One of the main features announced alongside the rollout of Android 17 last Summer was a tool called “Create My Widget.” Five months later, it’s finally arriving on Pixel phones.I was fully expecting it to be yet another AI gimmick, but I’ve been pleasantly proven wrong.Add How-To Geek on Google Add as Preferred Source Follow on Google Discover It’s a bit frustrating that Android updates nowadays don’t immediately include all the features that Google announces, but that’s another story.
The November Pixel Drop finally brought “Create My Widget” to Pixel phones, and it will be available on more Android devices in the future.I’ve been thoroughly impressed with it so far.If your phone supports Gemini Intelligence, it should eventually receive "Create My Widget" as well.
Supported devices include the latest Pixel phones, Galaxy S26 series, Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Flip 8, Pixel Watch 5 and 4, and Googlebooks.Read the full list of supported models.It just…does the thing This feels like the future In case you missed the original announcement, “Create My Widget” is a generative AI tool for creating completely custom Android home screen widgets.
The idea is you simply describe the widget you want, and your phone creates it.I remember thinking it sounded very cool, but I had my doubts that it would actually be useful.The feature finally arrived on my Pixel 11 Pro Fold last night, and I was excited to give it a try.
My first thought was pretty niche, but it’s a good demonstration of how it works.If you’re a sports fan, you know the struggle of finding the TV network or streaming service that your team is playing on.I wanted to fix that.
Close So, I described a widget that should do nothing more than show the channel that my favorite teams are playing on.It pretty much nailed it on the first try.The generated widget put the channel in big text, with the opponent in small text underneath.
Tapping it took me to the matchup info page on the team website.An excellent start, but I wanted a bit more.You’re free to edit the widget with new commands until it’s just right.
At first, it was showing info from a past game since it was technically the closest one.I told it to default to upcoming games when there isn’t a game happening on the current day.Easy fix.
Next, I wanted a bit more info about the actual event.The widget is for multiple teams across multiple sports.I told it to put a little icon in the widget to identify the sport, just so I know which team I’m turning in for.
Another easy addition.Close That’s all there was to it! The final widget tells me the date and time of the game, opponent, sport, and, most importantly, where to watch it.Before placing it on the home screen, you can choose a shape.
The widget matches the color of my wallpaper and is resizable as well, with smaller sizes only showing the channel, sport, and opponent.How it actually works There’s not much to it As mentioned, Create My Widget is currently only available for Pixel phones.Specifically, the Pixel 10 and Pixel 11 series (but not the Pixel 10a).
I’m sure it will work slightly differently when it rolls out to more Android devices, but for now, here’s how it works with the Pixel Launcher.When you open the typical widget picker, there’s a new “Create” button at the top.The first time you open it, you’ll be asked how you want the widget to get information.
You can choose to pull in data from your Google apps, or use web data and location only.Close For the TV network widget, I used the web data option.I also created a custom calendar widget, which needed Google apps data.
I’ve always been annoyed that you can’t specify which calendars appear on the official Google Calendar widget.It has to be the same calendars that show up in the app.So, I asked for a widget for one specific calendar, and it worked.
Anyway, after selecting the data source, you’ll see a bunch of ideas and suggestions for custom widgets.Tap “Describe your widget” to get started.Simply type out what you want to see and send it.
Google will generate the widget in less than a minute.If it’s not perfect, tap “Edit” and explain the changes you want to see, or select “Create new” to start over.When you’re done, tap “Add,” and it will be placed on your home screen.
From there, you can move and resize it like you would any other widget.It really is as easy as that.A genuinely useful AI feature I’m pretty skeptical when it comes to AI features.
They often over-promise and under-deliver, and that’s if they even sound useful to begin with.The ability to create completely custom widgets, directly from the home screen without any coding, is, frankly, incredible.It’s the type of thing that would sound impossible if you described it to someone 10 years ago.
The future is cool sometimes.Related The 7 best Android 17 features, ranked Android 17 is a massive overhaul with tons of new features and changes—but some matter far more than others.Posts 18 By Dibakar Ghosh
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