Google’s Pixel telephones are almost overflowing with helpful stuff. And one of the vital perfect choices of all are issues you will have almost certainly by no means even spotted.
That is true for the Pixel’s core Android software in addition to its Google-made apps — the whole thing from the very good calling-related options in the Pixel Phone app to the expanded array of complex choices in Google Assistant on Pixels.
It is even true in apps that appear so fundamental and utilitarian, you’ll by no means assume they’d the rest attention-grabbing lurking of their dusty digital corners.
Nowadays, it is time to discover one such app — the reputedly mundane Pixel Clock app that got here preinstalled for your telephone. The Clock app would possibly seem to be a easy spot for atmosphere an alarm or timer, however do not let your self be fooled: Underneath its second-ticking floor, that unassuming a part of your Pixel has some robust choices that’ll make your existence a complete lot more straightforward.
Oh, and in case you do not have a Pixel, do not fret: Whilst the Clock app is the default time-keeping device on Google’s self-made telephones, you’ll in fact download it on any Android device and get the very same enjoy even out of doors of the Pixel universe.
All correct — in a position to look the entire cool stuff your telephone’s Clock app can do?
[Psst: You can give yourself all sorts of advanced Pixel intelligence with my free Pixel Academy e-course. Seven full days of experience-enhancing knowledge!]
Google Pixel Clock trick No. 1: Customized routine alarms
If you are the rest like me, you almost certainly in finding your self getting up at other instances for various functions — y’know, the usual workday time, the weekend or vacation time, and perhaps even the pretending-to-be-a-platypus wacky Wednesday time (or no matter it’s you do to have fun the center of the week).
Neatly, forestall futzing round with adjusting your alarms every time your wakey-wakey wishes range and get started profiting from your Pixel Clock’s customized routine alarm options:
- In the beginning, at the major Alarm tab throughout the Clock app, faucet the round plus button on the backside of the display screen so as to add more alarms into your checklist.
- Faucet the “Upload label” choice inside of every card to present it a reputation that’ll can help you know what it’s at a look (even if your eyes are bleary and your mind is 94% offline).
- Be mindful, too, that you’ll stay any alarms you create off and to be had just for handbook activation when you wish to have ’em — or you’ll turn the toggle inside of their playing cards into the on place and make a selection positive days of the week to have ’em mechanically turn on on a normal weekly time table.
JR And all of that is just the beginning.
Google Pixel Clock trick No. 2: Customized wake track
Along with your Pixel’s integrated alarm sounds, you’ll attach your Clock app to a handful of various track services and products and get up to the likes of Machine of a Down, Rage Towards the Gadget, or no matter soothing morning track you like.
All you will have gotta do is get that connection arrange as soon as:
- Faucet the sound configuration line inside of any of the alarms for your Pixel Clock app’s Alarm tab. It’s going to be at once underneath the day selector when the cardboard is expanded, and it will have a bell icon most probably adopted by way of the phrase “Default.”
- Now, this is the hidden phase: After you will have opened the ones alarm sound settings, faucet the three-dot menu icon within the upper-right nook of the display screen.
- That’ll divulge choices to put in and attach suitable sound services and products.
JR Pick out no matter carrier you like, and you can then see a tab for that carrier inside of the similar “Alarm sound” display screen. From there, it is merely an issue of surfing thru your to be had choices throughout the carrier’s library — or tapping the hunt icon within the lower-right nook of the display screen to search out one thing particular — and choosing the tune or playlist in all probability to bother the residing daylights out of any person else slumbering for your neighborhood.
JR Ahh — not anything like a steady begin to the day.
Google Pixel Clock trick No. 3: Specialised sounds
If the customized track is not cuttin’ it for ya, remember: Your Pixel Clock app additionally lets in you to make a choice every other same old sound report to make use of as your alarm audio.
Simply obtain no matter report you need onto your instrument (or transfer it over from a computer), then:
- Faucet someone alarm throughout the Clock app’s Alarm tab.
- Faucet the road with the present alarm sound — like “Default (Contemporary Get started)” — subsequent to the little bell icon.
- Search for the “Upload new” choice.
Damage your favourite phalange down on that choice, and you can then be in a position to make a choice any suitable sound report out of your native telephone garage or from any attached cloud services and products.
