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Android 14 came out a few months ago, and we’re still getting our feet wet with it. However, the rumor mill never takes a break, and we have a rumor about Android 15. According to a new report, Android 15 may allow you to put widgets on your lock screen.
A news story like this could spark debates as to whether Google is doing this to mimic Apple. While Apple has allowed iPhone users to put widgets on their lock screens for some time now, it was Android that originally brought this functionality to Android years back. People were able to add widgets to their lock screens with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. However, Google, for some reason, took this functionality away with Android 5 Lollipop.
Android 15 may bring back lock screen widgets
Right now, we are months away from getting our hands on Android 15. Even the developer preview is a little while away. This functionality was discovered through an APK deep dive performed by Android Authority. So, there’s a chance that Google could take this potential feature out at any point.
Android Authority did the deep-dive on the Android 14 QPR 2 Beta 3 update. However, if you have that version of Android, then you’ll need some technical know-how in order to enable the feature. From the looks of it, Google is working on letting people add widgets to their lock screens in Android 15. Again, Google is in the very early stages of this, so the feature could change drastically.
In its current state, it appears that you will have to swipe inward from the right on your lock screen. This will summon a separate page to place your widgets. Looking at the screenshots, it looks like you’ll be able to place your widgets pretty much however you want to. When you summon the page, you’ll see a pencil icon to edit it.
On the edit screen, we see the Add widget, Remove, and Done button. So far, it looks like only the Google Calendar widget and the clock widget can be placed. Most of the widgets are not compatible because their category needs to be set to Keyguard, which is something that hasn’t been necessary since Android 4.2. Plus, we’re sure that only these Google widgets are being used for internal testing.
A work in progress
As you can see from the screenshots, this feature is in very early production. One screenshot shows the lock screen UI being displayed on top of the widgets. So, it’s going to have to go through many refinements before it reaches the public.
In any case, it’s still nice to know that Google is working on bringing lock screen widgets back. Home screen widgets are great, but they require you to unlock your screen to use them. Lock screen widgets will make it easier to access information and functions on your phone.