Google would have been inspired by the Live Activities of the iPhone to bring widgets to the lock screen of phones with Android 15 through the widget “At a Glance”, as reported by Mishaal Rahman, an Android expert at Android Authority. To do this, the company would want to integrate the RemoteViews API, used by Android widgets, into the Smartspace API of At a Glance.
Although the idea sounds promising, Google would have to overcome several technical obstacles. The current version of At a Glance does not have enough space on the lock screen to display third-party widgets in full size, it can only extract the relevant information and display it in a summarized way. In addition, At a Glance is only available on Pixel devices on the lock screen, which limits its reach.
If Google wants to extend this functionality to other Android devices, it will have to collaborate with other manufacturers. One possible solution would be to reposition the At a Glance widget at the bottom of the lock screen, an idea that Google is considering, according to Rahman, who found clues to this possibility in the beta version of Android 15.
It is not clear if Google will introduce support for widgets similar to Live Activities in Android 15, but it is very likely to be a reality in future Android 16. Google is expected to provide more details about this and other features at the upcoming Google I/O conference.
