Posted by Tyler Beneke – Product Supervisor, and Lucas Silva – Software program Engineer
Widgets are actually obtainable in your Pixel Pill lock screens! Lock display screen widgets empower customers to create a personalised, always-on expertise. Whether or not you wish to simply handle good residence units like lights and thermostats, or construct dashboards for fast entry and management of important data, this weblog submit will reply your key questions on lock display screen widgets on Android. Learn on to find when, the place, how, and why they’re going to be on a lock display screen close to you.
Q: When will lock display screen widgets be obtainable?
A: Lock display screen widgets will likely be obtainable in AOSP for tablets and cellular beginning with the discharge after Android 16 (QPR1). This replace is scheduled to be pushed to AOSP in late Summer season 2025. Lock display screen widgets are already obtainable on Pixel Tablets.
Q: Are there any particular necessities for widgets to be allowed on the lock display screen?
A: No, widgets allowed on the lock display screen have the identical necessities as another widgets. Widgets on the lock display screen ought to observe the identical high quality tips as residence display screen widgets together with high quality, sizing, and configuration. If a widget launches an exercise from the lock display screen, customers should authenticate to launch the exercise, or the exercise ought to declare android:showWhenLocked=”true” in its manifest entry.
Q: How can I take a look at my widget on the lock display screen?
A: At the moment, lock display screen widgets may be examined on Pixel Pill units. You may allow lock display screen widgets and add your widget.
Q: Which widgets may be displayed on this expertise?
A: All widgets are appropriate with the lock display screen widget expertise. To prioritize person selection and customization, we have made all widgets obtainable. For the most effective expertise, please be certain your widget helps dynamic coloration and dynamic resizing. Lock display screen widgets are sized to roughly 4 cells huge by 3 cells tall on the launcher, however precise dimensions fluctuate by machine.
Q: Can my widget opt-out of the expertise?
A:Necessary: Apps can select to limit the usage of their widgets on the lock display screen utilizing an opt-out API. To opt-out, use the widget class “not_keyguard” in your appwidget data xml file. Place this file in an xml-36 useful resource folder to make sure backwards compatibility.
Q: Are there any CDD necessities particularly for lock display screen widgets?
A: No, there are not any particular CDD necessities solely for lock display screen widgets. Nonetheless, it is essential to make sure that any widgets and screensavers that combine with the framework adhere to the usual CDD necessities for these options.
Q: Will lock display screen widgets be enabled on current units?
A: Sure, lock display screen widgets have been launched on the Pixel Pill in 2024 Different machine producers could replace their units as effectively as soon as the function is accessible in AOSP.
Q: Does the machine should be docked to make use of lock display screen widgets?
A: The mechanism that triggers the lock display screen widget expertise is customizable by the OEM. For instance, OEMs can select to make use of charging or docking standing as triggers. Third-party OEMs might want to implement their very own posture detection if desired.
Q: Can OEMs set their very own default widgets?
A: Sure! {Hardware} suppliers can pre-set and routinely show default widgets.
Q: Can OEMs customise the person interface for lock display screen widgets?
A: Customization of the lock display screen widget person interface by OEMs just isn’t supported within the preliminary launch. All lock display screen widgets can have the identical developer expertise on all units.
Lock display screen widgets are poised to provide your customers new methods to work together along with your app on their units. Immediately you possibly can leverage your current widget designs and experiences on the lock display screen with Pixel Tablets. To be taught extra about constructing widgets, please take a look at our sources on developer.android.com
This weblog submit is a part of our collection: Highlight Week on Widgets, the place we offer sources—weblog posts, movies, pattern code, and extra—all designed that can assist you design and create widgets. You may learn extra within the overview of Highlight Week: Widgets, which will likely be up to date all through the week.