Google Working on Customizable Widgets With Custom Background and Themes

Google introduced widgets for its iOS and iPadOS app following iOS 14 last fall. Now, Google is looking to give users more creative freedom with their ‌widgets‌, allowing users to add custom backgrounds and themes.

Discovered by MacRumors contributor Steve Moser, code within the Google Search app for iPhone and iPad says that users will be able to “Choose a theme to add color, Google Earth imagery, and more” to their ‌widgets‌. Google offers two sizes of its ‌widgets‌, with the small size featuring the Google search bar, and the medium size with the search bar, alongside quick shortcuts to Google Lens, Google Voice Search, and Incognito mode.

Apple introduced completely redesigned ‌widgets‌ as one of the major hallmarks features of ‌iOS 14‌. Widgets are offered to developers on the ‌iPhone‌ in three sizes and allows users to quickly glance for information such as the weather. With iPadOS 15 later this fall, ‌widgets‌ will gain a fourth large size to better make use of the larger screen real estate. Additionally, users will be able to add ‌widgets‌ directly on their ‌iPad‌ Home Screen, rather than just pinned on the side.

Widgets on iOS aren’t meant to deliver users live, dynamic information, according to Apple. Instead, they’re meant to provide users with information that is relevant at the time, updated at a maximum interval of every 60 minutes.