Google Pixel Clock trick No. 4: Vocal selection
Yet another probably alarming alarm solution to chunk over is the Pixel Clock’s a laugh skill to can help you report your personal self-made sound for an extra-special (and/or terrifying) wake-up enjoy.
Simply apply the similar steps we simply went over — simplest this time, search for the “Document new” choice inside of a person alarm’s sound settings.
JRBonus issues in case you organize to paintings a powerful Al Pacino impact into your recording.
Google Pixel Clock trick No. 5: Computerized automation
A particularly cool trick in Google’s Pixel Clock arsenal is the app’s skill to hook up with Google Assistant and cause all forms of computerized movements as a part of any alarm you put.
Again within the app’s Alarm tab, amplify an alarm’s card and search for the “Google Assistant Regimen” choice. Faucet that son of a dingus, and you can be taken to a display screen the place you’ll configure all forms of more movements to accompany your waking.
JR The choices are nearly never-ending: The rest Assistant can do on your Pixel can also be added into the combo — such things as studying out information about your day, adjusting more than a few telephone settings, turning on or off any means of attached instrument, or even interacting with third-party apps in all manners of attention-grabbing tactics.
Howdy Google: Any likelihood you’ll whip up some freshly made biscuits if you are at it?
Google Pixel Clock methods No. 6, 7, and eight: Customized alarm behaviors
On a extra foundational stage, your pleasant community Pixel Clock app can can help you take overall keep watch over of the way your alarms act and the way you engage with them.
Faucet that three-dot menu icon within the upper-right nook of the Clock app’s major display screen and make a selection “Settings” from the checklist that comes up. Then pay cautious consideration to a trio of essential but simply overpassed choices:
- Throughout the “Alarms” segment, “Silence after” will can help you customise precisely how lengthy your alarm will harass you earlier than giving up and closing its digital yap.
- In that very same house of the display screen, “Snooze period” lets you shorten or lengthen the choice of mins your Pixel Clock will can help you relaxation earlier than making an attempt to buzz you off the bed once more.
- And likewise in that segment, “Quantity buttons” will empower you to reprogram your Pixel’s bodily quantity keys in order that they both snooze an energetic alarm or forestall it totally as a substitute of merely adjusting its quantity — a very good set of possible choices for any person who unearths fumbling with the display screen very first thing within the morning as irksome as I do.
Oh, and yet another factor value noting in this entrance…
Google Pixel Clock trick No. 9: The mild quantity phaser
Listening to any sound at complete blast is an unlucky technique to welcome your self again to the land of the residing. Your Pixel telephone has a extra delightful choice, even though — in case you in finding it and make an effort to show it on.
In that very same Clock app settings house we have been simply exploring, you can see strains categorised “Regularly build up quantity” underneath each “Alarms” and “Timers.” Faucet both or either one of the ones strains, and whats up — wouldya glance that?
JR Mess around with the choices, see what works right for you, and experience a somewhat much less jarring begin to your subsequent busy paintings/platypus day.
Google Pixel Clock trick No. 10: The timer time-saver
Here is a neat one I did not in fact understand myself till years into my non-public Pixel adventure: To your Pixel Clock’s Timer tab, you’ll create more than one power timers after which stay ’em readily to be had for simple ongoing use.
That method, you probably have particular sorts of timers you employ time and time once more, you’ll pull ’em up briefly and get ’em going — with out losing any time.
To get began, search for the round plus icon towards the ground of the Timer tab after you will have tapped in some period of time and began a timer going. As soon as you will have created some particular timers and set ’em up the way in which you need, make sure to faucet the name above every one to customise it and provides it a pleasant identify for simple at-a-glance figuring out.
You can then have on-demand get admission to to all the ones other timers anytime you wish to have ’em one day.
JRNo longer dangerous, correct?!
Google Pixel Clock trick No. 11: Timed sleep sounds
Talking of timers, your Pixel Clock better half has a tucked-away choice that may simply will let you serve as a little bit higher for your busy workdays by way of getting a excellent evening’s sleep.
Faucet the tantalizing Bedtime tab on the app’s backside edge and search for the segment known as “Sleep sounds.” (You may have to first faucet a “Get began” choice and do a little preliminary setup, in case you’ve by no means earlier than accessed that house.)
