Whether your phone has a built-in Always On Display (AOD) depends on having an AMOLED display and if your brand offers the feature. Even then, customization options might be limited. While brands like OnePlus and Samsung offer some tweaks, you might want more designs or features. If so, here are the best Always On Display apps to personalize your Android phone’s AOD.
Table of Contents
1. AOA: Always on Display
AOA is an all-in-one Always On Display app offering everything you might want. It lets you interact with notifications, check the date and time, control your music, and use shortcuts without unlocking your phone. With it, you can:
- Customize clock and date: Choose from various styles and personalize the font.
- Add backgrounds and stickers: Make your AOD visually appealing.
- Add shortcuts: Access Torch, Calculator, and Calendar directly from the AOD screen.
- Edge lighting: Show an always-on or notification-triggered edge lighting with animation (optional).
- Brightness: Adjust brightness manually or enable auto-brightness.
There are multiple clock styles, ranging from simple digital and analog to dynamic clocks with background animations. You can trigger the always-on display using various methods like raise to wake, double-tap to wake, notifications, and more, so you don’t have to enable it manually.
I also like that you can back up your settings and restore them if you reset or change your phone. The only issue is in-app video ads, but you can upgrade to the Premium version to remove them and unlock additional features like Weather on AOD, Power Saver, and premium clock styles for INR 490 (about $6).
Download: AOA Always on Display
2. Always On: Edge Music Lighting (Muviz Edge)
Also known as Muviz Edge, this app is famous for its live music visualizer that dances around the edges of your screen as you listen to music on any app.
It’s also got a variety of Always On Display styles, including those inspired by Nothing OS, Google Pixel, iOS, and Android 14. I’m particularly fond of the Nothing Phone and Pixel concentric circles, which are a major reason I keep coming back to this app.
Customization is a major plus here. You can easily tweak the clock size and the colors of the date, time, notifications, and battery status to your liking. You can even choose your own color theme or let the app automatically select one from the current music album cover.
The music visualizer itself offers multiple options for personalization. You can choose to have vibrant lights cascade around the edges or opt for sleek visual bars that move in sync with your music. It all looks neat, fancy, and instantly grabs eyeballs.
Download: Always On Edge Music Lighting
3. Standby iOS for Android
iOS 17 introduced a Standby mode that displays a nice clock, weather, photos, and other information on your iPhone lock screen while charging. Standby iOS brings a similar experience to your Android phone.
Plug in your Android phone or place it on a wireless charger, and you’ll get a neat-looking bedside or desk clock. Swipe to switch between different clock styles, calendar views, photo backdrops with time and date, and more, just like an iPhone.
You can change the colors for the background, time, date, and clock, and even use your own photo for styles that support it. The only caveat is that it’s not exactly Always On and only appears when your phone is charging.
Download: Standby iOS Always On Display
4. NotifyBuddy
Miss the notification LED on Android phones? While the decision to bring it back rests with manufacturers, NotifyBuddy uses Always On Display technology to simulate a small, colorful LED in the top-left corner of your phone’s screen when it’s off.
The light glows when you receive notifications from your chosen apps. You can assign different colors to different apps, such as pink for Instagram, blue for Facebook, orange for Gmail, and so on.
It can also notify you of missed calls and automatically stops when Do Not Disturb (DND) is active. Upgrading to premium allows you to change the LED shape and have multiple LEDs for different notifications, although it’s disappointing that this feature is locked behind a paywall.
As another option, consider Notification Light for Pixel, which displays a notification light around the camera ring.
Download: NotifyBuddy
5. AmpereFlow
Are you a battery enthusiast like me and want to keep track of your battery’s charge level, temperature, and other metrics? Ampere Flow is the perfect tool for you.
It displays a large, customizable clock on your AOD screen, followed by a speedometer that tracks your battery percentage in real time as it charges. You can also customize the date format, but displaying notifications on the AOD requires upgrading to the premium version.
While the app is ad-supported, you can unlock the pro experience by watching one ad per day or opt for the premium version for a one-time payment of just INR 49 (less than $1).
Download: AmpereFlow
6. True Amps
An alternative to Ampere is TrueAmps, from the same developer as “AOA: Always on Display,” mentioned earlier in this article. It offers a similar interface with tons of customization options.
For starters, you can add app shortcuts to the charging screen, set alerts for when your battery reaches a certain level, and change the font color and size.
There are also plenty of charging animations to choose from. My personal favorite is the “waves” animation, which fills the entire display with floating liquid as the battery charges.
TrueAmps shows both notifications and music controls on the lock screen, but displaying weather requires a Pro subscription. Overall, it’s a nice battery AOD app, but I’d like to see more clock and date styles in the coming updates.
Download: True Amps
7. Cometin
Cometin offers a collection of tweaks for your Android phone in the form of modules, including one for Always On Display (AOD) that allows you to customize and design your own. Unfortunately, it’s currently compatible only with Android 13 and older devices. Android 14 is not yet supported, and sideloading the APK will not work.
To use it, install Cometin, then add the AOD module, and grant all related permissions. You can then change the animation, show notifications (with or without icons), show the clock and date in different styles, sizes, and colors, and even show battery information. You can also move each of those and place it wherever you want on the AOD screen.
Furthermore, it lets you add gestures to the ambient display and shows weather information, all without paying a dime. This fully customizable ambient display app also brings other useful modules like app locker, Flip to shh, Pocket mode, Remap assistant, and more. It’s one of the best AOD apps for techies out there.
Download: Cometin
Apart from these apps, you can also try Always On AMOLED and AOD Plus if you want simpler options.
- Always On AMOLED: This app offers an AOD screen with customizable fonts and backgrounds, music controls, and battery percentage display. Additional clock styles and weather information are premium features, but the app runs very smoothly. The AOD can be set to display always, when you pick up your phone, receive a notification, or wave over the screen.
- AOD Plus: This is a great AOD app for managing notifications. While it doesn’t have extensive customization options, it provides full previews for your notifications, including messages and emails. You can delete, reply, or mark notifications as read directly from your AOD screen.
Should You Use AOD Apps On Your Phone?
AOD apps let you check the time, notifications, and more without unlocking your phone. While your phone’s built-in AOD might offer similar features, third-party apps provide extensive customization options for clock style, size, and color. They also let you choose to display notifications, weather, or unique features like music visualization, edge lighting, and gestures.
However, these apps can drain your battery and require notification access, which might not be ideal for privacy-conscious users. Most AOD apps also lack direct fingerprint unlock support, requiring you to return to your phone’s lock screen, which can be inconvenient.
In short, there are both pros and cons to using Always On Display apps. But if you’re an Android user who truly values customization, they’re an absolute must-try.
