Pixel's At a Glance Widget Gets a Lock Screen Refresh in Android 16 Beta

One of the things that sets Google Pixel phones apart is how well the At a Glance widget works with the Pixel Launcher and the lock screen. While you can find the At a Glance widget on other Android phones, the Pixel version does so much more. It's prominently displayed on the Pixel Launcher homepage, but it changes position on the lock screen. Right now, it can feel a bit crowded, which is why Google is working on a cleaner design!

Current Lock Screen Layout

Currently, on Google Pixel phones, the At a Glance widget appears above the clock if the clock is centered, but below the clock when the clock is at the top of the screen. The widget consists of three parts: the date, the weather, and a scrolling set of informational snippets drawn from your device and certain apps (like Google Clock).

It's actually quite clever – Android doesn't natively support horizontally scrolling widgets. That's why At a Glance isn't *technically* a widget, but it's the closest thing!

Notifications show up underneath the At a Glance widget. How many notifications you can see depends on whether that third informational section is showing; the more info displayed, the less room for your notifications.

Reference image showing the current lock screen layout in Android 15.

The New, Cleaner Layout

Hidden within the fourth beta of Android 16 is a redesigned lock screen layout. This new design rearranges where the At a Glance widget displays its information. The date and weather move below the clock when it's centered, and to the right of the clock when the clock is at the top. But the biggest change? That scrolling section of information is now separate, appearing at the very top when you have no notifications, and below the clock when notifications are present.

This separation really opens up the lock screen, making it feel less cluttered and more organized. It’s a small shift, but it makes a noticeable difference.

The new lock screen layout currently being tested by Google.

Availability and Future Plans

As of Android 16 Beta 4, this new layout isn't automatically enabled. You have to manually turn it on to see it. We don’t yet know when Google will officially release this new layout to everyone.

It’s likely to arrive alongside other lock screen improvements, such as a more compact notification shelf. Google is trying quite a few things to simplify the lock screen. While some features – like this layout and the compact shelf – seem very likely to make the cut, others, like transparent notifications, seem less certain.

The team believes Google will roll out this new lock screen layout eventually, but probably not with the very first stable version of Android 16. It’s likely they’ll continue refining it based on feedback from beta testers. It’s good to see Google paying attention to the details and striving to make the Pixel experience even better!

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