Spotlight Week: Design and Develop Widgets

Posted by Ash Nohe and Summers Pitman – Developer Relations Engineers

We’re kicking off the next edition in our Spotlight Week series! This week, we'll be diving deep into how to create high-quality widgets that boost user engagement and improve discoverability.

We've heard your feedback: you want your widgets to be easily discoverable. To address this, we’re excited to share that Google Play is introducing a new search filter specifically for apps with high-quality widgets. By equipping you with the knowledge and tools to ensure your widgets shine, we aim to demonstrate how widgets can be a crucial element in building delightful, helpful, and performant widgets that keep your users engaged. Learn more about Google Play’s widget discovery features.



Here’s what we’re covering this week in our Spotlight Week on Widgets:

Why Widgets?

Monday, March 3rd

We’re kicking off the week with an overview of why widgets are essential for today's users. Learn how you can level up your app with Widgets and get inspired by these best-in-class examples. Plus, learn how Google Play is improving widget discovery through a dedicated search filter, new app detail page badges, and other enhancements designed to increase user interaction.

Design great widgets with Figma and Canonical Layouts

Tuesday, March 4th

Learn how to visualize your content in widget layouts and create high quality widgets with a new Figma resource, hands-on lab and blog with the Canonical Layouts. Learn from SoundCloud's experience: a case study showcasing impactful widget implementation.

Develop best practice widgets with Glance

Wednesday, March 5th

Follow our code-along video to learn practical widget update techniques using Canonical Layouts.

#AskAndroid

Thursday, March 6th

Get your widget questions answered in #AskAndroid, and dive into lockscreen widgets in our FAQ.


That's a week packed with widget insights! This blog post serves as your central hub for updates, with links added regularly throughout the week. Get even more widgets content and insights by following Android Developers on X, and Android by Google at Linkedin.


Resources

Level Up Your App: Why Android Widgets are a Game-Changer

Posted by André Labonté – Senior Product Manager, Android Widgets

If you're an Android app developer and you're looking to boost your app's visibility, and engagement, you should definitely consider adding widgets. These small but mighty UI elements can have a significant impact on your app's success.

A widget is basically a UI that lives outside your main app. Widgets act like a window into your app content and a shortcut to your core features, which users can conveniently engage with right from their home screen, lock screen, or even through digital assistants.

Why Widgets are Awesome for Your App:

    • More Visibility: Widgets put your brand and key features front and center on the user's device, so they're more likely to see it.
    • Better User Engagement: By giving users quick access to important features, widgets encourage them to use your app more often.
    • Increased Conversions: You can use widgets to recommend personalized content or promote premium features, which could lead to more conversions.
    • Happier Users Who Stick Around: Easy access to app content and features through widgets can lead to overall better user experience, and contribute to retention.

Understanding What Users Want: Key to Good Widget Design

People use widgets for different reasons. Understanding these motivations is crucial for designing widgets that resonate.

    • Customization: Users like to personalize their home screens. Think about how your app's content can help them do that.
    • Efficiency: Widgets give users quick access to the features they use a lot, which saves them time and effort. If your app has features that users would find handy to access right from their home screen, think about putting them in a widget.
    • Quick Info: Some widgets are great for giving users essential info at a glance. If users often open your app for quick updates, a glanceable widget.

Building Awesome Widgets: Tips for Developers

Here's how to make widgets that users will love:

    • Focus on Value: Make sure your widget does something useful for users without them having to open the app.
    • Keep it Simple: Design widgets that are easy to use and understand.
    • Make it Adaptable: Test your widgets on different Android devices (phones, tablets, foldables) to make sure they work well on all of them.
    • Match the Look: Design widgets that fit in with the system's overall look by using system colors, fonts, and corner shapes.
    • Make it Easy to Find: Use the widget pinning API to encourage users to add your widget from within your app. Give them good previews and descriptions so they know what it's all about.

Get Inspired and Start Building

We encourage you to integrate widgets into your Android app strategy. For inspiration and guidance, explore our new Widget design gallery, featuring Canonical Widget Layouts.

We can't wait to see the awesome widgets you come up with!

This blog post is part of our series: Spotlight Week on Widgets, where we provide resources—blog posts, videos, sample code, and more—all designed to help you design and create widgets. You can read more in the overview of Spotlight Week: Widgets, which will be updated throughout the week.

Google Play enhances widget discovery to drive engagement with your app

Posted by Yinka Taiwo-Peters – Product Manager

Android developers, we've heard you. Historically, one of the challenges with investing in widget development has been discoverability and user understanding. You've asked for better ways for users to find and utilize your widgets, and we're delivering. Google Play now offers significant enhancements to widget discovery, creating a prime opportunity to re-engage with your users on a deeper level.

We understand that the effort required to build and maintain widgets needs to be justified by user adoption, that’s why we’ve designed these key improvements, which are coming soon to Google Play on Android phones, tablets and foldables:

    • Dedicated Widgets Search Filter: Users can now directly search for apps with widgets using a dedicated filter on Google Play. This means your apps/games with widgets will be easily identified, helping drive targeted downloads and engagement.
    • New Widget Badges on App Detail Pages: We’ve introduced a visual badge on your app’s detail pages to clearly indicate the presence of widgets. This eliminates guesswork for users and highlights your widget offerings, encouraging them to explore and utilize this capability.
    • Curated Widgets Editorial Page: We're actively educating users on the value of widgets through a new editorial page. This curated space showcases collections of excellent widgets and promotes the apps that leverage them. This provides an additional channel for your widgets to gain visibility and reach a wider audience.
Three side-by-side displays of using the widget filter in Google Play Store
click to enlarge

What this means for you:

    • Increased User Engagement: Enhanced discoverability may translate to more users finding and using your widgets, leading to increased app engagement and user retention.
    • New Opportunities for User Interaction: Widgets offer a unique way to provide value and interact with users on their home screens, fostering a deeper connection with your app.
    • Renewed Investment Justification: The improved discoverability features make widget development a more viable and rewarding investment.

We encourage you to revisit your app strategy and consider the potential of widgets. With these new discovery tools, Google Play is making it easier than ever for users to find and love your widgets. Now is the time to leverage the power of widgets and enhance your Android app experience.

This blog post is part of our series: Spotlight Week on Widgets, where we provide resources—blog posts, videos, sample code, and more—all designed to help you design and create widgets. You can read more in the overview of Spotlight Week: Widgets, which will be updated throughout the week.

Improving Google Calendar’s interoperability with Microsoft Outlook

What’s changing

We recently announced an improved syncing experience from Google Calendar to third-party calendars, like Microsoft Outlook, that allows event guests to enjoy a more reliable syncing experience with less calendar emails in their inbox. 


Building upon this, we’re excited to announce that Calendar now reliably processes calendaring emails sent using the Microsoft-specific format for rich text emails called Transport Neutral Encapsulation Format (TNEF). As a result, Calendar users and organizations that routinely collaborate with internal and external Outlook users will now benefit from a more reliable experience when receiving invitations and RSVPs from Outlook users. 


Getting started 

  • Admins and end users: There is no admin controls or end user setting for this feature. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts 

Resources