Android users of all shapes and sizes are used to the Google Search widget that appears on their home screen. Back in the day when Android was starting to make a name for itself and this writer carried a Motorola DROID, I thought the Google Search widget was cool. Perhaps some of you guys and gals feel (and still feel) the same. Nonetheless, it appears that Google is considering making some changes to the capabilities of the Search widget and the tech company needs your help.
The Google Search home screen widget is part of the “Mobile Application Distribution Agreement” that Android phone manufacturers sign when installing the Google Mobile Services version of Android on a new model. In some markets, Android users are able to change the search engine used by the widget.
Google surveys some Android users about their interest in new features for the Google Search widget
According to Android Authority’s Aamir Siddiqui, while setting up a new Android phone, he removed the Google Search widget from the home screen, Aamir received a Google Opinion Rewards survey that wanted to know why Siddiqui removed the Google Search widget from the home screen. The survey also asked, on a scale of 1-5 with the latter indicating the most interest, what Siddiqui thought about adding a few new search features to the widget such as translating text with the camera or using the widget to search for a song.
Other survey questions wanted to know whether Aamir wanted a new feature on the widget that would allow him to search through app content on his phone (similar to universal search), and use AI to help him search from the widget. Another survey question asked Aamir how interested he was in viewing relevant news articles above the search bar widget on the home screen.
Whether the results of the survey lead to changes to the Google Search widget is impossible to tell since we don’t know how each Android user will respond to the questions. But if changes are made (and we get the feeling that it wouldn’t be imminent) the survey might have had a hand in how Google “improves” the Search widget.
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