Google recently shared a preview of the upcoming Maps widget. It’s a rounded square that shows a map of your nearby location. Your current location is marked by a blue dot at the center. The widget notes the traffic state on all major routes with green, orange, and red lines, similar to the full app. At the bottom-left corner of this widget is the Google branding while there’s a FAB (floating action button) on the other corner. The latter lets you zoom in and out on the map. The FAB supports Google’s Material You Dynamic Color theming. So, it can automatically adapt the color scheme of your device’s wallpaper for a consistent look. By the looks of it, the Google Maps home screen widget is 2 x 2 in size. It’s unclear whether the widget will be resizable. The company didn’t provide more information on it yet, nor did it share the precise release date. It simply said the widget will roll out to Android users in the coming weeks. “If you’re about to leave home, work, school, or anywhere else, you’ll know at a glance exactly what local traffic might be like,” Google says explaining the Maps widget (via). The company already offers a Maps widget to “Quickly find nearby places”. It’s a resizable widget that was launched a few months back. It also supports Dynamic Color theming.
Google now offers 35 home screen widgets on Android
With the launch of the new nearby traffic widget for Maps, the total number of official Google widgets on Android will reach 35, the company has revealed. It offers widgets for various apps and services including Maps, Gmail, Photos, Calendar, Weather, to-do-list, Drive, Search, Chrome, Google Translate, and many more. Google’s At a Glance widget on Pixel, meanwhile, has been picking up one after another new capability lately. Earlier this week, it gained the ability to show the live feed from your Nest Doorbell whenever someone is at the door. You don’t need to open the Google Home app when the doorbell rings. You will be able to check who’s at the door right from the lock screen or home screen. Tapping the widget will pull up the full view in the app. This feature should reach all supported Pixel devices within a few days.
