Widgets were the feature backbone of Android and one of its biggest unique draws until it was removed from locked screens since Android 5.0. But, according to Mishaal Rahman via Android Authority, two in-development features highly suggest its return with Android 15, with a bit of additional circumstantial “inspiration” from Apple’s more recent-ish implementations.
In fact, as some of you probably remember, Android 4. 2 brought lock screen widgets ten years ago (yes, ten years). But it was removed without much fanfare when Android 5. 0 arrived. After that, Google never seemed to care much, not even the slightest sign of interest in the idea.
Then came iOS 16 in 2022, introducing several key quality-of-life updates that included. . . Lock screen widgets. Eagle-eyed Android enthusiasts understood this. At this point, many of them were speculating that Google would eventually dig up their files and bring back this old feature.
Aside from Apple’s iOS 16, the most tangible option to go back to lock screen widgets on Android comes from an odd domain on a preview lock screen, which can be accessed by swiping in from the right. This was the first feature in progression, he reported. Dubbed “common space,” the feature was available in the Android 14 QPR2 Beta 3 update.
From this screen, it looks like you can load Google Calendar, Google Clock, and Google App widgets by going to the pencil icon at the top left. After settling on a few, the widgets loaded, confirming that it works. However, the lock screen UI overlapped, showing its underdeveloped state.
But perhaps the most curious point is the restriction of the application. While the feature strongly suggests that you can use any compatible app, lately you can only use apps that are primarily Google-based. It was later discovered that the lock screen only accepted widgets in the KEYGUARD (WIDGET_CATEGORY_KEYGUARD) category. Do you know what operating formula (version) this formula uses to choose apps as usable lock screen widgets?That’s right, Android 4. 2.
While the original article maintains the typical disclaimer for these types of speculative announcements, there was at least one more strong argument for the eventual return of lock screen widgets: At a Glance. Think about it. Using At a Glance, Pixel phones already have a universal widget-like feature that works within a lock screen.
And it’s not just a conceptual issue. It is explained in more detail that progression can be thought of as its next evolutionary step, as At a Glance is based on Smartspace (Map Interface API). To expand on this point, Google is lately working on integrating RemoteViews (the basis of Android widgets) into the Smartspace API.
Although Android 15 wouldn’t roll out as the original source suggests, the bottom line was that Smartspace still brings abundant innovations to At a Glance. Whether or not this affects whether or not lock screen widgets are generally available again is up in the air.