Here’s the crux of the article in video form:
New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….
Original story (published on November 1, 2021) follows:
Android 12, the most recent version of Google’s operating system, brought many aesthetic and functional changes. While the new features are attractive, the design changes are not appealing to everyone.
Android 12 changed things like system base colors, widget shape/size, and lock screen clock. It appears that the new lock screen clock is somewhat confusing for some Google Pixel users, according to reports.
Android 12’s new lock screen clock design is a problem for some
Some users report feeling quite uncomfortable with the new way the clock is displayed on the Android 12 lock screen.
Apparently, the new design can be a bit confusing and impractical for many, as it does not allow them to know the time at a quick glance.
My phone just updated and among other annoying changes I now have a square clock display on my lock screen. I have dyslexia and can’t read the square display. Is there any way for me to change it?
Source
Android 12 change the way my lock screen time lays out….. Into a position where it is very difficult for me to read and understand the time in that format. I’d like to go back to the old way where time made sense and I didn’t hate looking at my phone… How do I do that?
Source
It seems that users were already very accustomed to the Android 11 lock screen clock format, which remained more or less classic and easy to use.
However, Android 12 changed this on Google Pixel phones. Now, the design of the clock on the lock screen has a gigantic size and a particular format that makes it difficult to interpret quickly.
There is a workaround for that
For those who don’t like the new design of the clock on the Android 12 lock screen, there is a workaround that may help.
Apparently, the new ‘giant clock’ of Android 12 is present as long as there are no active notifications on the lock screen. When there is an active notification, the clock changes to a smaller format.
So, the workaround is to use an app that always keeps a notification active. A Google Product expert suggested an idea in response to one of the reports:
While you cannot manually change it back to the old one-line H:MM format, you will get that smaller format if there are any active notifications on your phone.
I use an app Signal Spy that lets you know how you are connected to the internet – wifi or cellular. It has an option to display an icon on the notification line. As long as that is active, my lock screen shows the one-line clock.
Source
Weather apps may also work for this workaround, as a report suggests:
It is unknown if Google will change the design of the clock
It is not yet known if Google plans to change the design of the lock screen clock in future Android 12 updates. To this day, the company has not officially commented on the matter.
We will update this article when new updates appear on this issue. Meanwhile, you can also check the Issue/Bug tracker dedicated to Android 12 on Google Pixel phones.
Update 1 (November 02)
09:43 am (IST): In case you really dislike the square clock, then you can check out apps such as KLCK that allow one to customize the lockscreen. It isn’t flawless with Android 12, but it does what it’s supposed to do.
Update 2 (November 03)
09:50 am (IST): If don’t want to go the Weather app route, you can even use an app called Persistent Notifications that allows you to add notes or to-do lists.
This will help get rid of the giant square clock on the lockscreen as pointed out by a Redditor.
If you don’t want a weather app notification constantly, there’s an app called Persistent Notifications where you can leave yourself notes (or a blank message) as a notification that won’t go away as well. (Source)
Update 3 (November 05)
10:20 am (IST): Ava Lockscreen is another excellent non-root app that lets you customize your lockscreen in just a few taps. If you’re looking to replace the Android 12 lockscreen, download Ava Lockscreen here.
Update 4 (November 06)
12:20 pm (IST): Incoming is yet another great lockscreen customization application that’s available for free called Solo Locker. The app offers a lot of customization options to fine-tune your lockscreen.
Update 5 (November 08)
09:59 am (IST): A feature request that was submitted to Google’s issue tracker with regards to having an option to tweak the giant clock on the lockscreen has been marked accepted.
This does not necessarily mean we’d see more lockscreen clock customizations right away, but it does bring some hope.
Update 6 (November 09)
10:31 am (IST): If you aren’t a big fan of the Android 12 lockscreen clock and don’t mind having an iOS 15-esque lockscreen, then the ‘Lock Screen & Notifications iOS 15‘ app might be something that you’d want to try out.
As the name suggests, it replaces the default lockscreen with an iOS-inspired lockscreen. Thus, you won’t see the giant clock each time your wake or turn on your smartphone.
Update 7 (November 10)
10:10 am (IST): A Tasker project allows you to configure a smaller, normal-size clock widget on the AOD lock screen of the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro with Android 12.
All you need is the Tasker app, download one of the projects (never show the large clock or always show the large clock on AOD) and import it into Tasker.
From there, you can choose the style of the clock widget in the AOD of the lock screen of your Pixel with Android 12
Update 8 (November 11)
12:16 pm (IST): Incoming is another great application that allows you to change up the lockscreen. PIN Genie Locker is available as a free app on the Play Store and has a few cool features up its sleeve.
Update 9 (November 12)
11:30 am (IST): Since it does not seem that Google will be adding the option to replace the giant clock on the lockscreen anytime soon, here’s another great lockscreen replacement app called Floatify Lockscreen.
Update 10 (November 13)
11:13 am (IST): Notific: Lockscreen Notifications is another decent lockscreen replacement app that you can check out. The app is easy to use and has a few different themes to choose from.
Update 11 (November 15)
1:01 pm (IST): Black Hole – Lock screen is also an app that allows users to customize their Android lockscreen’s look and feel.
Update 12 (November 16)
12:17 pm (IST): AcDisplay is yet another viable alternative. It offers a new way of handling notifications in Android.
It will let you know about new notifications by showing a minimal, beautiful screen, allowing you to open them directly from the lock screen.
Update 13 (November 17)
10:27 am (IST): Going by the latest reports, the square clock on Android 12L – a special feature drop version to make the OS better on large screen devices – will also consume a major part of the display.
The area consumed by the clock will depend on the notifications, as can be seen in the image below:
Update 14 (November 18)
10:42 am (IST): One individual recommends downloading the Weawow – Weather & Widget application that constantly displays weather information on the lockscreen to shrink down the big clock.
I tried lots of things. Finally found an ad-free weather app that actually shows a customizable weather widget on the lock screen. It’s called Weawow – Weather & Widget. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.weawow
It’s so customizable, it’ll take you a while to see all the options. (Source)
Update 15 (November 19)
11:24 am (IST): A request for lockscreen customization on Android 12 was accepted on the official issue tracker page. Hence, we hope to see some customization options in future builds.
Update 16 (November 20)
12:53 pm (IST): One of our readers pointed out that you could even use the Samsung Health app to display your footstep count on the lockscreen and in turn get rid of the giant clock.
Thanks for the tip, Robert Grant Webster!
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