The Android team this week is putting a “Spotlight” for developers on widgets, especially “high-quality” ones. Meanwhile, Android users will benefit from a new Play Store “Widgets” filter.

The Play Store is making these Android homescreen objects more discoverable with a new “Widgets” filter in search results. Meanwhile, app listings will add a new visual badge to “clearly indicate the presence of widgets,” so users don’t have to read the app listing or scroll through screenshots. 

Finally, there will be a new Curated Widgets Editorial Page that “showcases collections of excellent widgets and promotes the apps that leverage them.” This is “coming soon” to Android phones, tablets and foldables.

Google notes how “one of the challenges with investing in widget development has been discoverability and user understanding.”

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More broadly, this Spotlight Week on widgets has this to say about why people use widgets:



If you’re an Android app developer and you’re looking to boost your app’s visibility, and engagement, you should definitely consider adding widgets. These small but mighty UI elements can have a significant impact on your app’s success.

Besides other resources coming this week, some high-level widget development tips include:



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