How to change the color of the clock on the Xiaomi desktop

Owners of Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO smartphones often seek to personalize the interface to stand out from other users. One of the most noticeable elements that catches the eye when unlocking the screen or looking at the main screen is the watch widget. Standard design may seem boring or simply not fit the chosen dark or light theme. Fortunately, the MIUI shell and the new HyperOS provide ample customization options.

Changing the look of a dial is not just an aesthetic whim, it's a way to improve readability. Correct contrast and font allow you to read time faster without looking at the screen. In this article, we'll look at all the ways you can transform a standard widget, from built-in features to third-party solutions.

You'll learn how to use the built-in Themes app, where to look for hidden font settings, and which Google Play apps will help you get the most out of it. We'll look at the nuances of widgets across different versions of the operating system. Get ready to turn a boring screen into a piece of digital art.

Use of the built-in Themes application

The easiest and safest way to change the look of a watch is to use a regular tool from developers. Themes app is pre-installed on every device of the brand and has access to system display resources. This is where the official design packages are stored, which are guaranteed to work correctly with your version of the software.

To get started, you have to start the app and go to the search section, and in the input bar, you have to type in keywords related to the desired style, such as "watch", "widget" or "clock", and the system will offer a lot of options where the color of the numbers, background and font style are already selected by the designers, and you just have to choose the option you like and apply it.

It's important to understand that using a theme often changes not only the clock, but also the app icons, menu colors, and system sounds. If you want to change only the time widget, you need to be careful when choosing. Some themes allow you to use components selectively, although in recent versions of MIUI this feature may be limited depending on the region.

• 🎨 Open the Topics app and go to the Profile tab».
• 🔍 Search for “Analogue Watch” or “Digital Widgets».
• ⬇️ Download your favorite theme, paying attention to the preview of the main screen.
• ✅ Click “Apply” to activate the new design style.

After applying the theme, the system can request confirmation to change the style of the lock screen and desktop. Agree with the changes to see the result. If the new design does not suit you, you can always go back to the theme profile and click on the "Delete" or "Reset" button, returning the standard widget in a couple of seconds.

Set up the Watch widget via the editing menu

Many modern HyperOS builds and current MIUIs have a native widget editor, which allows you to change the color and style of the watch without installing third-party themes, which saves the device memory, by pressing an empty area on the desktop or pinching your fingers to go into editing mode.

Find the watch widget on the screen and click on it, or select Add widgets from the bottom menu. In the list that opens, select the watch category. Here you will see different options for displaying time: with a date, without a date, in a round frame, in a rectangle, and so on. Some of these options support color change.

⚠️ Note: Color change is not available directly in the widget menu in all regions and not on all smartphone models. If after a long click on the widget does not appear color settings menu, then your current theme blocks this feature.

If the widget you choose supports customization, you'll see a color palette or a list of preset shades. You can choose a bright neon color, a strict black or white, or choose a shade under the wallpaper. After choosing a color, click Ready or just tap the screen outside the menu to save the changes.

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Use widgets with a transparent background if you want the watch to harmoniously fit into any wallpaper, changing only the color of the numbers.

It is worth noting that a standard widget often syncs with the system theme. If you have enabled Dark Theme in the display settings, the color of the watch can automatically invert for better readability. This behavior can be controlled through the contrast settings in the Settings → Screen section.

Change the system font to change the style of numbers

One of the most effective, but often ignored, ways to change the look of a watch is to change the system font, and because the time widget uses a system font file to render numbers, replacing that file dramatically changes the look of the watch, whether it's bold, handwritten, or futuristic.

To implement this method, go to Settings → Display → System Font. Here you will find a catalog of available fonts. Many of them change the numerals to make them more rounded, angular or decorative. Some fonts even change the color accent, adding gradients or shadows, if this is provided by the font designer.

Once you select a new font, the system will apply the changes to the entire interface, which will affect not only the clock, but also the settings menu, messages and browser, so it is important to choose a font that is convenient for reading long texts, and not only looks beautiful on the dial.

Remember that some custom fonts may not display Cyrillic in other parts of the interface, although the numbers usually remain the same. Before installing, check for support for Russian in the font description.

Use of third-party widgets from Google Play

If built-in capabilities aren't enough, third-party apps come to the rescue. There are hundreds of watch widgets on the Google Play store that overlap the standard system widget, offering limitless options for color, shape, animation and transparency.

Popular apps are Digital Clock Widget, Flip Clock or Transparent Clock & Weather. Once you install such an app, you'll need to remove the standard widget from your desktop and add a new one from the widget category of the newly installed app. Color customization usually takes place inside the donor app itself.

• 📲 Download the watch widget application from a reliable source.
• 🗑️ Remove the standard Xiaomi widget from the desktop.
• ➕ Add a widget from the Tools category or app names.
• 🎨 Customize color, size and transparency in the configuration menu.

The main advantage of third-party solutions is independence from system updates MIUI. You can create a widget of any color, even one that is not in the palette Xiaomi. and many of them support the display of additional information, such as battery level, weather or currency exchange rates.

⚠️ Warning: Third-party widgets consume more power than system widgets because they are not optimized at the core level of the system. Using complex animated widgets can speed up battery drain.

Also, you should consider that third-party widgets may conflict with the theme of the design. For example, if you use a dark theme and the widget is set to black without transparency, it can merge with the background. Careful adjustment of display parameters will help to avoid visual dissonance.

Always on Display for the color of the watch

For owners. AMOLED-Screens are critically important to watch in Always On Display mode (AOD). This is a feature that shows the time and notifications on the screen off, and the color of the watch in this mode is set separately from the desktop and has its own power consumption limitations.

Go to Settings → Wallpaper and Personalization → Always on screen. Here you can choose the display style. Some styles allow you to change the color of the numbers, others are rigidly fixed in white or gray to save energy. In new versions of HyperOS, you can create your own AOD styles, where you can set the color randomly.

When you create your own AOD style, you can select any element, including the text of the time, and change its color through a palette, which allows you to synchronize the color of the watch on the locked screen with the color on the unlocked one, creating a single visual style.

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Always On Display on AMOLED screens works by highlighting only the pixels needed, so using bright colors (red, green) can consume more power than white or black.

It is worth remembering that on some models of the budget segment, the AOD function may be limited or absent. In such cases, the color of the watch on the off screen will not be changed, since the screen cannot physically display an image without backlighting (in the case of IPS matrices) or does not support the function.

Frequent problems and their solution

Customization is not always smooth, users may find that after applying the theme, the color of the watch does not change, or the widget disappears after rebooting, often due to the cache of the theme or conflict versions of the system components.

If the widget is reset to a standard one, try clearing the Themes and System UI application data. Go to Settings → Apps → All Apps, find what you want and click Clean. After that, the phone needs to be rebooted. This action will return the interface settings to factory settings, but often solves the display “glitch” problems.

Another common problem is the theme’s incompatibility with the current version of Android. Themes created for Android 11 may not work properly on Android 13. Read the theme description in the store carefully: developers often specify supported versions of the OS.

Experiment with settings, combine fonts and themes to find the perfect balance between beauty and functionality. Your smartphone is a tool that should please the eye every time you pick it up.