Gmail and more Google apps are getting widgets on iOS

[Karlston]

Gmail and more Google apps are getting widgets on iOS

 

Apple's iOS 14 added support for home screen widgets for the first time, and companies have been working to catch up and add widgets to their own apps. Google is one such company, and after adding a widget for the Search app back in September, the Mountain View giant has now revealed a few more apps getting their own iOS home screen widgets.

 

Some of the widgets are rolling out in the next few days, and those are for Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Fit. The first two are fairly similar, featuring a search bar at the top and a couple of quick links. In the Gmail widget, you can start composing a new message or get a glimpse at how many unread emails you have. For Drive, you get links to the "files you're most likely to need".

Meanwhile, Google Fit simply shows a summary of your activity in the past week. You can see your daily and weekly goals for heart points and steps and whether you've met them.

Coming a little later, the Calendar widget shows your upcoming events. And next year, Chrome is also getting its own widget, which is similar in design to Gmail and Google Drive widgets. A search/address bar is at the top, along with links to open an incognito tab, use voice, or scan a QR code.

There's also a smaller widget with a "prehistoric surprise", which is likely a reference to the dinosaur game that's displayed when you try to open a webpage in Chrome without an internet connection. These widgets are available now for Chrome Beta users, but the general public will only get them in 2021.

 

 

Gmail and more Google apps are getting widgets on iOS