Name: Phosphor Retro is Back!
Rating: 5 (5 reviews)
Author: Boksmati

PHOSPHOR — a 1986 CRT dashboard for your wrist.

Inspired by the green-phosphor Graphic Control Center: one glowing hue on true black, outlined buttons that fill when active, horizontal rules, big numerals. Everything on the face is drawn in shades of a single colour — and that colour is yours to choose.

WHAT'S ON THE FACE

• THE CLOCK — big phosphor digits with a soft CRT bloom, with the date stacked beside it (day / date / month) and AM/PM indicator boxes that fill like the original dashboard's buttons. Optional seconds readout.

• SUN & MOON ARCS — the two arcs on the bezel are altitude gauges, not progress bars. The sun climbs the left arc from sunrise, peaks at solar noon, and descends to the horizon at sunset — at night it rests at the bottom. The moon does the same on the right, rising and setting on its true position in your sky, and its disc shows the actual phase: crescent, quarter, gibbous, full.

• TOP ROW — steps with two goal lamps (step goal and weekly active minutes fill when met), heart rate, and a configurable centre slot (ascent/descent by default).

• OUTSIDE — temperature centred on the dial, in your watch's units, with today's sunrise ↑ and sunset ↓ times beside it. Weather comes from your phone via Garmin Connect.

• DATA ROW — four boxes (three on MIP watches), each configurable: Calories, Distance, Steps, Floors, Active minutes, Body Battery, Heart rate, Battery, Ascent/Descent, or empty. The battery box fills solid as a low-battery warning, just like a warning lamp.

• STATUS — phone connection and notification icons, dimly lit when off — a dark instrument, not a missing one.

CHANGING THE COLOUR

Five themes ship: Phosphor Green, Amber, Ice Blue, Red, and White — the phosphors and displays of the era.

• On most watches: PRESS AND HOLD the watch face to cycle through the five themes right on your wrist. The change syncs back to your settings.
• On watches with Garmin's on-device watch face editor (fēnix 8 series, Forerunner 570/970 and newer): customise the face in the editor and pick ANY colour you like from the full palette — the whole face re-derives its shades from your choice. Up to four saved looks.
• From the phone: all settings, including the theme, are in Garmin Connect -  watch face settings.

SETTINGS

• Display colour (5 themes, or any colour via the on-device editor)
• All five data slots
• Scanlines on/off (the CRT texture)
• Sun & moon arcs on/off
• Seconds on/off
• Compact text — switch the readouts and captions back to a smaller cut if you prefer a denser look (the clock is unchanged)

ALWAYS-ON

A dedicated resting face: dimmed, burn-in safe, drawn to AMOLED always-on rules with continuous drift.

AMOLED + MIP

Phosphor runs on 48 Garmin models. AMOLED watches get the full CRT treatment — glow, scanlines, smooth shade ladder. MIP watches (Enduro 3, fēnix 8 Solar, Forerunner 255/955) get a purpose-built edition: crisp bilevel type with no glow (a reflective panel doesn't bloom), and a colour ladder chosen specifically for the MIP panel so every element stays distinct in daylight.

NOTES

• Temperature and sun times need weather synced from your phone; they show placeholders until the first sync.
• Units follow your watch settings (°C/°F, metres/feet, 12/24 h).
• No accounts, no tracking, nothing leaves your watch.