Android 14 introduced new options to customize the lock screen, such as changing the clock style and adding two widgets below it. However, the lock screen on Android still seems less versatile compared to the iPhone’s, primarily because it has fewer widgets.
There are hints that Google may reintroduce lock screen widgets in a new way with Android 15, but only for tablets. For smartphones, it appears Google might adopt a major feature from the iPhone to enhance the lock screen in Android 15.
According to Mishaal Rahman in an Android Authority article, Google plans to draw from iPhone’s Live Activities feature to introduce widgets on Android 15’s phone lock screens via its At a Glance widget.
Google is currently developing a way to merge the RemoteViews API, which powers Android widgets, with the Smartspace API used by At a Glance.
Rahman suggests that this could enable At a Glance to display third-party widgets. However, there are several problems. At a Glance lacks the room to show full-size widgets, so Google would need to adjust their size dynamically to make their content fit the available space.
According to the video, the current version of At a Glance is extracting important information from the third-party widget and presenting that information instead of showing the whole widget itself.
Right now, non-Pixel phones can only use the At a Glance widget on their home screens, and it has restricted features.
Google is thinking about moving the At a Glance widget to the bottom of the lock screen. Mishaal Rahman managed to do this by activating some hidden settings in Android 15 Beta 1.2. However, it’s still uncertain whether Google will make this change permanent.
Right now, it’s not certain whether Google will add widget support similar to iPhone’s Live Activities in Android 15. This feature is still being developed and may not be complete in time for the OS’s release later this year.
If so, we might need to wait until the release of Android 16 in 2025 to see an improved lock screen. Also, if Google intends to introduce this better lock screen in Android 15, we expect to learn more at the Google I/O event next month.
What we think?
I think Google will add iPhone-like widgets to Android 15, but mainly for Pixel phones first. They might show info from apps right on the lock screen.
It seems cool but could be tricky to fit everything nicely without it looking crowded. If they don’t finish in time, we might have to wait for Android 16. I’m excited to see more at the Google I/O event next month.
