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It's almost time for a new Google Clock widget (Update: Rolling out)
- Google appears to be working on a new Clock widget.
- The widget would give you one-tap shortcuts to starting new timers.
Update, August 29, 2024 (12:10 AM ET): Google Clock’s Timer Starter widget is now rolling out, as Mishaal Rahman spotted. The widget shows 1-minute, 5-minute, and 10-minute timers by default, but any other timers you create will also show up.
Original article, August 19, 2024 (02:22 PM ET): Of all the Google apps we rely upon day after day, does any go more underappreciated than Clock? Clock does everything from waking us up in the morning to keeping track of how much longer our dinner’s going to take in the oven. It’s even learned how to predict the weather. Today, we’re giving Clock a little overdue attention as we spot a new widget Google’s got in the works.
Right now, Google’s Clock app offers five widgets you can choose to deploy on your phone’s home screen. There’s the usual assortment of clock faces, plus the option to show multiple time zones at once, but the only really interactive widget is one that gives you access to the app’s stopwatch. If you thought that one was a useful widget to have, you’re going to like what’s coming next.
There’s a new update for Clock out today, version 7.9.1, and within it, we discover Google’s work towards what should be a sixth widget. Like the stopwatch, this one brings Clock functionality straight to your home screen, giving you shortcuts to start a timer.
Here you can see it defaulting to options for 1, 5, and 10 minutes. Even with one timer already active, you’re free to tap another button on the widget to get a second one going at the same time — which looks perfect for quickly getting tasks going in something like a busy kitchen. We still need to spend some time playing around with the widget’s options, but a quick look suggests this should be plenty configurable, presumably with the option to choose the presets you want.
Considering the stopwatch widget’s existing availability, it’s almost surprising that it’s taken Google as long as it has to match that energy for timers. Better late than never!