Animated - Christmas Tree

Review by eFreeware

If you own a Wear OS watch and you like the idea of a small Christmas scene playing on your wrist through December, Animated - Christmas Tree is built for exactly that. It puts a decorated tree at the center of the display, with presents around it, snowflakes drifting across the screen and a sparkle trail moving around the face. It is a seasonal face rather than an all-year one, and the developer, RECREATIVE Watch Faces, has priced it at $1.49.

What you get underneath the animation is a reasonably complete set of watch face information: digital time in 12 or 24 hour format, the date, battery level and a step count. There are also two complication slots and two shortcuts you can assign, and eight backgrounds to choose from. For someone who wants a festive look without giving up the basics they check every day, that combination is the appeal.

The face is built on the Watch Face Format, and the developer lists compatibility with API level 33 and above, naming Google Pixel watches, the Galaxy Watch 4, 5 and 6, and other Wear OS models. It arrived in November 2023 and has been updated since, with over 10,000 installs and a 4.1 average from 210 ratings at the time of writing.

A seasonal face for Wear OS owners

This is a face for people who treat their watch screen as decoration as much as a tool. If you change your watch face with the calendar, putting something themed on for a holiday and swapping it out afterwards, this fits that habit neatly. The tree, the falling snow and the sparkle trail are the point; the time, date, steps and battery are there so the decoration does not cost you the information you actually glance at.

It also suits anyone who likes to tinker with the details rather than accept a fixed design. Eight backgrounds, two complication slots and two shortcuts give you room to make the face your own, and the Always On Display has changeable colors and modes on top of that. If you prefer a plain, minimal face, the animation and the gift-and-snow theme will be more than you want, and that is simply the nature of what this is.

The practical requirement is a Wear OS watch at API level 33 or higher. It is a paid face at $1.49, and the phone companion app carries ads.

What plays on the screen

The centerpiece is the animation: a Christmas tree decorated and surrounded by presents, snowflakes falling across the display, and a sparkle effect that leaves a trail of particles as it moves. These run together as a single winter scene rather than as separate widgets, which is what gives the face its character. It is a look built for the holiday season, and it is not trying to be subtle.

Around that scene sit the everyday readouts. Two complication slots let you put other information of your choosing into the face, and two shortcuts give you quick access to whatever you assign them to. Between the fixed readouts and the customizable slots, most of what you would want at a glance is covered.

Eight backgrounds let you change the setting behind the tree, so the face does not have to look identical every day through the season. Always On Display is supported, with changeable colors and modes, which means the face can keep a reduced version of itself visible when the screen dims. The developer notes that turning Always On Display off is the better choice for watch battery life, which is worth remembering if you wear the watch from morning to night.

Setting it up and making it yours

Customization follows the standard Wear OS pattern. You touch and hold the display, then tap the Customize option, and from there you can change the background, adjust the Always On Display settings and assign the complication fields to whatever data you want. That is a familiar routine for anyone who has changed a watch face before, and it keeps the options in one place.

Installation is worth understanding before you buy. The phone app is a tool for getting the face onto the watch and for locating it there; it is not the face itself, and the developer says the mobile app is the only part that contains ads. Once installed, the face does not apply automatically, so you have to set it on the watch screen yourself. The developer provides an installation and troubleshooting guide, and a support address for anyone who gets stuck.

The developer recommends disabling Always On Display for better battery performance on the watch. That is a trade-off rather than a flaw: keeping the face lit in its dimmed state costs power, and switching it off is the way to reduce that. If you like the idea of the tree staying visible all day, you can leave it on and accept the drain.

What it costs and what comes with it

Animated - Christmas Tree is a paid download at $1.49. The price you see is the price you pay. That makes the cost easy to judge up front: one payment for the face and its customization options.

The one thing to know is that the app contains ads, and the developer is specific about where they sit. The phone app, which exists to help with installation and to locate the face on your watch, is the part that carries advertising. If you are someone who dislikes ads in companion apps, that is the element to weigh against the $1.49.

The arrangement is simple. You pay once, you get the animated tree, the snow and sparkle, the eight backgrounds, the complication and shortcut slots, and the Always On Display options. The only ongoing consideration is the battery cost of leaving Always On Display enabled.

How it compares with other watch faces

The nearest alternatives are the free faces that come with a Wear OS watch and the many others sold on the store. Built-in faces cost nothing and often cover time, date and a couple of complications, but they tend to be restrained in design. A face like this one is a deliberate purchase for its look, and the animation is what separates it from the plain options you already have.

There are also other holiday-themed faces, and the differences come down to the scene and the extras. What this one offers is a specific combination: a decorated tree with presents, falling snow and a sparkle trail, plus eight backgrounds, two complications, two shortcuts and Always On Display with color and mode choices. If you want a different holiday motif, another face will serve you better; if you want this particular scene, the feature set here is complete enough to live with.

A dedicated weather or fitness face would be a different purchase altogether, aimed at information density rather than decoration. This one sits in the decorative category, and it carries the essentials alongside the animation rather than replacing them. Comparing it with a free built-in face is really a question of whether the seasonal look is worth $1.49 to you.

A cheerful pick for the holiday season

Animated - Christmas Tree does one thing and does it thoroughly: it turns a Wear OS watch into a small animated Christmas scene with the time, date, steps and battery still readable. The eight backgrounds, two complication slots, two shortcuts and Always On Display options give you enough control to keep it from feeling fixed, and the Watch Face Format build and API 33+ compatibility cover the current generation of Wear OS watches.

The cost is $1.49, and ads appear in the phone companion app that handles installation and locating the face. The developer recommends switching Always On Display off for better battery life, and the face needs to be set on the watch manually after installation. Those are the practical points to accept before buying.

I would suggest this to Wear OS owners who enjoy changing their watch face with the season and want something festive rather than minimal. If a decorated tree, falling snow and a sparkle trail sound like your idea of a December watch face, the price is small and the feature set is complete.