Along with even more clock widgets for Android
Most of us wear watches to keep track of the time, but smartwatches don’t stop there. Stopwatches, timers, alarms — they’re all essential tools, and Google wants to make sure you’re getting the best experience possible. The company is bringing a fresh design to its smartwatches, but if you prefer using your phone as a clock instead, a handful of new widgets are headed your way as well.
Although they have yet to appear in the app, the folks at 9to5Google spotted these Material You changes to Wear OS’s system clock app on the Play Store. Alarms, timers, and the stopwatch have all been updated with a colorful new look, leaving behind the plain black-and-blue look of previous releases.
The alarm interface gets the most extensive makeover here, with a subtle glow displayed behind currently-set times. The “Frequency” list is now grid-shaped, managing to fit all of the days of the week in one list, while the time indicators get a familiar pill shape.
As for timers and the stopwatch, the changes aren’t quite as noticeable. Selecting minutes and seconds uses a standard scroll wheel instead of a dial interface, and the list of previously set timers is far more condensed than before. The stopwatch gets a new coat of red paint with a UI that looks more in line with the phone app.
Even if you aren’t a fan of smartwatches — or you’re simply stuck waiting for a big sale on the Galaxy Watch4 — you aren’t left out of the redesign fun. If you’re running Android 12, Google Clock’s latest update has a few new widgets to try out (via 9to5Google). If you add one of the widgets to your home screen, you’ll get a list of new shapes and configurations, building on everything added to the app in September.
Analog, for example, gets an X-shaped clock along with a couple of classic-looking circles, and the pill-shaped Digital options now have transparency settings. Each widget can be customized once placed by long-pressing and selecting the edit icon — a great time-saver if you want to change your shape or color.
While the smartwatch update has yet to arrive for users, Android 12 users can get these new layouts right now. Head to the Play Store with the link below, or grab the latest APK from APK Mirror.
Read Next
About The Author
