Each Android quarterly platform release (QPR) brings a handful of changes to Pixel devices. Whilesome of them are big additions, others can go under the radar. For as long as we can remember, the At a Glance widget has been a constant onPixel phones, with no way to rearrange or remove it. But we learned with Android 14 QPR2 Beta 1 that Google was working on letting usersremove the widgetaltogether. A familiar flag withinAndroid 14 QPR2 Beta 2has now revealed the ability to move the At a Glance widget anywhere on the screen.
To be clear, the flag in question -SMARTSPACE_AS_A_WIDGET- was also spotted in QPR2 Beta 1 but was non-functional, as Android expert Mishaal Rahman writes on X. Thankfully, Rahman managed to flip this flag in QPR2 Beta 2, thus unlocking the ability to rearrange the At a Glance widget on the home screen.
There are some limitations to this newfound At a Glance functionality, though. According to Rahman, users would still be unable to add the widget on somethird-party launchers, providing the example of Nova Launcher. This is due to the fact that At a Glance isn’t a proper widget, despite looking and functioning pretty much like one.
As for getting back the At a Glance widget after removing it, one simply has to navigate to the Pixel Launcher widget from the list of Widgets (long press on the home screen > Widgets) and place it anywhere in the empty space. From what we can tell, removing the At a Glance widget from the home screen doesn’t impact its visibility on the lock screen.
This isn’t the only feature that we expect to see from Android 14 QPR2, as revealed by Beta 2 this week. There area bunch of hidden inclusionswithin the latest beta that are certainly worth checking out. For those not on the beta channel, the movable/removable At a Glance widget should appear with Android 14 QPR2, which is scheduled to reach stable by March 2024.
TheDecember 2023 Feature Droponly recently made it to Pixel phones with a few changes on board, such as support forGemini Nano, which will power Gboard’sSmart ReplyandSummarizeon Google Recorder. However, these capabilities are exclusively available toPixel 8 Proowners due to hardware limitations.
Meanwhile, theDecember 2023 updatehas also started rolling out to Pixel Watch owners this week, marking the debut of Watch Unlock on the two wearables. Google has bundled some other features designed specifically for Pixel Watch owners, including Call Screen, which is a US exclusive at this point.
