The Google Clock app comes in handy
In the Bedtime tab you can set a bedtime schedule at the top of the page that tells your phone when it should start winding down until your wakeup time in the morning. You can also track your screen time and see estimates of how much time you spent in bed. This figure is computed by tracking how long your phone remained motionless in a darkened room. This mode also allows you to play soothing music to help you fall asleep such as waves, deep space, and contemplation. It will also access your calendar so you can make sure that your alarm is set and that you won’t oversleep and miss an appointment the next day.
New version of the Google Clock app allows you to choose between Tap to Dismiss or Swipe to Dismiss
Now you probably haven’t been waiting with bated breath for Google Clock 8.5, but the latest version of the app was released last week. Once the new version of the app is available for your phone, you’ll see a prompt telling you that “you can swipe or tap to dismiss your alarm.” In Settings, there is a new “Dismiss alarm with a” preference option that allows you to choose the method you want to use to dismiss an alarm or timer.
Choose Tap and you can have two lozenge shaped buttons with Dynamic Color theming. Snooze is on the left and Stop is on the right. If you choose Swipe to dismiss, you’ll be swiping to the left to Snooze and swiping to the right to Stop an alarm or timer. The new dismiss by swiping feature will be available with version 8.5 of the Google Clock app. Ironically, I received that update while working on this article. And while my Google Clock app did update to version 8.5, the new Swipe to dismiss feature did not arrive on my Pixel 6 Pro.
You’ll have to wait for Google to pull the trigger on a server-side update
So now I must wait for Google to press the button on a server-side update to the Google Camera app that will add the new feature to the app. You should update the app to version 8.5. First, to see which version is on your phone, go to Settings > Apps > See all xxx apps. Scroll to Clock and tap on it. You are now on the Google Clock App Info page. Scroll to the very bottom and you’ll see the version number in small print. If it reads version 8.5 or later, open the Clock app and tap the three-dot overflow icon on the right and tap on settings.
If you see a listing for “Dismiss alarm with a” preference, it means that you have the new feature. Press on that listing to set up your dismissal preference between Tap and Swipe.
If your version of the Google Clock app is less than 8.5, open the Google Play Store and tap your profile icon with your initials in the upper right corner. Go to Manage apps & device > Update apps and tap the Update all button. After the update is done, check to see whether you have version 8.5 of the Google Clock app and look in the settings for the listing we previously told you would indicate that the update has arrived on your phone.
