Make Your Lock Screen Pop With “Stretchy Time” (iOS 26 Public Beta)

One of the most noticeable things about iOS 26 is the new Liquid Glass design, which kind of permeates the whole device — especially on the lock screen. This is really apparent with your big time at the top now appearing in that glass style.

Of course, we can change this back to how it was before. But we can also do something I like to call Stretchy Time — which I’m pretty sure isn’t the real name — which lets you stretch your time out to make it look really striking on the lock screen. If only you could do that with actual time in the real world… that sure would help me!

And as you’re watching this video — if I’ve helped you or taught you something new — then you can help me by subscribing to my channel and helping me grow a bit more. All fair?

Okay. On my lock screen, I’m going to long-press and then tap Customise at the bottom. Right now, you’ll see my time is in this new Liquid Glass style. I can tap onto it, just like before, and now I can use the options at the bottom to change it back to the solid style it used to be, where I can then adjust the colours just like before.

I want to stick with the glass style and go to the first of these fonts at the top. Now, this very first option is actually the brand-new one, which lets you stretch and extend the time. It’s a custom font Apple have made, which adapts to how big you want it on your screen.

When you’ve chosen it and tapped off the font picker, you’ll notice this little corner bracket in the bottom right-hand corner of the time. All you have to do is tap and drag that to make your time as long or as short as you like.

As you do this, you’ll notice you’re not just stretching the numbers — the whole font style adapts to the new size, which looks really cool. But what’s even cooler is when you press Done and save your new style. As you tilt and move your phone, you’ll see the little highlights and shadows on that Liquid Glass time change as your device moves.

It’s a subtle effect — but it looks really cool.

And that’s it. Stretchy Time. iOS 26. Done.