One UI 8 Introduces Adaptive Lock Screen Clock — But There’s a Catch

Samsung has rolled out a clever new Adaptive Lock Screen Clock in its latest One UI 8 beta for the Galaxy S24 series, along with support for the newly launched Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7. This smart feature automatically moves the lock screen clock to a position where it won’t obstruct the main subject of your wallpaper, making the interface look cleaner and more intentional.

The new Adaptive Lock Screen Clock in One UI 8 adjusts its position to avoid blocking wallpaper subjects — available on Galaxy S24, Fold 7, and Flip 7.

However, despite its debut on the Galaxy S24 and foldable flagships, the feature is missing from the Galaxy S25 beta build, leaving many early testers wondering why.

How Samsung’s Adaptive Clock Works

The Adaptive Lock Screen Clock relies on detecting the primary subject in your wallpaper. To do this, it performs a quick pre-computing step that identifies the focus area and then shifts the clock accordingly. Unfortunately, this only happens when wallpapers are set using Samsung’s built-in Gallery app or its official wallpaper tools.

If you apply a wallpaper directly from third-party wallpaper apps, the detection process doesn’t run — meaning the clock stays fixed in place, defeating the feature’s purpose.

A Simple Workaround

There’s good news for those who prefer third-party wallpapers. By saving the chosen image to your phone’s Gallery first and then applying it as your lock screen wallpaper, the adaptive clock will work as intended.

A Missed Opportunity for One UI

While the adaptive clock is a welcome improvement to One UI’s personalization options, limiting it to Samsung’s own apps feels like a missed opportunity. Many Android users rely on third-party wallpaper apps for greater customization, and not having this feature work universally could frustrate power users.

If Samsung truly wants this to be a core One UI feature, it may need to integrate the subject detection process system-wide so that the adaptive clock works with all wallpapers, regardless of the source.

What’s Next?

With the Galaxy S25 beta currently lacking the feature, it remains to be seen whether Samsung will reintroduce it in later builds — hopefully with broader compatibility. If refined, the Adaptive Lock Screen Clock could become one of One UI 8’s most polished personalization features yet.