Android Could Put Your Beautiful Lock Screen Clock In The Notifications Panel
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is experimenting with putting the lock screen clock in more surfaces, including the top of the notifications panel.
- This feature isn’t live yet in the latest Android 16 beta, but it could arrive in one of the quarterly releases.
- The clock only appears in the new split notification panel, though, and it’s not clear if Google will bring it to the existing combined one.
One reason many people love Android phones is how they can be customized, from the home screen to the lock screen. The degree of customization differs between phones, but in general, Android allows you to tweak enough things to truly make your phone feel personal. Pixel phones, for example, let you customize the style of the lock screen clock, giving your lock screen a personal touch. Your clock choice isn’t reflected anywhere else in the OS right now, but that could change in a future update to Android 16.
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Following the recent release of Android 16 Beta 3, we examined the update to determine if Google had made progress on overhauling the Quick Settings panel. Google has been working to split the notifications and Quick Settings panels into separate pages, similar to manufacturers like Samsung and Xiaomi. While the new dual-page panel UI is not yet live in Beta 3, we were able to get it working for a quick demonstration, as shown below.
One thing that was particularly noticeable was how much larger the clock now was in the new notifications panel. In Android 15 and earlier releases, the clock occupied a tiny area at the top left of the notifications panel. Under the new dual-page panel UI, the clock occupies its own dedicated section above the media player in the notifications panel. The clock is not shown at all in the new Quick Settings panel, though, as the area above the media player is instead reserved for the multiuser, edit, settings, and power menu buttons.
I did not think much about this change at first, but when I went to change the lock screen clock style in the Pixel wallpaper app, I noticed that the clock had updated accordingly in the new notifications panel. It seems that Google is displaying the same clock that appears on the lock screen, complete with any theming changes that you make. Some of the clocks look strange when placed in the notifications panel, while some, like the weather clock, are not shown in full. In general, I think this feature looks quite good, and I hope Google ends up shipping it in the future.
If Google does plan to release this feature, it likely won’t be arriving in the upcoming Android 16 stable update. This is because the feature is currently tied to the new dual-page panel, which is still unfinished. It’s possible the company will enable the feature in one of Android 16’s quarterly releases, though, similar to its plans for lock screen widgets for phones in Android 16 QPR1. If that’s indeed Google’s plan, then we hope to see more progress made on polishing the new notifications and Quick Settings panels in future updates.
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