Lock screen widgets may be set to return in the next big update to Android’s operating formula, Android 15, based on the hidden features found in the most recent Android 14 beta.
The tool is obviously not finished, suggesting that it’s still a long way from going public, but as Android Authority reports, it’s conceivable to access a new common domain on the lock screen that allows you to load widgets.
Currently, it is limited to only 3 apps: Google Calendar, Google Clock, and Google App; Most likely, more software will be added if your widget category is updated.
Also, when you return to your usual finished space, you’re met with a messy mix of widgets and the typical Android lock screen, so it’s nothing that’s in a condition to be used by the public.
This wouldn’t be the first time that lock screen widgets have appeared on Android devices – Google tried something similar in Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Users could add a preview of their messages, calendar, and email inbox to the lock screen, as well as quick access to the camera and a tool that identified what song was playing.
Some facets of that feature have remained (you can see message previews, temporarily secure apps, and identify the song playing on your lock screen), but Android 5 has gotten rid of that widget-like sense of customization, which is somewhat akin to that commonplace feature. I could bring it back.
Unfortunately, while lock screen widgets are seemingly set to make a comeback in the next Android update, they may not be coming to every device. At least not right away. Right now, it appears Communal Space may be exclusive to devices with Hub mode – currently just the Pixel Tablet.
Also, you may not be able to update your common domain with all the widgets that you can customize your homepage with. The Pixel Pill can have multiple users, and the call of the common domain suggests that those widgets would be just the only ones. That would be applicable to every user of the device.
As with all leaked beta features, we shouldn’t forget that there’s no guarantee that the return of lock screen widgets will happen anytime soon, or even not at all. It’s possible that Google will reserve the feature for a much later update. Android operating formula like Android 16 or 17, or you may need to remove it altogether right after your test.
That said, given that lock screen widgets have been a mainstay of Apple products since the release of iOS 16 (released in September 2022), Google most likely doesn’t need its Android users to feel like they’re missing out. So, lock screen widgets on Android are more a matter of time, not if. We’ll have to wait and see what he says for next year.
Hamish is a senior editor at TechRadar and sees his calling featured in articles on almost every single topic on the site, from smart home deals to speaker reviews to graphics card news and everything in between. He uses his wide diversity of wisdom to explain the newest gadgets and whether they are a must-have fad or an over-the-top fad. Although his specialty is writing about everything that happens in the world of virtual truth and augmented truth.
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