Google announced on the Android Developer Blog that Android 16 smartphones will get widgets on the lock screen this year. Such widgets have been available on Pixel tablets since last year, but now Google will add them to smartphones and more tablet models.
Image source: Denny Müller/unsplash.com
The company confirmed that lock screen widgets will be added to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) repository in the first quarterly update following the release of Android 16, which is due out this summer. Android 16 is currently in beta testing and is due out in June.
While lock screen widgets for phones aren’t available in the latest Android 16 beta, Android Authority journalist Mishaal Rahman was able to enable the feature, The Verge reports. According to Rahman, the current implementation of the feature for phones is only accessible through Android’s screensaver mode, which requires the phone to be charging or docked. Google noted in a blog post that the mechanism for launching the widget interface will be configurable by device makers, so you may see different ways to launch the feature.
Since smartphones have smaller screens than the Pixel Tablet, widgets will be stacked two at a time vertically, so you’ll need to swipe to find the ones you want.
All widgets will support placement on the lock screen by default, although app developers will be able to disable this feature if they wish. Users will also reportedly still be required to authenticate with a fingerprint, PIN, or face unlock when launching individual apps using a widget.