What you need to know
- Google is testing a new option that will let Pixel users remove the At a Glance widget from the home screen.
- The feature was found in the latest Android Canary build with a new “Show on home screen” toggle setting.
- Disabling the toggle currently has no effect, suggesting Google is still developing the feature internally.
Google is reportedly working on a feature that would allow Pixel users to remove the At a Glance widget from the home screen.
While the focus right now is on the new features Google introduced with the November Feature Drop, including AI-powered notifications and Theme Packs support, the company is also working on future updates for Pixel devices. Although Google has already made customizing and personalizing Pixel phones easy, one element you still cannot disable or hide from the home screen is the At a Glance widget.
The At a Glance widget is quite useful as it shows important information like your boarding gate and time before a flight, weather updates for the coming days, or calendar events. However, it also takes up a significant amount of space on the home screen. And, for those who do not use it or simply want more room, it looks like Google will finally allow users to remove this widget.
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(Image credit: Android Central)
As spotted by Android Authority, the new Android Canary build adds a “Show on home screen” toggle in the At a Glance settings. This suggests Google will soon let users hide the widget from their home screen. Currently, as reported by the publication, disabling the feature does not change anything, but it indicates that Google is developing it behind the scenes.
There is no confirmed timeline for when this feature will roll out or whether it will make it to the final Android build. However, since it has appeared in the Canary version, it is reasonable to expect it sometime in the future. We will keep you updated if and when it arrives on Pixel phones.
As useful as the widget is, this change would certainly give Pixel users more customization options. People have been asking for this for years, and many have switched to third-party launchers for that reason, but that may no longer be necessary.
