How to get Google’s iOS 16 lock screen widgets on an iPhone

(Pocket-lint) – You can create a custom iPhone lock screen with widgets that display information straight from Google’s most popular apps – Google Chrome, Google Drive, Gmail, Google News, Google Maps and the Google app. As of October 2022, these Google apps now offer all lock screen widgets for those running iOS 16 or later.

Read: How to Customize Your iPhone Home Screen with Shortcuts and Widgets

How to add a Google app widget to your iPhone lock screen

You can access data from your Google apps right from the lock screen on your iPhone, but first you need to add Google app widgets to your lock screen. Pocket-lint has a separate guide that describes how to create a custom iPhone lock screen. But we’ve distilled instructions below specifically for adding Google app widgets to a lock screen.

First steps

To show Google’s app widgets on your custom lock screen, first make sure your iPhone is running the latest version of iOS and your Google apps are up to date. You must of course have the apps installed on your device in order to be able to use their respective widgets.

Add a google app lock screen widget

1. On your iPhone, tap and hold anywhere on your unlocked lock screen.
2. Tap Customize.
3. To customize the lock screen, select Lock screen.
4. To view the lock screen widget gallery, tap Add widgets.
   • Locate and select the desired Google app widget.
   • Tap or drag the widget to the lock screen widget bar.
   • To configure the widget, tap the widget after adding it to the lock screen.
   • Select the configuration you want.
   • In the widget gallery, tap the x icon.
5. Tap Done, then tap the lock screen again to exit customization mode.

How to configure your Google app widget

After adding a Google app widget to your lock screen, you can customize it at any time.

1. On your iPhone, tap and hold anywhere on your unlocked lock screen.
2. Tap Customize.
3. To customize the lock screen, select Lock screen.
4. Tap the existing Google app widget to bring up the lock screen widget gallery.
   • To configure the widget, tap the Google app widget again.
   • Select the configuration you want.
   • In the widget gallery, tap the x icon.
5. Tap Done, then tap the lock screen again to exit customization mode.

Which Google Apps Have iPhone Lock Screen Widgets?

Google Chrome, Google Drive, Gmail, Google News, Google Maps and the Google app all have widgets in iOS 16+.

Would you like to know more?

For more information, see the two blog posts and Google’s support page on the Google app widgets for iPhone.

Written by Maggie Tillman.