Google Clock’s newest update borrows some color from the Pixel Weather app

After the first major dose of Material 3 Expressive that the Clock app received in August last year, Google has made several adjustments to fine-tune elements for better viewing and usability. Most recently, Google brought back the option to swipe away alarms instead of forcing you to tap specific buttons, and is now leaning in with more design optimizations.

Google is now rolling out version 8.6 of the Clock app, and we spotted a few minor improvements. While these may not qualify as quality-of-life improvements, they should make your experience slightly better.

For starters, the World Clock now features updated icons to depict the weather. Google has replaced the monochrome icons the app previously used with new, colorful ones to make them pop almost immediately. These icons were also recently started rolling out to the Pixel Weather app for some users.

Alongside new icons, there are minor adjustments to the alarm screen. In both versions, the one with the slider and the buttons to dismiss or snooze alarms, the clock is shifted slightly above. This creates an even distance between the clock itself, the label, and the controls.

Meanwhile, the slider has also been shifted downward, closer to the bottom of the screen, making it easier to reach with the thumb. That should be useful when you wake up in the morning, still somewhat sleepy, reaching for the phone to dismiss or snooze the alarm with just one hand, though you can expect the change to mess up with your muscle memory either way. The change, however, does not apply to the buttons.

As we mentioned, these changes are already rolling out with version 8.6 of the Clock app, and you should have them once you update the app, preferably from the Google Play Store.