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Robert Triggs / Android Authority
TL;DR
- The Google Opinion Rewards study offers some glimpses into the potential reimagining of the Google search widget that’s included on all GMS-powered Android smartphones.
- Google could also add buttons, surface content on the device through universal search, provide a news showcase, and make search easier through AI.
If you have a typical Android smartphone, it’s likely that you set it up right out of the box to display a prominent Google Search widget in the center of your home screen. This search widget is included as part of the Mobile Application Distribution Agreement (also known as MADA), and its placement and appearance are consistent across all devices shipped with the Google Play Store. But if Google’s recent survey is any clue, it might be willing to change things up.
I removed the Google Search widget from my home screen while setting up my new phone. Shortly after, Google Opinion Monitor presented me with a survey asking if I had removed the search widget from my home screen and why. Towards the end of the study, Google asked for my opinion on the following possible rethinking of the search widget:
The search bar may be upgraded as shown in the preview. Among the options presented in the study, Google appears to be experimenting with a search bar widget with features such as:
- More buttons make it easier to search in different ways.
- The ability to search for content on your device from within the Google search bar is similar to the Universal Search feature.
- News showcase above the search widget bar.
- Ability to use AI search through the search widget bar.
The ability to use AI in the search widget bar is the most interesting of these options, as it aligns closely with Google’s recent ambitions for AI through Google Gemini. Adding the ability to search using AI through a search widget, and thus making it part of the MADA mandate, would be a surefire way to put AI into the hands of millions of Android users around the world. .
Please note that Google has not officially endorsed these reimagined search widgets. But this study offers a glimpse into some of the possibilities Google has in mind for the future. It’s also unclear how that will work, as the search widget allows you to use another search engine other than Google Search in some regions. We hope to find out soon if Google changes the search widget in any way.
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