Pixel is coming for Samsung's customization crown, as two massive upgrades have surfaced

Pixels are great, but I believe Samsung devices have an edge over them when it comes to the level of customization options both offer. For instance, the ability to add third-party apps to the lock screen has long been present on Galaxy phones but is yet to be made available on Google phones. But it appears that the Big G has finally started giving priority to the customization department of its smartphones, as two interesting features have been spotted in the latest Android Canary build.

Create a custom lock screen clock

Google recently released the Android Canary build 2608 for Pixel 6 and newer hardware. It comes with some noticeable changes, with one being the ability to design your own lock screen clock.

Pixel phones already offer plenty of clock faces (eight, to be exact), along with the ability to change their color and style. But in the latest Canary build, a new feature has reportedly been spotted, which gives you the option to use AI to create your own clock for the lock screen. The surfaced images suggest that you would simply have to enter a prompt to the AI model specifying the type of clock you want.

There are two additional tabs in the AI prompt window: Ideas and Images. Using the Ideas tab will most likely allow the AI to come up with some clock style suggestions. Tapping the Images tab reportedly opens the gallery from where you can choose an image that you want to use as a reference for the clock design you want the AI to create.

Custom lock screen clock. | Image by Android Authority

Unfortunately, only the UI of this really interesting feature seems to be working at the moment, as running it reportedly returns a "Service not connected" error. This suggests that it is most likely a server-side capability that is still in its early phase of development and will most likely become available in the near future.

What's the biggest advantage of Galaxy phones over Pixel?

Better manage the notification icons in the status bar

Another important change that has been spotted in the latest Android Canary build is the capability to control the visibility of notification icons in the status bar. On Pixel phones, currently, the status bar gets filled with icons from apps from which you have received notifications. However, Google appears to be working on giving Pixel users the option of customizing the notification icon visibility.

Strings related to it have reportedly been spotted. You could get three choices: All, Priority Only, and None. Selecting the "All" option displays all the notification icons, which is basically the current state.

The "Priority Only" option would show only the priority notifications, which would most likely be determined by Android's built-in notification classification system. The "None" option, as you would have already guessed, will not display any notifications in the status bar.

Samsung already offers both these features

Pixel is playing a catch-up game with Samsung here. In the Good Lock app that is available for Galaxy phones, you get a module called ClockFace that offers a big world of clock customization. There are plenty of faces to choose from, and you can even customize them further by changing their font, color, design, and more.

ClockFace module of Good Lock app. | Image by Galaxy Store

However, the numbers are still limited. With the AI-powered clock designing facility that Pixel seems to be creating, you could get the option to create an endless number of designs. This could ultimately give Pixel phones an edge over the Galaxy devices.

When it comes to the notification customization option discussed above, Pixel is actually playing a catch-up game against many Android OEMs. Samsung, OnePlus, and Xiaomi all offer almost similar features, though their names are different on different brands. For instance, in OnePlus handsets, you have the option to choose between "Show icon," "Show number," and "Do not show," whereas in Samsung, you select between "Icons," "Dot," and "None."

Customization has never been a selling point of Pixel phones

Thanks to the availability of Good Lock, which is an official Samsung app, Galaxy phones have always won the customization battle against Pixel phones. It's not only me; users on public forums like Reddit also believe the same.

Reddit user praising Samsung for its customization edge over Pixel phones. | Image by Reddit

A comment under a relevant post basically says that it's not the Pixel philosophy to offer a Samsung-level of customization. Another user commented that they want the same type of customization options on their Pixel 10 Pro as they get on their Galaxy S25.

Things are changing slowly

It was recently reported that Pixel phones could soon receive the option to launch your favorite apps directly from the lock screen and also solve basic issues with the help of Gemini. These, along with the above-mentioned changes, suggest that Google has finally started taking the customization capabilities its phones offer seriously.

If you've read this far, it seems like you're a Pixel fanboy. Check out these Pixel-related stories:

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