Over the years Android has had many features that, for one reason or another, they have disappeared. But not all of them generate as much interest as the one that is apparently about to be recovered. With this decision, Google would give users something they had been asking for for a long time.
With the launch of Android 15, a large number of new features are expected to be introduced. Many of them would only be possible with current technology, while in other cases, as we indicated, Google is looking to the past. In this aspect, prepare yourself, because it is said that what is on the way to being recovered are the widgets for the locked screen.
A more useful screen lock
The information comes from Android Authority, where they have discovered, by exploring the Android 14 QPR2 Beta 3 code, that there is a function that can be activated for it. In this way, the use of widgets on the locked screen is enabled to give greater utility to the mobile and, at the same time, follow in the footsteps of iOS, which already recovered this function several versions ago.
From what Mishaal Rahman comments on his discovery, there could be two ways in which Google implements this “new” feature. It is not clear if he will through a new space that defines as “communal” or through the At a Glance widget that we already know well. The second option could make sense, but perhaps it would limit the presence of these widgets too much, so it should not be ruled out that, as Rahman says, a new type of space is introduced into the interface of Google’s operating system.
How is it used and what does it offer?
What has been seen so far is an incomplete version, at least apparently, of what would be the new system to provide the lock screen with a little more life. For now it is possible to add the Google Clock, Google Calendar widgets and the main Google app, although it is assumed that they are not the only options and that it will be possible to customize it more freely.
To open this space it seems that it will be necessary to swipe from right to left, creating the reverse process to iOS, where you have to slide your finger from left to right. Another aspect in which Android could be following in the footsteps of the iPhone operating system would be in the way in which this function would begin to be distributed. From what it seems, it is possible let it come to tablets first having been seen on the Pixel Tablet, and which may be adapted to smaller screens in the future.
This would be exactly what happened with iOS, where the Today function was first introduced on the iPad and then it was decided to bring it to the iPhone so that users of these mobile phones could also use it. Or another option would be for Android tablets to have this larger and more spacious area where to put all kinds of widgets and that mobile phones only saw the At a Glance section improved to make it more flexible. For now everything is theories and it is difficult to know what Google’s exact plans are in relation to the recovery of this function that many users miss.
Considering that Android 14 was released in October 2023, it is obvious that we are still far from meeting the next version. Still, let’s not forget that the Preview version should be released in February and it is possible that we start receiving information of some of its characteristics. Therefore, we may not have to wait as long as we imagine to find out what really awaits us in terms of using the lock screen. What is clear is that, barring any surprises, this year we will be able to get more out of our mobile phone.
