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Google Contacts could lose its hamburger menu and gain a messages widget
Hidden flags reveal a UI revamp and recent messages on your home screen
Google Contacts is an app that most people who use an Android phone should be familiar with, as it’s the default contacts app for Google phones, such as Pixel devices. The service's core functionality and purpose has remained the same since it first became available for Gmail in 2007: organize your contacts list. Google likes to frequently adjust the user interface in its software suite, and Contacts is next on that list, with a pending update certainly being an upgrade, at least in one area.
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Google now lets you poke the Digital Wellbeing widget when it's being unresponsive
It has a dedicated refresh button now
Widgets are a great way to access critical functions of an app right from your home screen. Options like Google’s At a Glance widget let you glean important information like weather, your next meeting, and AQI alerts conveniently. Almost all these widgets update automatically in the background without being asked, so you get current information at all times — at least, they're supposed to. But now we're seeing Google’s Digital Wellbeing widget introduce a refresh button for when it needs a little reminder to keep things current.
Weekend poll: Do you use widgets on your home screen?
Has Google's refocused attitude changed your phone's layout?
Widgets have been a part of Android since the very beginning, way back when you could run out to your local T-Mobile store to pick up a G1. They've come a long way since then, but not without some bumps in the road. Android 12 has found Google refocusing on design, with dozens of new widgets for its first-party apps and services. Of course, whether that's swayed anyone back to throwing a bunch of widgets on their home screen is another question entirely.
Google just can't stop adding new widgets to Android 12, and we couldn't be happier
Memories in Photos and Drive file suggestions are its latest additions
Google made a big show out of widgets when Android 12 finally arrived on Pixel devices last week. Some of them arrived during this summer's beta, but there are a select few we've only seen in previews and marketing materials. Timed perfectly with today's Pixel 6 launch, a couple of new Material You widgets are now available for Android 12 devices.
Google Photos' new widget is starting to roll out
Many months after Google released a similar widget for iOS
Android 12 is completely revitalizing widgets, and even though a public release won't be available until this fall, we're already starting to see the effects. Spotify is working on revamping its music player widget, Chrome is testing out a new quick action search widget, and now, it's time for Google Photos to do the same.
This new app brings classic lockscreen widgets to modern Android devices
Update your lockscreen to Android 4.2
Ever wanted to make your 2020 lockscreen look like it stepped out of 2012? The good ol' days when you could view your upcoming calendar appointments, stock prices, and the weather without unlocking your phone? You're in luck, because a new app from developer Zachary Wander promises to put all the widgets you want on your lock screen where they belong.