Android
Google gives in to popular pressure and brings back to Android this feature missing since 2014 and widely used on iPhone
The function returns years later, after having success on iPhone and Samsung.
We must go back more than a decade, to last November 4, 2014, to situate ourselves when Google launched Android 5.0 Lollipop, an update that marked a major visual and functional change for the operating system. However, it was a version that also removed a feature that had been well received by users: widgets on the lock screen. Now, almost eleven years later, Google has decided to give in to pressure from the people and bring back this much-demanded feature.
Why were lock screen widgets canceled?
After the insistence of many users over the past few years, Google is finally bringing back to Android a very handy feature used by Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy series handsets. As we have previously mentioned, these are widgets (graphical elements that show, in a summarized form, the information of an application) on the lock screen, which allow the users to see the most important information without having to enter the home screen.
Google first added this possibility in 2012 with the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system, but removed it in version 5, citing security reasons. The disappearance of this generated criticism among users, who considered the ability to customize the lock screen with widgets to be a key tool for both improving productivity, and accessing information immediately.
Google vs. Apple and Samsung
In 2022, Apple introduced widgets to the iPhone lock screen in iOS 16, followed by Samsung with One UI 6 and several Chinese companies joining in. However, native support for this feature in Android is expected to allow many software companies to support lock screen widgets in their apps.
Google has already announced that widgets will return to smartphones and tablets, starting with the Pixel Tablet. Which presents an opportunity for developers to tailor their apps and offer a more personalized and efficient experience for users. Android 16 is still in beta testing and is expected to be officially launched in June. With this move, Google not only responds to popular demand, but also strengthens its competition with Apple and Samsung in the field of user interface customization.
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