks to me like the arrow on the ring is behaving the same way the arrow would on the rotating bezel of a GMT watch. (The arrow isn’t supposed to stay centralized at the top of the face; it’s offset to reflect the time zone you’ve set the red hand to read.)

I posted this link earlier in this thread, but I’m posting it again here in case it addresses your issue:

How to Read a GMT Watch:

youtu.be/n54Oab-tlls

olof224

Level 1

8 points

Sep 21, 2020 1:47 PM in response to mgrad92

Thank you, very instructive! However, look at the arrow at the bezel: it should stay by number 3, but it is tilted when the time zone is applied.. in addition, the arrow is no longer centralised in the bezel field. Must not this be a flaw? I cannot see any other explanation for it.

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New GMT face