Screen off widgetthe app that allows you to put a piece to the lack of the double tap on the display (from the initial screen) to block the smartphone, a feature that for example is not present on the Google pixels (of default, can be blocked exclusively with a pressure on the power/shutdown button), returns to update and does it in style.
Among the novelties of the new update include support to Material 3 Expressivethe introduction of many innovations, both on the customization front and on the available options front, and the introduction of a sort of “premium” level unlockable at the cost of a coffee. Let’s find out all the details.
The 4.0 version off widget arrives
As anticipated at the opening, the app Screen off widget has recently updated and reached the Alla Version 4.0.0 More than a year after the introduction of the previous version 3.0 which had introduced some improvements and a little more.
In general, the app allows you to add a “transparent” widget to the initial screen (or a box at the center of the rapid controls) of the smartphone to simulate the double tap (or the single tap, configurable appearance) to turn off the screen without taking advantage of the power/shutdown button.
The changelog of the new version is not very exhaustive, since it merely suggests “Added many new customization options for widgets and other improvements”; This is the case, it is truly reductive. We will discuss a little further on all the news.
Before starting with the examination of the novelties, we point out that the general functioning of the app does not change: once installed, it will ask the user for permission to access some accessibility functions (in the case of Android 9 Pie and subsequent versions). To work on older smartphones, with Android 8 Oreo or previous versions, root permits will be needed.
The news of version 4.0.0
The first, great, novelty of the version 4.0.0 of screen off widget It is the support to Material 3 Expressive: This is visible in the sliders, in the buttons and in the switches that, compared to the previous version, have been replaced with the most recent elements from the point of view of design.
As you have already noticed by the previous image, there is then room for the implementation of a large amount of customization options. In fact, the widget can now be customized to go further than the simple shutdown of the screen.
Users can choose between five different actions: Turn off the screen, open the notifications panel, Open the quick control panel, Open the recent app menu, Open the shutdown menu. There is also room for a switch that allows you to choose the type of gesture (between double tap and single tap). Instead, the possibility of customizing the double TAP detection interval and the possibility of adding a vibration to the detection of the double Tap remain; However, the vibration becomes customizable.
Going further, the developer also added Visual personalization options for widget which can be “unlocked” at the cost of 0.99 euros forever. They allow users to customize their appearance, otherwise totally transparent and reduced already starting from 1 × 1 (therefore it is possible to add more than one to the same screen, perhaps distinguishing them from the point of view of customization). The first customization concerns the background of the widget: we can choose the color and level of transparency.
It is also possible to make the action that makes the even more clear widget by adding an icon in the center: it can be chosen by a set of 10 different icons; Users can regulate the color, transparency and size inside the widget itself.
How to download or update Screen Off Widget
If you are a user in possession of a Google Pixel or, more simply, you are in possession of any other smartphone not equipped with the lock function of the smartphone via double tap on the display, Screen off widget It could be for you.
The application, from the weight of a couple of a few MB, is available for free download via the Google Play Store: to install it or update it, if you have already installed it, just follow the badge below and make a tap on “Install” or “Update”.
