How to Customise Lock Screen Shortcuts and Clock Styles on Android

The smartphone lock screen is the most frequently viewed interface on any mobile device. For years, Android lock screens adhered to a rigid layout: a standard digital clock paired with two predetermined corner shortcuts—typically Google Assistant/Home in the lower-left and Google Wallet or Camera in the lower-right. In modern Android versions (Android 14 and Android 15), Google completely refreshed lock screen customisation. Users can now assign custom application shortcuts to both corner triggers, choose from dozens of clock fonts and layout styles, adjust dynamic colour accents, and configure ambient notification banners.

What Can You Customise on the Modern Android Lock Screen?

The redesigned lock screen styling engine delivers deep visual and functional control:

• Modular Corner Shortcuts: Replace default toggles with high-utility tools, including Flashlight (Torch), QR Code Scanner, Do Not Disturb, Calculator, Video Camera, or Device Mute.
• Dynamic Clock Typography: Switch between oversized full-screen digital numerals, elegant serif typography, analogue clock faces, and compact weather-integrated clocks.
• Dynamic Color Theming: Lock screen clocks dynamically adopt Material You colour palettes extracted from your lock screen wallpaper art.
• Haptic Press Confirmation: Shortcuts require an intentional touch-and-hold gesture with haptic feedback to prevent accidental activations in your pocket.

Step 1: Accessing the Lock Screen Customise Studio

You can enter the lock screen styling suite directly without navigating through multiple settings trees:

1. Lock your phone, then wake the display (or pull down your notification tray and lock the device).
2. Touch and hold (long-press) any empty area of the lock screen canvas.
3. Authenticate using your fingerprint, face, or PIN when prompted.
4. At the bottom of the screen, tap the pill-shaped button labelled Customise lock screen.

Alternatively, open Settings > Wallpaper & style and tap the Lock screen tab at the top of the interface.

Step 2: Customising Clock Styles, Sizes, and Colours

In the preview studio, swipe left or right across the clock face to browse available design themes:

• Oversized Full-Screen: Spans numbers across two lines, collapsing cleanly into a compact single line whenever unread notification cards arrive.
• Analogue Watch Face: Classic minute and hour hands for a minimalist timepiece look.
• Weather & Calendar Widget: Embeds temperature readouts and upcoming schedule reminders directly beneath the clock typography.

Fine-Tuning Clock Size and Colour

1. Tap Clock color & size beneath the visual preview.
2. Choose Dynamic (automatically adapts size based on lock screen notifications) or Small (locks the clock permanently to the top-left corner).
3. Select an accent colour from the Material You palette or use the custom color slider to dial in precise contrast against your wallpaper.

Step 3: Assigning Custom Left and Right Shortcuts

To replace default corner shortcuts with tools suited to your daily routine:

1. Scroll down the Lock Screen editor and tap on Shortcuts.
2. Tap Left shortcut to open the utility selector.
3. Select your preferred action from the available tools:
   • Flashlight: Instant torch illumination without unlocking.
   • QR code scanner: Direct camera invocation for payment or menu scanning.
   • Do Not Disturb: Quickly silence all incoming rings and pings.
   • Mute: Toggle ringer between Vibrate and Silent.
   • Calculator: Instant calculations for quick receipts.
   • Camera: Instant photo capture.
   • None: Removes the corner button entirely for a clean aesthetic.
4. Tap Right shortcut and assign a complementary tool (e.g. Flashlight on the left, QR code scanner on the right).

Step 4: Applying Your Changes

Once your clock design, colour accents, and shortcut triggers are configured, tap the Done button in the top-right corner of the display.

To test your new shortcuts on the lock screen, touch and hold the corner icon for half a second. A crisp vibration confirms execution, and the assigned tool opens instantly.