While it may not seem like that big of a deal, Google's stock Android clock app is cared about by a surprising number of people - all of whom can now download the app from the Google Play store.
The app is version 4.0.1, which is the same version of the Clock that can be found in the Android M Developer Preview, and is available to anyone running Android 4.4 and higher. Not only that, but it will only take up 6MB of memory on the user's device.
Apart from simply being able to tell the time, users can set a stopwatch, alarm, and check the time for cities around the world. It also includes a "night mode" which essentially displays a low-light clock during the night. Perhaps most importantly when comparing this clock others is the fact that it works well with Google Now voice commands, enabling users to tell Google to set an alarm, among other things.
Many love the app simply because of how minimalistic it is. The design of it very much reflects Google's recent "material design" philosophy, with flat, vibrant colors being used within the app.
Google has recently been releasing many of its stock apps to the Google Play store for those with different versions of Android to use, highlighting the company's embrace of customization. The company previously released its Camera app to the Google Play store, along with the Google Now launcher, which essentially gives users the ability to swipe right for Google's card-based virtual assistant, and to use "OK Google" voice commands.
Of course, in order to enjoy total stock Android, users will need to look into purchasing a Google Nexus device or one of the few third-party devices, like the Motorola Moto X, which also offer stock Android. Stock Android itself is essentially Android as Google intended it to be, without overlay from companies, which more often than not are simply there to push the company's own software offerings and services. Samsung's TouchWiz, for example, is famously riddled with Samsung's media services such as Milk Music. Thankfully, the company has made moves towards allowing users to better control these features, however Samsung's Android is still far from Google's.
It's important to mention that shortly after the release of this app, some users were reporting experiencing issues, so if you download the app but have problems installing it you're not alone. It is likely that Google might update the app in the near future in order to remedy this issue - after all the app was built to be experienced on a stock Android device.
The Clock app can be downloaded here.
