Despite Google’s big overhaul, Android widgets still need 5 features

Android is undergoing one of its biggest changes recently, and the mainstay of that change are widgets. With multi-page widgets and more uniform layouts for fitness and productivity apps they’re becoming an even more visible source of information on your home screen. They are becoming much more capable and useful than their past self, and all these changes are quite welcome.

But I’d be lying if I said widgets on Android are now realizing their full potential after these changes. They still leave a lot of room for improvement, and the following are the areas I think Google needs to prioritize.

It’s not like Android didn’t already have relevant intelligence within widgets. A look at the Pixel is a prime example of this. But that’s yesterday’s news compared to the deep Gemini integration and the kind of smart work Android is doing these days, and none of that has really reached widgets yet. They continue to behave like static mini apps rather than a more adaptive system.

Now is the time for Android to use its AI wizardry to surface widgets that you will need right now or proactively based on your location or time. Maybe it could go even further with predictive behavior to bring up floating widgets along the lines of the Magic Queue. With Gemini using personal intelligence to its advantage, I hope the broader Android operating system will also become more aware of your routine needs.

I know Android 16 introduced lock screen widgets in a substantial way, but to me, the idea feels half-baked in its current form. Android’s lock screen widgets are simply an extension of their home screen counterparts. You literally add an additional lock screen to show the same widgets that are already on your home screen. If I need to swipe up on multiple pages to access widgets – which are supposed to be viewable – why wouldn’t I unlock the phone and look at the home screen instead?

Instead of just showing regular home screen widgets on the lock screen, I would prefer a different approach. Widgets should integrate more naturally into your existing lock screen rather than prompting you to create multiple dedicated pages. Google needs to re-imagine the purpose of lock screen widgets – which are not the same as home screen widgets – and make them more viewable on AODs and lock screens without requiring unnecessary gestures to view them.

There used to be barely an Android ecosystem to speak of, but with the soft revival of Android tablets and people increasingly pairing Android phones with Wear OS smartwatches, there’s now a need for Apple-like cross-device continuity features that even extend to widgets.

Widget sync does happen now, but it’s usually through the host app’s cloud or backend system, rather than through two Android devices talking to each other directly. This is why sync behavior varies greatly depending on the app you’re using, often leading to inconsistent refresh times. If Android natively handles this communication directly, such as between your Android phone and tablet, it has the potential to become a much stronger ecosystem component.

The fragmentation of Android as an operating system extends beyond its core and also affects functionalities such as widgets. From Samsung to Nothing, everyone has their own interpretation of how widgets should look and work on their devices. They all have their own built-in rules, and they’re quite different from what we see on the Pixel straight from Google.

I have encountered widget incompatibilities, different features are supported depending on the device or launcher you are running on. These inconsistencies exist despite Google’s efforts to integrate widget detection with the new API, but it’s clearly not working to its full potential. It gets even worse with duplicate implementations, like the Pixel’s At a Glance has a direct rival in Samsung’s Now Brief widget.

Just as Google addressed the irregular app scaling problems we face across different screen sizes – from regular bar phones to foldables of different brands – similar intervention widgets are also needed now.

Excluding first-party widgets from Google and other OEMs, your home screen may start looking like a defunct junkyard with only a handful of widgets. It almost feels like every app is deliberately trying to ruin your home screen by being completely different from the others. Each app’s widget snaps to a different grid size, and within that, they all have their own animations, response behavior, spacing, transparency, and corner radii, giving the entire screen a jagged feel.

Unlike Apple, Google’s Android is in a unique position where Pixel phones maintain their own visual identity, including widgets, while every other Android phone maker does the same. At the very least, Google could implement some basic widget design guidelines that would help keep my home screen from looking a complete mess. This is actually one of the strongest reasons why I feel attracted to the iPhone.

While widgets on Android have already come a long way, they still have a long way to go with the changing needs of the broader Android ecosystem and deeper integration of AI. These changes will eventually bring widgets up to speed with our growing smartphone needs. If you want to add your own wishlist to this, feel free to comment below.