Android 16’s most disappointing feature is the upgraded lock screen.
While we’re happy to have widgets return to the lock screen, the limitations mean that all widgets are compatible, but only some are useful.
The limit of three widgets per screen at a fixed width and minimum height is frustrating, so I searched for a better solution.
However, there’s no single app that “fixes” Android 16 QPR2’s lock screen.
No app allows you to modify the new lock screen widget page yet, but the good news is that there are plenty of alternative ways to improve your lock screen.
I found three apps that each take a different approach to making Android 16’s lock screen widgets more useful.
YoLock brings iOS-style lock screen widgets to your Android phone
Simple, clean, but lacking customization options
Android may have introduced lock screen widgets first, but Apple brought them into the modern era as part of iOS 16 in 2022.
The update let you change and customize a row of widgets on your lock screen; it was limited, but had that classic Apple look.
YoLock gives your Android lock screen an iOS makeover, including lock screen widgets.
You can add up to four widgets to your lock screen, but depending on their width (you cannot resize them), you may have to settle for fewer than four to include the widgets you want.
The result is a lock screen that looks identical to an iOS 16 or later device.
It’s perfect if you want more information at a glance on your phone, but the lack of customization options is disappointing, as you can only add the app’s preset widgets.
Nevertheless, it’s useful for adding more functionality to your lock screen.
Lockscreen Widgets bring the classic lock screen widgets back with more options
The better version of Android 16’s lock screen widgets
When Android introduced lock screen widgets in Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, they lived front and center on your lock screen.
If you don’t like the way you have to swipe to see your lock screen widgets in Android 16, and also don’t like the minimalist approach of YoLock, this might be the app for you.
Lockscreen Widgets adds a customizable grid to your lock screen. You can add a lock screen widget to each grid section, or split your widgets across multiple pages.
All widgets can be freely resized and moved; the app gives you more control over your widgets than you have on your home screen.
The grid can be moved and resized, so you could cover your lock screen in widgets or tuck them away in the corner.
The customization options are impressive, but this is also the app’s biggest problem.
Resizing and moving widgets is incredibly awkward on Lockscreen Widgets.
I was constantly opening widgets, selecting the frame by accident, resizing widgets off-screen, or selecting an option in the background instead.
Nevertheless, after I got the hang of the controls, the app blew me away with its range of customization options.
KLCK lets you take unprecedented control over your lock screen widgets
Create custom lock screen widgets from scratch
If you liked the customization options of Lockscreen Widgets, but still found it too limiting, KLCK is the app for you.
It’s from the same developers behind KWGT, which offers a comprehensive suite of editing tools to let you build the home screen widgets of your dreams.
However, KLCK is not for the faint-hearted.
Apps like YoLock and Lockscreen Widgets create a framework for you to organize widgets in. KLCK lets you create widgets from scratch, giving you control over vector graphics, animations, 3D transformations, and more.
There are plenty of prebuilt components to choose from, but you’ll only be scratching the surface of the app’s functionality by using these.
KLCK’s one downside is that you can’t import your home screen widgets. So if you want to add a widget associated with a specific app, you either have to create a rough analog in KLCK or use Lockscreen Widgets.
You have plenty of options when it comes to customizing your Android phone’s lock screen
At the end of the day, it would be perfect if lock screen widgets had the same functionality as home screen widgets.
Android 16’s attempt is simply too limited to be worth using; it takes just as much effort to unlock your phone to view home screen widgets as it does to view lock screen widgets.
So if you want more information at a glance, use YoLock. If you want your home screen widgets on your lock screen, use Lockscreen Widgets. And if you want to create a suite of lock screen widgets from scratch, use KLCK.
Between these options and the default lock screen widgets for Android, you can create the perfect lock screen.
