Google’s At a Glance widget can be an invaluable tool that helps you stay you up to date with your next appointments, weather alerts, commute information, and flight details, but its design has become a little long in the tooth. While Google updated the widget with a left-aligned look on Pixel phones with Android 12, othergreat smartphoneswere long left with the outdated-looking design that stems back from Android 11. Google announced that it would change that in the latest feature drop, and today, we’re seeing reports of the new widget rolling out more widely.
The new At a Glance widget is showing up on multiple devices for us on Google app version 14.39.35.28, which is currently in beta. However, we’ve received multiple reports from other people with potentially different versions, so it’s likely that the widget is rolling out as part of a server-side change. Following the app update, the new version of the widget didn’t immediately appear for us at all times. Instead, a device restart did the trick for us in one instance. If you already use the At a Glance widget, the new version of it automatically replaces the old one, so there shouldn’t be any manual steps for you to complete.
The redesigned At a Glance widget is a big departure from both the old design and the current design you see on Pixel phones. While the functionality remains the same, the new widget comes with a pill-shaped outline with the weather in a small, Material You-colored extra shape on the right of the widget. There is also a new three-dot menu in the middle between the date (or current activity) and the weather, allowing you to jump right into the widget’s options. Here, you can select which events and reminders you would like to see in the widget, and you can also customize the look to your liking with style settings letting you choose from a solid, transparent, and semi-transparent background.
Google initially announced the new widget as part of Android’s quarterly feature drop at the beginning of September. Google says that the new version will use AI to deliver the most relevant information at your fingertips, though we haven’t spotted any new features as part of the redesign just yet. Previously, Google app teardowns already revealed that Google was working on this redesigned widgets, and these, too, haven’t uncovered any new AI features.
It remains to be seen whether Google will update the hard-coded, unremovable At a Glance widget on Pixel phones to share a similar style, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the company stuck with the way it looks right now on its own phones. Given that the widget isn’t removable on these phones, it would make sense to keep it as low-profile as possible to keep your favorite wallpaper in view properly.
Google is also currently rolling out aMaterial You-inspired redesign of its weather forecast, which fits the new look of the At a Glance widget nicely.
