Google Pixel users may soon have the option to remove the controversial At a Glance widget from their device’s home screen. Despite the loyalty of many TechAdvisor team members to their Pixel 10 phones, the inability to customize the home screen layout has been a persistent frustration. The At a Glance widget, while useful, takes up valuable space and cannot be replaced with an alternative widget or removed entirely.
For several members of the TechAdvisor team, you’d have to pry their Google Pixel 10 phones from their cold dead hands. But even these Pixel converts would admit (indeed, grumble loudly) that there’s an annoyingly persistent flaw with the Pixel Home Screen layout.
It continues to be impossible to remove the At a Glance widget from the main Home Screen on a Pixel phone.
Google’s multi-functional widget might be extremely useful (I’m a fan, personally), but the fact that you can’t opt to replace it with something else (or indeed nothing) is deeply irritating.
And while we’re at it, why does it have to take up so much space?
Android Authority
Glancing blow
Thankfully, there’s evidence that Google is planning to change all this.
In the latest pre-release build of the Android OS, Android Authority has spotted a new “Show on home screen” toggle in the At a Glance settings.
The purpose of this seems pretty unambiguous. In some not-too-distant future version of Android, you’ll be able to remove the At a Glance widget from the Home Screen. It might well remain active on the lock screen, which is an irritation in itself, but this would be real progress.
The ability to remove this all-encompassing widget as been requested for years now, its permanent status seeming to run counter to Android’s customisable reputation. We could finally be set to see such requests fulfilled.
