Google dropped a surprise on Android fans by releasing afifth Android 14 betathis week, succeeding the 4.1 beta that began rolling out towards the end of July. Beta 5 is most likely the final version before Google begins rolling out the stable version ofAndroid 14, which in the company’s own words is “only weeks away.” The changelog for Android 14 Beta 5 didn’t showcase any new changes, instead focusing on a long list of bug fixes. But it looks like there’s at least one change from the new release — the removal of a clock face.
Lock screen customization is a big part of Android 14’s user experience, with Googledetailing the feature at I/O this yearand Android 14 Beta 3enabling the featurearound a month later. But as9to5Googlenotes, Beta 5 has seen the removal of one clock style from the total of eight originally made available in June.
More specifically, the clock face that used a handwritten font (pictured above) has now disappeared from the list, leaving just seven options to choose from. Since everything appears to have happened under the radar with no mention of it in the changelog, it’s hard to tell if this move was intentional or not, but since we’re quickly approaching the arrival of Android 14 stable, we wouldn’t be surprised if this quirky clock face is gone for good.
Despite the removal, there are still many customization options for the clock face with the latest Android 14 beta build. One may argue that Google is late to the party, given that Samsung has provided extensive customization options since One UI 5, while Apple has also offered this feature on iPhones since the arrival of iOS 16 last year.
In any case, the impact of this clock face’s removal from the list of lock screen customization options is unlikely to be major, especially since Android 14 also carries a bundle of other visual changes and upgrades. Pixel device owners will get the first taste of Android 14 stable, whileSamsung Galaxy phonesare also on course to pick upOne UI 6sometime this year.