Faucet the “Make a choice any other sound” button at the display screen that comes up subsequent, and you’ll make a selection from a small handful of enjoyable noises — waves, deep area, dial-up modem screech, and so forth.
Then, while you hit the play button again at the Bedtime tab, your sound of selection will get started enjoying — and you’ll inform the app precisely how lengthy you need it to proceed earlier than shutting off and sending you away right into a deep, enjoyable shut eye.
JR (Simply kidding in regards to the dial-up modem screech, by way of the way in which — even though in case you actually need to upload that into the lineup, you’ll download it from this Wikipedia page after which use the specialised sounds choice we went over a minute in the past to make it to be had. You might be welcome — and, concurrently, apologies.)
Google Pixel Clock trick No. 12: A customized bedtime time table
Additionally in relation to bedtime, make sure to browse in the course of the “Agenda” segment of the Pixel Clock app’s Bedtime tab if you are there. That house will can help you set a easy time table to have your telephone mechanically input Do No longer Disturb mode and optionally even regulate its display screen right into a much less distracting black-and-white grayscale atmosphere right through your sleepy-time hours.
JRYou’ll be able to both create a strictly time-driven time table or test an solution to have your bedtime mode activate simplest when your Pixel is actively being charged right through positive hours — a welcome little bit of contextual intelligence to accompany the ones people with abnormal sleep patterns.
Google Pixel Clock trick No. 13: The more than one time zone tracker
I have no idea about you, however I’m an absolute nit on the subject of maintaining a tally of more than one time zones. For no matter explanation why, no less than one out of each and every 5 instances, I finally end up blending up probably the most fundamental time zone conversions and complicated my gentle ol’ man-noggin about when, precisely, some means of tournament is happening.
Your Pixel Clock app has a useful technique to make managing more than one time zones more straightforward: Within the Clock tab, faucet the round plus icon and seek for any town you consider right through the day. You’ll be able to upload as many towns in as you need, and you can then be capable of see ’em all at the similar display screen — with a transparent indication of the present time in every house and its precise distinction out of your location.
JR In case you actually need to pass all out, you’ll additionally slap the Clock app’s to hand international time widget onto your house display screen for an much more obtainable at-a-glance view of the similar information. Lengthy-press any place on your house display screen and search for the widget-adding command to search out it.
Google Pixel Clock trick No. 14: Time commute
Now, cling on: Do not get too excited. This is not precise time commute within the DeLorean, Document Brown, “Nice Scott!” sense. But it surely is a supremely helpful Pixel Clock choice that’ll will let you higher stay observe of the time every time you are touring (whether or not by the use of DeLorean or a extra typical transportation approach).
The function will mechanically upload a further clock into your Clock app’s Clock tab — that very same checklist we expanded a moment in the past — so you’ll at all times see the present time in your house town anytime you are elsewhere, with none more concept or effort.
You’ll be able to verify the function is energetic and in a position to roll for your telephone by way of heading into the Clock app’s settings (by the use of the three-dot menu icon in its upper-right nook) and in search of the “Computerized house clock” toggle.
Google Pixel Clock trick No. 15: Clock motion shortcuts
Closing however now not least, one ultimate Pixel Clock chance to contemplate: You would by no means understand it, however hiding throughout the common Clock icon for your app drawer is a sequence of impressive shortcuts for acting positive movements in one swift step.
It is a part of Android’s oft-forgotten App Shortcuts system, and you can save some severe time — if you take note to make use of it.
Fortuitously, it could not be a lot more straightforward to make use of: Simply press and hang your finger onto the Clock app’s icon for your app drawer or on your house display screen for a few seconds. And whats up, how ’bout them apples?
JR There, correct in entrance of your suspiciously steamy nostrils, are one-tap choices for developing a brand new alarm, firing up a brand new timer, and beginning a stopwatch — in addition to for launching the Clock app’s time-focused screensaver, in case that urge ever moves. Any of the ones instructions will release the related motion within the blink of a watch, with none spelunkin’ round throughout the app’s menus.
And this is yet another bonus trick: When you find yourself the usage of any of the ones choices incessantly, you’ll make it even more straightforward to get admission to by way of urgent and preserving your finger onto it after which dragging it at once onto your house display screen. See?
JR Now it will be identical to every other shortcut on your house display screen and not greater than a unmarried faucet away.
Saving time in an app that is all about seconds — it simply does not get significantly better than that.
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