The last time Google made significant changes to widgets was in 2021 with the release of Android 12. That was when
Material You
came around and introduced dynamic theming, fun new shapes with more rounded corners, and, in general, refreshed the way Android devs thought about widgets. Based on the news this week, it seems like Android 16 could be another significant release when it comes to widgets.
But widgets weren’t the only thing going on during the week in mobile. Samsung finally broke its silence on the One UI 7 update for Galaxy phones, just as we got our first glimpse of One UI 8. Meanwhile, Google sent out the last Feature Drop for Android 15, then followed that up by confirming Android 16 is still on track for an early release — all in a week when Google Search itself may have fundamentally changed forever.
Last Week’s Roundup
Samsung’s One UI 7 update sends major mixed signals in last week’s news
And a lot of changes were Made By Google
Towards the middle of the week, Google announced that the Play Store is getting better at promoting widgets — a new search filter and badge will now let you quickly identify apps that feature widgets. That was a big move in and of itself, but the following day, Google’s Clock app for Android was spotted adding a brand-new widget for phones that lets you quickly start a timer (something that had been a Pixel Tablet exclusive previously).
Then, late in the week, the biggest widget news dropped: Google will be bringing lock screen widgets back to phones in a future build of AOSP. The company’s announcement targeted developers and OEMs, hoping to get software makers on board, but it did tip a few user-facing features. Evidently, the system will be similar to what we saw on tablets last year, though there’s a chance this could all be contingent upon the phone being docked or charging.
Main Story
Google’s lock screen widgets are making the jump from Android tablets to phones
After more than a decade gone
One UI 7 finally exits its holding pattern
We were originally expecting the first beta of One UI 7 around July 2024. That never materialized, but when Samsung released the first beta in early December and said to expect a stable version in Q1 2025, we were hoping to see the official update right about now at the latest. But then came silence, and things started to feel like they were going off the rails.
This week, Samsung says it’s back on track. The company announced that new beta builds were coming to its 2024 foldables, with another version for the Galaxy S23 series soon to come. And it followed up on that promise, seeding the first One UI 7 beta to Galaxy Z Flip and Fold 6 users on Friday. The stable update won’t be coming in Q1 after all, but now Samsung says we can expect it in April for some models.
Main Story
Samsung’s long-delayed stable One UI 7 update finally arrives in April
One UI 7 beta is also expanding to more devices
Android 15’s final Feature Drop is here
With Android’s accelerated development timeline this year, there won’t be an Android 15 QPR3 — instead, we’re expecting to see Android 16 in that June release slot (more on that later). That means the March Pixel Feature Drop that came out this week is the last Quarterly Platform Release for Android 15, and let’s just say the OS version went out with a bang.
With the update, Pixel users get a boatload of new features, both on phones and on watches, but there also appears to be a bug with haptic feedback. Scam Detection made its debut in Google’s Phone app, but only on Pixels — still, Android users everywhere get a text version of the feature in Google Messages, regardless of phone. To prove it’s not all about Pixels, Google even dropped an Android feature bundle with plenty of new features, but the headliner is new location sharing for friends and family in the Find My Devices app.
Main Story
Android 15’s final Feature Drop brings upgrades for Gemini, Gboard, and more to your Pixel
Plus new features for stock apps and non-US users
Google Search finally goes full send on AI
Most websites rely on Google Search for a big chunk of their traffic, so when generative AI was first integrated into the tool, many publishers were worried that the lifeblood of their sites would begin to dry up. Google assuaged these fears, at least to a degree, by simply summarizing the results and linking prominently to sources. Now, Search is taking another step into the AI era, and this one might ultimately nix the need to click results.
Rolling out as an experimental feature, the new AI Mode in Google Search is akin to chatbots like Gemini, but with more up-to-date information thanks to its direct ties to the web. It lives in a tab at the top of your search, much like the current Images or Shopping filters, but this one lets you ask follow-up questions and essentially chat with the internet at large. It still prominently features sources and directs you to websites with more information, but it leaves you with the impression that the days of using search engines to find links are numbered.
Main Story
Google Search gets a new AI Mode built on a bespoke Gemini 2.0 version
Page 2 search results are about to see a lot less action
Google spills on Android 16 and Pixel updates
Android Police Editor-in-Chief James Peckham was at MWC this week, and he had the chance to talk to Google’s Head of Android, Sameer Samat. The conversation yielded a few juicy tidbits about the future of Android — like the fact that Android 16 is still on track for a June release, or that Google’s in-house Tensor chips weren’t the only reason that the Pixel 6 and 7 unexpectedly got two extra years of full OS upgrades.
The bottom line is that Google has moved to a “Trunk Stable” model for Android development, meaning there’s no need to merge branches once changes are made, reducing the need for testing and debugging in the final phases. Samat also dished about Gemini’s ongoing integration into Android, likening the AI to Google Assistant 2.0 — at least when it comes to the form it takes on phones and tablets.
Main Story
Google’s Sameer Samat speaks to Android Police