Much like several other Google apps, Google Clock was also the recipient of Material 3 Expressive upgrades, with the first wave of changes landing earlier this year. However, things were not exactly perfect with these Clock app upgrades, as complaints of multiple UI inconsistencies began mounting a few weeks ago.
Thankfully, Google appears to have addressed these visual glitches in the version 8.2 update, which is rolling out right now. Among the more annoying flaws of the recent redesign was the overflowing of text in the bottom row of tabs. For instance, the Stopwatch tab would display the word ‘Stopwatc‘ in one line and the alphabet ‘h‘ just below (via Android Authority).
While resizing the fonts is one of the obvious solutions here, people who are accustomed to larger fonts on their phones would no doubt be affected by such a change. Fortunately, this update means users won’t have to take such drastic measures. It is worth noting that Google was quick to acknowledge the bug when it first surfaced late last month, and even confirmed that a fix was on the way.
For people who primarily use the Clock app for alarms and not much else, these design-related issues probably went unnoticed. Nevertheless, it was pretty evident that the issue was widespread and not limited to just one UI affliction, with users also experiencing other bugs.
Some other changes are in development
Current vs upcoming
Meanwhile, Google Clock version 8.2 also contains a small, but potentially time-saving feature that automatically pulls up the options to set date(s) while adding a new alarm. The current workflow for new alarms involves tapping the ‘+’ floating action button in the Clock app’s Alarms tab. This pulls up the time selection interface, with the date options only appearing when you tap the card (after setting the alarm).
With an upcoming update, the dates view will automatically appear each time you tap the ‘+’ button (as seen in the background of the second screenshot above), thereby saving you a tap on the alarm card. This is not a groundbreaking update by any stretch of the imagination, though it’s nice to see Google making minor refinements to the app’s UI. The updated alarms workflow is still in development and may appear in a forthcoming update.
In addition to addressing the UI issues, this update also features a minor visual enhancement to the World Clock tab/view. As Android Authority found, instead of rearranging the list of cities by dragging them to their desired position, each card now gives you access to a menu with options to “Move up,” “Move down,” or “Remove city” (pictured above).
