The company showed off widgets for Google Search, Chrome, Drive, Google Maps, Gmail, and Google News. This is quite interesting and also funny, on one hand. Why? Well, Google introduced lock screen widgets for Android back in 2012, and then killed off the feature in 2014. Now, 8 years later, Apple is introducing lock screen widgets as a brand new feature. That should not surprise anyone, though, as the company also announced an always-on display for the iPhone 14 Pro lineup. That feature has been a part of Android phones for 10 years at this point. When it comes to iOS 16 lock screen widgets, they’re somewhat limited in terms of space. Apple is allowing them to be placed in specific spots below the clock, and those spots are rather small. On top of that, they have to e all-white. Google had to play along, of course, which is why all of the widgets it announced are uniform, in a way. Let’s talk briefly about each of the apps Google introduced widgets for, shall we?
Google Search
If you take a look at the two images above, you’ll see what the Google Search Widget brings. You can kick off a Google search right from the lock screen, or configure it in a way to start searching with your voice or camera. Alternatively, you can kick off the Translate feature directly.
Google Chrome
When it comes to Chrome, things are even simpler. You can quickly launch Chrome, kick off a voice search, or an incognito search, or launch Google’s dino game directly.
Google Drive
With the Google Drive widget, you can access your files directly. You can open a suggested Drive file or your starred files and folders directly from the lock screen.
Google Maps
The Google Maps widget can be quite useful. With the ‘Frequent Trips’ widget, you can get real-time traffic updates and estimated travel times to places. Alternatively, you can use a widget that will help you find restaurants, shops, and other nearby spots.
Gmail
There are two options for Gmail as well. First, this widget can show you the number of new messages in your inbox. Alternatively, you can customize it to see which inbox categories, like Social or Updates, contain new messages.
Google News
And last, but not least, Google News. There is a single configuration for this widget. It can show you real-time headlines. If you see something you like, simply tap it and open the app.
