Google has revealed that most of its core products will have widgets for the Lock Screen on iOS 16. These include Gmail, Chrome, Drive, Search, News, and more. These widgets, however, will not be made available to users until the upcoming weeks.
The most notable distinction between these widgets and the ones presently available on iOS is that the former can now be pulled to the Lock Screen.
Apple’s newest iOS 16 update adds additional Lock Screen customization options. You may now add new, fully customizable backgrounds to the Lock Screen, and you can also alter the font style and color used to show the time and date. Users may get a brief look at the data without even unlocking the device, right on the Lock Screen.
The Google search widget will enable users to utilize voice or camera to conduct searches directly from the Lock Screen, as stated in a blog post by Susie Wee, Google’s VP for Cross-Product Experiences. This widget also serves as a translator and a homework assistance resource for users.
If you have the Chrome Lock Screen widget installed, you may use your voice to do a search or open up the classic dinosaur game. With just one tap, users can go to their most-used files and folders in Google Drive, while the Maps widget will highlight the most-traveled routes and their projected travel durations. Your Lock Screen will provide access to all of this data.
One of the features of the Maps widget is a search bar that may be used to locate nearby businesses like eateries and retail outlets. There will soon be a widget for Google News that displays the most recent news from the service. When a user is interested in learning more, they can just tap the screen.
Most importantly, many people will probably enjoy using the Gmail widget. Whenever you get a new message, the number of unread messages will update immediately. The blog post also mentions that users “will be able to configure the widget to view which inbox categories, such as Social or Updates, have new messages.”