iOS 16 has arrived. And along with many new features, you can now customize your Lock Screen to put the information you need front and center.

Your Lock Screen is the first thing you see when you pick up your phone, and Lock Screen widgets for lots of Google apps are on the way. You’ll be able to unlock your device to access your favorite Google features in just one tap — and even see some updates right on your Lock Screen.

Here’s a sneak peek of what’s coming.

Find what you’re looking for, fast

Search

Need an answer fast? Start your Google search right from your Lock Screen. You can even configure the Search widget to start searching with your voice or camera — to translate, get homework help or shop what you see.

Chrome

Try our Chrome Lock Screen widgets to quickly launch Chrome, start a search with your voice or in incognito mode, or load our beloved dino game.

Drive

Access your files with our Drive widgets. Open a suggested Drive file or your starred files and folders with a single tap to pick up where you left off with that work project or short story draft.

Get where you need to go

Google Maps

With the Maps Frequent Trips widget, get real-time traffic updates and estimated travel times to places like home and work right on your Lock Screen. When you’re ready to head out, just tap to open the app and start navigating.

You can also find restaurants, shops and other favorite nearby spots by tapping the Maps Search widget.

Stay in the know

Gmail

Stay on top of your email with Gmail’s Lock Screen widget, which will automatically show you the number of new messages in your inbox. You can also customize the widget to see which inbox categories, like Social or Updates, contain new messages.

Google News

See real-time headlines with a quick glance at the Google News widget. And if something in particular catches your eye, simply tap to read more in the app.

Look out for all these widgets in the coming weeks. In the meantime, get ready by installing your favorite Google apps on your iPhone. Once our widgets are available, just press and hold down your Lock Screen to start customizing.

We’re adding new features to Google apps on iPhones and iPads to help you get more done — whether you’re at work, at school or on the go.

New widgets will give you easier access to your favorite Google apps, while updated Chat and Gmail notifications can help you stay on top of important pings. Read on for more.

Translate over 100 languages from your Home Screen

The new Google Translate widget puts the app’s most popular features within easy reach — like taking a photo to translate text, using conversation mode to chat in two languages and translating copied text with a single tap. Plus, with the widget on your Home Screen, you can easily brush up on your language skills.

Get more work done on your iPad

If you’re using an iPad to get things done, the new XL widget for Google Drive will give you easier access to your important files.

Designed specifically for the iPad and rolling out next week, the XL widget will show more files right on the Home Screen. It will also have more shortcuts to help you quickly get to your Priority files and Shared drives — so that big presentation for work or final paper for school is right where you need it.

And XL isn’t the only option. With different Drive widget sizes available, you can easily personalize your iPad Home Screen — adding more or less Drive features depending on what’s most useful to you.

Never miss an important ping

Later this month, we’re updating the Gmail and Chat apps so that a sender’s profile photo will appear in your chat notification — making it easier to see who’s messaged you.

This update will also give you more control over which Chat and Gmail chat notifications break through Focus on your iPhone or iPad. This can be handy if you’re trying to cut down on screen time but don’t want to miss an important message.

Simply choose the contacts you want notifications from when Focus is on, and Gmail or Chat will do the rest — notifying you about those specific chat messages, even when other notifications are silenced.

Just got the new iPhone 13? Check out these tips to help you bring the best of Google to iOS.

Personalize your Home Screen

We know how important it is to get your Home Screen just right — and you can personalize it with our selection of widgets. With the right combination, you’ll never even have to leave your Home Screen to catch up on the latest.

For example, you can search the web, keep an eye on your commute, review your latest workout, and rock out to your favorite playlist all at once with our Google app, Google Maps, Google Fit and YouTube Music widgets.

Or if you have a busy work day ahead, you can choose to keep your Google Calendar, Gmail and Google Drive widgets front and center — plus any other apps you need to stay focused.

Starting a new school year? There are also plenty of widgets to help you have a productive day of studying. And you can easily place them around any other apps you need, like Google Classroom or YouTube.

Organize your favorite Google apps with Smart Stacks

If you prefer to keep your Home Screen clear of distractions (except photos of your dog, of course), give Smart Stacks a try. A Smart Stack of Google widgets will help you organize your Home Screen even better and keep your favorite Google apps at the ready.

Smart Stacks let you stack widgets of the same size on top of one another. Simply drag and drop widgets of the same size, the same way you do with apps to create a folder.

Set Chrome as your default browser for helpful Google features

When you click a link or open a website on your iPhone, you can get helpful benefits from Google by setting your default browser to Chrome. 

If you’re signed into Chrome and syncing, your tabs will sync across any of your devices using Chrome, and your saved passwords and autofill information will be ready to use. Not to mention, Chrome’s security features will continue to work in the background to keep you safe.

As the default browser, Chrome also integrates with Spotlight. So when you search for something using Spotlight, Chrome is helping you get the results you’re looking for.

We hope you enjoy these features — they’re designed to help keep you organized, updated and entertained with the best of Google on your iPhone 13.

Get ready to hit update. iOS 15 is here — and with it, many new features to improve your favorite Google apps.

