Google adds Create My Widget to Android to build custom widgets with text

In short: Google is adding a new Android feature called Create My Widget that lets you make custom home screen widgets by describing what you want in normal words.

What happened

Google announced “Create My Widget,” a new feature for Android phones. It is designed to help people create their own widgets, which are small boxes on your home screen that show useful info at a glance, like weather, calendar events, or reminders.

Instead of writing code, users can type a description of the widget they want using natural language, meaning everyday sentences. For example, someone could ask for a widget that suggests three high-protein meal prep recipes every week, then place that widget on the home screen and resize it.

Google also said the feature can be used to make more specific widgets, like a weather widget that only shows wind speed and rain. The system uses Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, and it can pull information from the web and connect with Google apps like Gmail and Calendar to build a single dashboard. Think of it like asking a personal assistant to keep a custom note on your home screen that updates itself.

The feature will first launch on the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer.

Why it matters

Widgets have been around for years, but making a truly personal one usually takes technical work or whatever options an app provides. If this works as described, more people may be able to set up a home screen that matches their daily routines, without needing to know how apps are built. It also raises practical questions about what information the assistant can access from your accounts and how much control you have over that.

Source: TechCrunch AI