Google Clock gets a new design! Some changes are great, others not so much…

Google continues the visual unification of its applications, and this time the Clock app has received an update. Following the recent redesign of Calculator, another basic system application is getting a new look in the form of Material 3 Expressive. The changes are visible at first glance, and some of them are truly useful.

End of the tall bottom bar, new square buttons

The first thing you’ll notice is the disappearance of the characteristic tall bottom bar. Google has also gotten rid of the large round floating button in the center – it has been replaced by a square button in the bottom right corner. Is it more practical? You’ll have to answer that yourself, but at the very least, it looks more modern and consistent with other applications.

The Alarms tab has received the biggest improvement. Finally, after years, it’s clear at a glance which alarm is active. Google has used full color background highlighting instead of relying on a small toggle switch and bold text. When you tap an alarm, an editing panel slides up from the bottom. Related functions are also grouped into containers, which significantly improves clarity.

Old vs. new:

World Clock lost a useful feature

The World Clock tab has a new icon in the bottom bar and now separates time from date, temperature, and alarm information. Unfortunately, Google has removed the display of daily temperature minimums and maximums for individual cities. This is a strange decision, especially since the Pixel Weather app, on the other hand, adds this feature to its home screen.

Old vs. new:

The Timer tab remains essentially unchanged, apart from larger titles and a new font. The icon in the bottom bar is now more rounded. Stopwatch has undergone a bigger change – instead of a list of lap times, it now uses square cards, and the control buttons are significantly larger, stacked on top of each other with text labels instead of icons.

Old vs. new:

Tablets received special treatment

On tablets, Google has implemented an extended navigation bar with text labels to the right of the icons. The floating button has moved upwards. Interestingly, Google has abandoned the two-column layout on most screens, which might be a step backward for some users – after all, more information could fit on a large display.

The Bedtime feature remains unchanged, and most menu items (three dots) now have icons, just like in the redesigned Calculator. Home screen widgets currently retain the old design, but this will likely change in one of the upcoming updates.

When will you get the new design?

Google Clock version 8.1 with the new Material 3 Expressive design is gradually rolling out via Google Play. As is customary for Google, updates are spread gradually, so if you don’t see it yet, try again in a few days. Alternatively, you can try clearing the Google Play cache or waiting for the APK file on well-known sites.

What do you think of the new Google Clock look?

Source: 9to5google