Google apps are getting some awesome new iOS 16 widgets

(Image credit: Google)

Apple's iOS 16 update adds support for putting widgets on the iPhone's Lock Screen and now Google has confirmed that it has some of its own in the works.

In a post to the Google blog earlier today, the company confirmed that "Lock Screen widgets for lots of Google apps are on the way." And some of them look pretty sweet.

All the apps

Google has confirmed that people will be able to put a search button right on their Lock Screen, while Chrome is also getting its own widgets that will let people quickly launch the app, search the web using their voice, or even open a new incognito tab. There's even a button that will launch the Chrome dino game!

Other apps that are getting new iOS 16 Lock Screen widgets include Google Drive, Google Maps, and Gmail, while even Google News is getting on on the act. People will be able to "see real-time headlines with a quick glance at the Google News widget," Google says, although it isn't saying when.

The closest we have to a release window for any of these new widgets is "in the coming weeks," which is a little on the vague side, unfortunately. Still, better late than never!

The new widgets will of course also be available on the iPhone 14 Pro's Always-On Display, making that the best iPhone for anyone who wants to get their Google News fix without even tapping its screen.

Apple's new iPhone 14 lineup goes on sale this Friday, September 16, after its announcement last Wednesday, September 7. That event also saw Apple announce the all-new Apple Watch Ultra as a newly refreshed Apple Watch SE. The new Apple Watch Series 8 was also announced alongside a refreshed AirPods Pro product. The new Apple Watch Ultra and AirPods Pro will all be available from September 23.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.