Android may bring back lock screen widgets to tablets

Back in the early days of Android, Google supported the ability to run widgets on the lock screen, but this feature disappeared in later releases. Now, it looks like Android is bringing back lock screen widgets, as some early research shows.

Lock screen widgets have experienced a resurgence in popularity in recent years, largely due to Apple introducing limited widget functionality to the iOS lock screen. Users can select several widget options to display data such as battery life, weather, and sunrise/sunset.

But back in the early 2010s, Android allowed users to do basically anything with widgets on the lock screen. You can select any widget and slap it on your lock screen with a carousel of several widget options. It also didn’t require developer consent, as it was just an extension of the regular widget system. But when Android reached version 5.0 in 2014, Google removed that feature.

Now it seems like it’s coming back.

Android permissions (In January) we showed off Android’s new “Share” spaces. This is the part of the lock screen that can be accessed by swiping from the right side. This space also opens a new selector for adding Android widgets to the lock screen, but it doesn’t work with all widgets. Note that the “Keyguard” category is required to display the widget here. This was introduced in Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, but since it hasn’t been used for years, the feature doesn’t appear in most apps. Apparently, it will still work with Google apps as well as Calendar and Clock.

The screenshot below shows some of what Google is working on. very initial. The widget appears as expected without unlocking the device, but it’s not fully formatted yet.

Plus, there seems to be a big caveat to this. Apparently, this form of lock screen widget in Android only appears on large-screen devices, and specifically in “hub mode” for use with a dock. At the moment, that pretty much only includes the Google Pixel Tablet.

Much of this work is currently being done and is partially visible in the latest beta release of Android 14, but the rough state of the feature suggests it likely won’t be available anytime soon. More similar is the return of lock screen widgets in Android 15. Android 14’s debut was pretty underwhelming in terms of new features, but it’s certainly something to look forward to.

Updated 4/12: Now, the first beta of Android 15 has also been released, so this feature has even more work in the works. Android 15 Beta 1 fleshes this out even further, improving widget support and confirming that this is a feature designed specifically with tablets in mind.

By default, a select few widgets appear to be available, including Battery, Google Calendar, Pixel Weather, Google News, Gmail, and a combination of other Google apps. However, toggling the toggle allows you to use “any” widget. This currently includes several other Google apps, but all App.

This feature is not yet implemented by default in Android 15 Beta 1 on Pixel tablets, but it’s clear that it’s coming.

Image: Android Authority

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