Google Confirms Lock Screen Widgets Coming with Android 16

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Google recently announced the upcoming release of lock screen widgets with Android 16, which will be available in the first quarterly update after the release of Android 16 in late 2025. While lock screen widgets have been available on the Pixel Tablet since last year, the feature is now being extended to smartphones and other tablets.

These lock screen widgets will be enabled by default for all apps, though developers can choose to disable the feature. In certain cases, users may still need to authenticate their identity through fingerprint, PIN, or face unlock before interacting with the app via the widget.

Although the feature is not yet activated in the latest Android 16 beta for phones, reports from Android Authority indicate that it has been manually enabled early. On Pixel Tablets, users can access lock screen widgets by swiping right from the home screen. On phones, however, the feature currently only works via Android’s screensaver mode, which is triggered when the device is charging or docked.

Google also clarified that hardware manufacturers have the flexibility to customize how the lock screen widget interface is triggered, meaning that different devices may have slightly different implementations once the update rolls out. A notable difference between phones and tablets is the layout of the widgets. While the Pixel Tablet displays widgets in a two-row grid, the phone version utilizes a vertically stacked arrangement, and due to limited screen space, users will need to swipe through multiple screens to view all available widgets.