Just a few hours before Apple releases iOS 16 to the public, Google has previewed its upcoming Lock Screen widgets for its iPhone apps, including the Google app, Gmail, Google Maps, Chrome, Google News, and Google Drive.
Google says the Lock Screen widgets will be available in the "coming weeks" as its iPhone apps are gradually updated on the App Store.
The widgets allow users to quickly launch into Google apps from the Lock Screen and provide real-time information at a glance:
Google: Initiate a search via text, voice, or the camera
Gmail: View the number of messages in your inbox
Chrome: Initiate a search, including by voice or in incognito mode
Google Drive: Quickly access starred files and folders
Google Maps: View real-time traffic updates and estimated travel times to frequently traveled places like home and work
Google News: View real-time headlines
Note that the Google search widget does not allow you to complete a search on the Lock Screen directly and simply opens the app.
A key new feature of iOS 16 is the ability to personalize the Lock Screen with widgets, multi-layered wallpapers, custom fonts for the date and time, and more. You can also select a set of photos to shuffle on the Lock Screen throughout the day.
The new Lock Screen gallery showcases a range of Lock Screen options, including a new Weather wallpaper with live weather conditions and an Astronomy wallpaper that provides views of the Earth, Moon, and Solar System. iOS 16 includes support for multiple Lock Screen designs, allowing you to switch between your favorites with a swipe.
Tuesday November 19, 2024 12:12 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley and his colleagues recently traveled to Asia to meet with various electronics manufacturers and suppliers. In a research note this week, outlining key takeaways from the trip, the analysts said they have "confirmed" that a fourth-generation iPhone SE with an Apple-designed 5G modem is slated to launch towards the end of the first quarter next year. In line with previo...
Sunday November 17, 2024 5:18 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released the AirTag in April 2021, so it is now three over and a half years old. While the AirTag has not received any hardware updates since then, a new version of the item tracking accessory is rumored to be in development.
Below, we recap rumors about a second-generation AirTag.
Timing
Apple is aiming to release a new AirTag in mid-2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman....
Sunday November 17, 2024 3:03 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
While the Logitech MX Master 3 is a terrific mouse for the Mac, reports claiming that Apple CEO Tim Cook prefers that mouse over the Magic Mouse are false.
The Wall Street Journal last month published an interview with Cook, in which he said he uses every Apple product every day. Soon after, The Verge's Wes Davis attempted to replicate using every Apple product in a single day. During that...
Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:10 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 come three weeks after the launch of iOS 18.1.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iOS 17.7.2 for...
Wednesday November 20, 2024 3:42 am PST by Tim Hardwick
AT&T has begun displaying "Turbo" in the iPhone carrier label for customers subscribed to its premium network prioritization service, according to reports on Reddit. The new indicator seems to have started appearing after users updated to iOS 18.1.1, but that could be just coincidence.
Image credit: Reddit user No_Highlight7476
The Turbo feature provides enhanced network performance through ...
Monday November 18, 2024 1:07 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
In a research note with Hong Kong-based investment bank Haitong today, obtained by MacRumors, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said he agrees with a recent rumor claiming that the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" will be around 6mm thick.
"We agreed with the recent chatter of an 6mm thickness ultra-slim design of the iPhone 17 Slim model," he wrote.
If that measurement proves to be accurate, there would be ...
Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:52 am PST by Juli Clover
The iOS 18.1.1, iPadOS 18.1.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 updates that Apple released today address JavaScriptCore and WebKit vulnerabilities that Apple says have been actively exploited on some devices.
With the JavaScriptCore vulnerability, processing maliciously crafted web content could lead to arbitrary code execution. The WebKit vulnerability had the same issue with maliciously crafted...
I don't see the Google Widget that tracks how many advertisers my data was sold to.
Maybe they'll offer one after Apple releases a widget that tracks how many billions of dollars they get from Google each year to monetize Apple users' search data.
