Joe Maring / Android Authority
TL;DR
- The latest One UI 8 beta brings a clock widget for the lock screen.
- Similar to iOS’ depth effect for the clock, Samsung’s clock automatically wraps around faces in real or animated images.
- The clock can also be moved around the lock screen, where its text adjusts to the available space.
In its latest One UI 8 beta build for Galaxy S25, Samsung is testing interesting new changes, including an improved clock widget for the lock screen. This new widget finally brings iOS-like depth effects for the clock, allowing the numerals to automatically adjust and wrap around any central objects in the lock screen wallpaper.
For Samsung devices running One UI 7 and older versions, this cannot be achieved naturally. Instead, you would need to install a Good Lock module called Lockstar to get a depth effect on the lock screen, while it still lacks perfection despite your perseverance.
The new widget in One UI 8 beta not only quashes that limitation but also expands utility beyond automatically adjusting to the wallpaper. It can be moved around on the lock screen, where each number in the time dynamically resizes to occupy the open space in any picture or wallpaper.
One UI beta tester, Topraks9plus, posted multiple images and videos on X showcasing the new lock screen widget, which, according to them, has been added with a One UI 8 build name ending with “BYFB” for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. In the images below, you can see that the text from the clock reads differently with changes in the widget’s placement.
Numerals in the clock shift shape when the widget is moved across the lock screen.
Another leaker, Ice Universe, corroborated this addition by sharing a video of the new dynamic clock in action. As seen in the screengrabs from the video below, the text switches to a standard font size on the always-on display and goes back to wrap around the animated character in the wallpaper when the lock screen is active.
Lock screen clock automatically changes shape on the always-on display (left) vs when the screen is turned on.
In addition to the new lock screen clock, Samsung has also added a host of useful actions for its Now Brief interface.
Do these new upgrades excite you for One UI 8? Tell us in the comments below!
