No matter what Android phone you use, you’ve probably experienced what is the most frustrating home screen widget ever. I’m talking about the “At a Glance” widget, that calendar and weather element that’s fixed to the left side of the screen and is there forever if you’re on a Pixel device.
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Text scaling is always too small compared to other elements on the home screen, missed taps that trigger the weather app when you want to open the calendar are frequent, and you can’t resize the widget to avoid dropping it. 2-3 squares of dead space to its right.
A redesign for Android’s At a Glance widget is long overdue, and it’s finally coming, according to Google’s September Android feature rollout.
In what will be a feature delivery to all devices running Android 12 or later, the new At a Glance widget leverages AI so you can offer more tailored and event-specific information about your day. It includes boarding information for upcoming flights, weather alerts, general reminders and more.
In an example video embedded in the press release, the new widget is demoed on the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, cycling through reminders to get to the airport, board the plane, claim baggage after landing, and what the weather is like upon arrival.
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Interestingly, the redesigned widget now gives you the option to apply a white or black background, offering more contrast to your wallpaper. The weather on the right side of the widget also has its own view, and the description takes up two lines instead of one.
All in all, it’s very easy to understand at a glance when you need the information you need without having to open dedicated apps on your phone. It was all meant to be. Now let me customize the widget size and text scale, Google!