Fewer interruptions when you focus

If you’re someone who gets non-stop notifications throughout the day, we bet you’ll enjoy the new Focus mode on iOS. Focus mode is really useful when you’re trying to get work done, study or just need a digital break. We’ve updated Google apps to work with Focus mode and make notifications as relevant and timely as possible.

For example, if you’re navigating somewhere with Google Maps, we’ll still let you know when you need to make a turn or if there are changes to your route — like road closures or unexpected traffic. Focus mode won’t silence these helpful, timely reminders.

Similarly, the Google Home app will let you know if there’s an unfamiliar face at your door. And if you set a reminder in Google Tasks that’s linked to a specific time, like “take the cupcakes out of the oven at 11:45,” we’ll be sure to notify you.

But notifications that aren’t as urgent or don’t require immediate action will go right to the Notifications Center, where you can check them whenever is most convenient for you.

In the coming weeks, you’ll start to see these new notification changes roll out across Gmail, Meet, Tasks, Maps, Home and many other Google apps. Try it out, your future self will thank you.

Bigger widgets for iPad

You’ve told us our iPhone widgets are really useful for accessing your favorite Google apps and features. Now, we’re bringing them to the iPad in a big way.

In the coming weeks, Google Photos and YouTube Music will roll out extra large versions of their popular widgets so you can easily access some of your best Memories and favorite music on your iPad Home Screen.

Easier access to Google on iOS

We’ve already made it easy to find what you need in Google Drive using Spotlight. And starting today, if you search for your favorite song in Spotlight, you can start playing it directly in YouTube Music.

Luke Wroblewski has been thinking about mobile design since...well, since mobile design was a thing. “I got my start in the mid-90s developing tools for scientists working with the first graphical web browser at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications,” he says. “Back then, people thought the internet was mostly just for scientists to share data.” But Luke was looking at what else could be done with the web, and like many other people, he realized very early on that the future was mobile.

“I remember back then, the mindset was, ‘People aren’t going to watch videos on their phones, and people aren’t going to buy anything on their phones,’” he says. “But it was clear this was going to grow and it was going to grow really fast.” Today, Luke doesn’t just work on one mobile app — he works on nearly 100 of them. As the lead of the iOS at Google team, he coordinates all of Google’s iOS apps.

Luke’s job is to make sure Google’s entire family of products work as well on iOS as they do on Android — and that Google apps make use of the latest iOS functionality to work better with people’s iPhones, iPads and more. “We really want people to see that having our products on their iPhone makes Google more helpful for them,” he says. “And every time Apple updates its operating system, it just gives us even more opportunities to make Google apps better by taking advantage of the new things these devices are capable of.”

Given his expertise, we asked Luke to run us through some of his favorite things you can do with Google apps on iOS. Here are his iOS Google app power user tips:

Widgets, your way: “Right now, everybody does this dance of open the phone, find the app, tap the app, open the app, go to the feature tap on the feature, and on and on… so we’ve been doing a bunch of things to try and bring the most useful stuff to you when you need it instead.” Like widgets, Luke says, which let you easily access key features of your Google apps from your homescreen. Luke’s favorite is the Google Photos widget, which shows Memories featuring his photos from years past, recent highlights, favorite activities and more without any action on his part.  

Personalize your Search widget:While he loves his Photos widget, there’s nothing quite like having the world’s information just a tap away with the Google Search widget. And now, you can personalize your Search widget backgrounds and skins, and even have them refresh daily. Coming from a design background, Luke loves the ability to make his widget look uniquely his own on his home screen. 

Chrome mobile to desktop handoff:“One feature I use a lot is moving a Chrome tab from my phone to my desktop,” Luke says. With Handoff, you can start browsing a website on your iPhone and easily continue on your Mac. “So if I’m on a webpage on my phone and I sit down at my desk, the Chrome icon pops up in the Dock on my Mac with that link and, boom, I can transition easily.”

Send directions to your iPhone from your computer: You can send directions to your iOS device in Maps. Just click the ‘Send to your phone’ button on desktop Maps. Luke finds this particularly helpful when he’s about to head out the door. “This is something that’s really important to us: Integrations not only between our apps, but between various devices and platforms,” Luke says. “If you see a phone number, you should be able to click on it to call — same with directions. You should be able to send them wherever you need to.” 

Instant news delivery:Luke’s also a big fan of his Siri shortcut for Google News. Siri shortcuts automatically detect your app usage routines and suggest them when you’re most likely to undertake them, like reading the news every morning and afternoon. “I think it’s a really useful experience when commonly used actions, like checking the news, just show up on your phone when you need them,” Luke says. You can create your own shortcuts with the Shortcuts app. 

Easily toggle incognito mode:In the Google App, long press your avatar to switch to Incognito Mode. This can be especially helpful if you need to use your iPhone as a work and personal device.

Privacy screen: If you’re doing work in public and want an extra layer of privacy, you can require Face or Touch ID to login to your Google Drive app to keep your files private.

Let Assistant find your phone:Of course, the most useful app tip is what to do when you can’t even find your phone. “If you lose your phone, which does all of this cool stuff I just mentioned, don’t worry,” says Luke. “You can use Assistant.” All you have to do is have the Google Assistant app enabled — prior to losing it — and then say, “Hey Google, where’s my phone?” And then you can get back to playing Chrome Dino.