9to5Google

Google is officially bringing back lock screen widgets on Android, but it begs the question – what would you want to use?

This was an insanely busy week in consumer-facing Google announcements. Approaching Google I/O levels, which is 72 days away, let’s alphabetically recap everything:

A new update to the Find My Device app has landed, bringing with it a new two-tab UI and support for location sharing, as well as improvements to existing device and tracker functionality such as better location previews.

The US Justice Department today reiterated what steps it wants a judge to take to address Google’s monopoly in online search. 

Welcome to episode 44 of Pixelated, a podcast by 9to5Google. This week, we talk about MWC 2025 announcements and the March Pixel Feature Drop.

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Earlier this week, Google rebranded “Extensions” in Gemini to just “apps.” Google has now shared that these Gemini apps are now powered by 2.0 Flash Thinking (experimental).

Following Android back in July, Google Maps is now rolling out a sheet-based redesign that replaces most fullscreen UIs in the iPhone app.

As announced with the March 2025 Feature Drop, the Pixel 9 series can now connect to other cameras when live streaming. 

Samsung’s update approach has been all over the place after what was a period of consistent updates over the last couple of years. Samsung’s internal testing of One UI 8 based on Android 16 mirrors the timeline of One UI 6, which was the last time the company was on track.

Google Calendar is the latest Workspace app to get the Gemini side panel on the web. This is currently being tested in Workspace Labs.

Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge is an outlier among the company’s most recent lineup. It wasn’t released with the familiar party of three that users are used to seeing. Instead, The S25 Edge is a standalone release with some mysterious characteristics, like a lighter weight, obviously thinner body, and a price tag that apparently falls right around what the Galaxy S25+ costs.

One UI 7 is finally starting to appear on more devices than the Galaxy S25. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 is the next device to receive the beta version, and it’s available to download now.

A new Android Auto update is hinting that, at some point, the platform may feature temperature controls of some sort.

I’ve always thought that Oppo’s foldables have been rather remarkable, but the new Find N5 really ups the game. Without a doubt, this is the best foldable I’ve ever used, and it’s a shame that hardly anyone is going to get the chance to use this device.

To round out the Widgets Spotlight Week, the Android team yesterday hosted a YouTube Q&A session. We learned about the status of stackable widgets and whether they are coming to Android XR.

The BBC iPlayer app is now officially available on Google TV Streamer, almost six months after the launch of the Android-powered streaming device.

As promised, Samsung has just opened up the One UI 7 beta program for the Galaxy Z Fold 6.

Ahead of its upcoming launch, another batch of Pixel 9a leaks have hit the web, primarily showcasing the purple color of Google’s mid-range device.

Following yesterday’s announcement, Google is rolling out early access to Search’s new AI Mode experiment for Google One AI Premium subscribers.

Google seems to be preparing support for Gemini on Android Auto, as well as the more conversational Gemini Live experience.