Imagine waking up to your alarm, groggily reaching for your phone, and discovering a new way to silence it. Google Clock 8.5 has introduced a 'swipe to dismiss' feature for alarms, adding a unique twist to your morning routine. But here's where it gets controversial: is this a helpful addition or just an unnecessary complication?
Last week, the Android version of Google Clock received an update, bringing along the ability to dismiss alarms with a simple swipe. Google's prompt explains that you now have the option to 'swipe or tap' to silence your alarm. This new feature is accompanied by a preference setting in the app's Settings menu, allowing you to choose between 'Tap' and 'Swipe' for alarm dismissal.
The 'Tap' option, with its large, dynamically colored pill-shaped buttons, is now joined by 'Swipe'. The 'Snooze' and 'Stop' options are positioned on either side, with helpful guide animations within the container. This gesture-based approach adds a layer of interaction, especially when you're half-asleep and trying to silence that persistent alarm.
This update follows Google's Material 3 Expressive redesign, which introduced a similar gesture for incoming calls in the Phone app last year. It's a server-side update, so you'll need to install version 8.5 of Google Clock to access this new feature. We've noticed it rolling out on some Pixel devices already.
In addition to the 'swipe to dismiss' feature, this release also brings a Material 3 Expressive slider to replace the older Material 2 version. The slider's track is now thicker, and the handle is more substantial, providing a clearer visual indication of the selected value, which ranges from 1.00 to 7.00.
For more on Google Clock, check out these related articles:
- Pixel Watch gets always-on media controls, timer, and stopwatch
- Google Clock 8.3 introduces a toned-down alarm background
- Google Clock for Wear OS is now exclusive to the Pixel Watch
So, what do you think about this new swipe feature? Is it a welcome addition or an unnecessary complication? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
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