One of the elements in Android that Google tweaks with basically every new Android release is the notification shade. Things have slowed down a bit following the Android 12 launch, but there are still tweaks here and there. This is also true for Android 14 latest beta, Beta 3. The release finally brings back a beloved Android 11 feature: You can access the Clock app via a shortcut in the notification shade.

Android 12 represented a big shift in Google’s design language with the introduction of Material You, leading Google to redesign the core experience on Pixel phones. Unfortunately, the company also removed the handy clock shortcut from the notification shade in the process. Google still left the clock in its position in the top left corner of the notification shade, but it wasn’t tappable anymore.

With Android 14 Beta 3, this is changing. As spotted by Google News on Telegram, you can finally tap the clock to get quick access to the clock app. This works both in the notification overview when the clock is almost too small to reliably tap and in the expanded quick settings overview with a bigger version of the clock.

Google’s history with the clock shortcut is spotty at best, with the company adding and removing the option across releases as it pleases. We can only hope that this time around, the shortcut is here to stay. After all, it doesn’t get in the way if you don’t use it, and those of us who like to keep their home screens minimalistic, having one less app to add to it is a win.

You can download and install Android 14 Beta 3 on your supported Pixel phone right now if you want to give it a try yourself. Beta 3 is the first release to bring platform stability to the new Android version, meaning that developers can start using the new APIs and changes in their apps without fearing that Google tweaks them further. You still have to expect some bugs and problems you might not run into on a stable release, though.

Thanks: Armando