Android has long been thought of as a more customizable operating system than Apple’s iOS. Google makes it easy to change the launcher on your Android phone and radically alter how it works, and even on the company’s own Pixel phones, the last few years of software updates have offered multiple official ways to change the visual appearance of your smartphone. The iPhone took a lot longer to become as equally flexible, but as Apple has made the iPhone easier to personalize, the company has pulled ahead of the Pixel in one key way: Lockscreen customization.
As of iOS 16, iPhone lockscreens can come in a variety of different styles, feature custom animations, and widgets that display information from other apps. In contrast, the Pixel lockscreen in Android 16 is surprisingly restrained. That doesn’t mean you can’t change it to make it more useful to you, however. Google still offers some helpful options you can tweak, and I’ve found they make a big difference in how useful my Pixel is, whether I’m working or not.
The lockscreen is the landing page for your phone
You might as well make it a useful one
Other than your phone case, your lockscreen is the first place you’re able to express yourself on your phone. That opportunity for self-expression is one of many reasons phone companies embracing customization features is so exciting. But your lockscreen is also a key source of information, whether you’re checking the time or current weather conditions, or notifications you’ve received from other apps.
If I think of my lockscreen as a sort of landing page for the rest of my phone, then its ability to both display information and quickly let me access apps or features on my phone are its two most important features. Luckily, Google offers a few ways to tweak my lockscreen to satisfy those needs. As of right now, I keep the Flashlight shortcut in the left shortcut space on my Pixel 9‘s lockscreen and Android’s Do Not Disturb mode in the right shortcut slot. Both are phone functions I reach for often, and having the shortcuts on the lockscreen means I can immediately access them without wading through other distractions on my phone.
When I do work in a coffee shop, Now Playing has been a fun way to identify songs I might want to save for later.
To make my Pixel more useful as a way to receive glanceable information, I also make notifications viewable on my lockscreen, so I don’t need to unlock my phone to read them or act on them. This might not be feasible or safe for everyone, but since I spend the majority of the time working from home, it’s been fine for me. As a final cherry on top, I also like to have Google’s Now Playing feature enabled on my Pixel so I can identify the songs playing around me. When I do work in a coffee shop, Now Playing has been a fun way to identify songs I might want to save for later.
In the grand scheme of things, these are small changes to make to the lockscreen of my Pixel 9, but they’ve worked well for me, and in the absence of bigger customizations, I’m glad that I have them.
The lockscreen features Android is missing
There’s still only so much you can see or do
If the Pixel lockscreen experience seems simple now, there is hope: Google has been slowly adopting more of Apple’s lockscreen features. New additions like Live Updates, which are included as part of Android 16 and offer live information from an app or service, go a long way towards making the lockscreen a place for up-to-date information. But Google could definitely go further.
iPhones now support what are essentially locksreen widgets — maybe a more appropriate comparison would be smartwatch “complications” — for an even wider variety of live information or shortcuts into apps. Google finding a way to adapt Android’s widget system (which is admittedly much more functional than Apple’s) into something that works on the lockscreen could go a long way towards making its Pixels more personal and useful.
The restrained lockscreen approach you get on the Pixel is not the same you’ll find on other Android phones. This flexibility is one of the strengths of the platform.
Even doing something as simple as offering the space “Now Playing” takes up at the bottom of your lockscreen for another shortcut or another source of passive information could make a big difference for people trying to get the most out of their smartphone.
Work with what you’ve got
On Android, that’s still more than most
It’s ironic that iPhones offer more customization options than Google’s own smartphone when it comes to the lockscreen, but for many people the other benefits of Android are worth what are likely temporary trade-offs. Pocket-lint has covered home screen customization options and other ways you can tweak your Android phone to make it yours. In the meantime, though, I’m happy with what is possible on my Pixel 9, and I hope more options come soon.
