Editor's Review
Preinstalled on Pixel phones and available to everyone else, Clock is the app more than a billion people use to get out of bed. Google's version covers four jobs: alarms, a countdown timer, a stopwatch and a world clock, with a Bedtime section layered on top that pairs a wind-down schedule with the morning alarm.
The good parts: alarms support repeat schedules, gradual volume and adjustable snooze, and can play a track from a connected music service instead of a stock tone. Several labelled timers run at once, which is the feature that earns its keep in a kitchen. Assistant integration sets both alarms and timers by voice without the app being opened, and screensaver mode turns a docked phone into a bedside display.
Why the score is 3.89: a phone alarm has exactly one job, so any failure of it is both catastrophic and memorable. Aggressive battery optimisation on many non-Pixel handsets can delay or suppress alarms, and Clock takes the blame for a manufacturer's power management. Successive redesigns have also moved controls around and dropped options that long-time users relied on, and store ratings record that kind of change harshly.
For most people the honest advice is that it is already on the phone, it works, and the fix for a missed alarm is usually exempting it from battery optimisation rather than replacing it.
Features
Alarms with repeat schedules, gradual volume and adjustable snooze
Music service tracks usable as alarm sounds
Several labelled timers running at the same time
Stopwatch with lap recording
Bedtime mode pairing a wind-down routine with the morning alarm
Pros
Already present on most Android phones, with nothing to install
Multiple simultaneous timers handle cooking properly
Voice commands set alarms and timers without opening the app
Screensaver mode turns a charging phone into a bedside clock
No advertising and nothing to buy
Cons
Manufacturer battery optimisation can delay alarms on non-Pixel handsets
Redesigns have relocated or removed settings that long-time users depended on
The 3.89 average is low for a Google utility and reflects missed-alarm reports
