What makes a great Android widget simple guide

Google has been sharing tips on how to make awesome apps for things like Wear OS and big screens. This week, they’re focusing on something cool called Android Widget Quality Tiers. These tiers help app makers figure out how to create widgets that work well, look nice, and make users happy.

Back in October, Google came up with these tiers to guide developers. They split widgets into three levels:

• Tier 3: Basic Quality – These widgets don’t hit the mark. They’re not fun to use and miss the basic standards.
• Tier 2: Good Quality – These are useful, easy to use, and give a solid experience.
• Tier 1: Super Quality – These stand out! They’re special, tailored to users, and make home screens look and work better.

A basic widget fails if it’s boring or doesn’t update properly. Google says widgets should refresh when a user does something, like tapping it, or when changes happen in the app. Plus, users should be able to hit a refresh button if the info needs to update often.

For how widgets look, a “good” one should stretch to at least two opposite sides of the home screen grid—like top to bottom or side to side. They don’t have to be plain squares; funky shapes are okay as long as they touch two edges. But the best widgets (Tier 1) must reach all four edges of the grid. New Google widgets do this, though some older ones don’t.

Google also likes widgets with little headers for lists—like a mini title bar with an icon, name, and handy buttons (think refresh or search). For colors, they want enough contrast so it’s easy to see (Tier 2), but the coolest ones use light/dark modes or fun app-specific colors (Tier 1).

When picking a widget, Google says the preview should match what you get. Even better if it shows real stuff, like a contact’s picture. Widgets should have clear names and descriptions, too. Finally, top widgets fit the phone’s style—like rounded corners matching the system—and use smooth animations or progress bars to feel polished.