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Does the Pixel 7 have an always-on display?
Phones are great little tools for connecting with the world, and the fun doesn’t have to stop when you shut the screen off. Some devices can continue displaying important information like the time, notifications, weather info, and more, even when the display is turned off. This feature is called always-on display. A couple of the hottest Android devices are the Google Pixel 7 series. Does the Pixel 7 have an always-on display? Let’s find out!
QUICK ANSWER
Yes. Both the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro have an always-on display. So does the newer and more affordable Pixel 7a. The feature is named differently, though. Google calls the option 'Always show time and info.' You can find it in the Settings by going to Display > Lock Screen and toggling on Always show time and info.
JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS
Editor’s note: Instructions on this article were put together using a Google Pixel 7 running Android 13. Steps might differ depending on your software version.
How to turn the Pixel 7 always-on display on or off
Turning the Pixel 7 always-on display feature on or off is actually pretty simple, but the option can be a bit hidden. Let’s walk you through the process.
- Launch the Settings app.
- Go into Display.
- Tap on Lock screen.
- Toggle Always show time and info.
What does the always-on display show?
The Pixel 7 always-on display isn’t meant to do much; that’s what the lock screen is for. The always-on display will showcase the time, date, weather info, and battery percentage. It will also show you icons of apps when these have notifications available for you to check.
If you want to do more, you will have to bypass the always-on display and go into the lock screen, which can tell you more information about notifications, and even has interactive features like controlling music, quick access to smart home features, and more.
FAQs
The device reads ambient light when the always-on display is in use. It will turn off the screen if it notices a room is dark, as it will assume no one is viewing it and can save some battery by shutting the screen off.
Technically, yes. The always-on display will use more battery than if you had the feature turned off. That said, the difference isn’t significant. This is because OLED technology makes it possible to keep all black pixels completely off, while only lighting up the pixels displaying other colors. Because there is very little information displayed when the always-on display setting is on, the difference should be nearly unnoticeable.
Sadly, this feature doesn’t natively support scheduling. Some manufacturers allow this, so Google might introduce this capability later on. If the ambient light is dark, the phone will turn off the always-on display. This means it won’t be turning on the always-on display in a dark room, when you’re sleeping.
If you’d like to learn more about what your device can do, check out our list of the best Pixel-only features available.