Google may reintroduce Lock Screen Widgets in Android 15. However, these “widgets” may resemble the live actions that Apple implemented in iOS.
Android widgets are one of the most useful additions to any device running this operating system. Including features to track the weather, stock market shares, calendar or battery life, these widgets provide a lot of information at a glance.
Android devices, including smartphones and tablets, have supported home screen widgets for over a decade. However, likely for security reasons, Google has stopped active support for widgets that users could place on a lock screen.
However, several reports indicate that Google is bringing back lock screen widgets. Support for lock screen widgets appears to have returned, but only for tablets. Even in the case of tablets, users will have to swipe the right side of the screen for these widgets to appear. In other words, widgets will not appear directly or stay on the lock screen. Google appears to be restricting lock screen widgets to a separate space.
Lock screens on smartphones running the latest stable version of Android are pretty bare. Users have the ability to control music, view notifications, make an emergency call, turn on the device’s flashlight, and take a photo. However, widgets are only accessible after unlocking your device.
Google may not offer lock screen widgets in the literal sense. However, the company appears to be working to improve the “At a Glance” feature. According to Android Authority’s Mishaal Rahman, Google is tweaking the backend of At a Glance, perhaps to work well with widgets.
The content available through the At a Glance feature is based on the Smartspace API. Android widgets are built on the RemoteViews API. If Google adds RemoteViews support to the Smartspace API, the company could pave the way for real widgets.
Needless to say, there are many security concerns and space constraints on an Android smartphone. Not to mention that few smartphone manufacturers actively deploy the At a Glance feature to begin with.
Mishaal has enabled some experimental flags in the recently released Android 15 Beta 1.2 to enable At a Glance. These flags made the feature visible at the bottom of the lock screen on a smartphone running the latest beta version of Android 15. This is the same place Apple positions “live activities” in iOS.
Repositioning the At a Glance feature could be the first step in reintroducing widgets to the lock screen. However, several Android smartphone manufacturers could simply choose to ignore this and instead offer their customized version of At a Glance.
All official details about Android 15 will be officially shared at Google I/O 2024, which is scheduled for May 14th. Until then, let’s make do with possible leaks and rumors.
Are you looking forward to the release of Android 15?
