Although Google’s I/O 2018 event has now passed, the company appears to be continuing the slow trudge toward Android P with yet another test feature appearing for some users associated with a redesigned lock screen. More precisely, some users are noting a Pixel Launcher-like redesign for the weather and calendar widget which appears on the lock screen and for devices with an always-on display. That means a minimalized time readout followed by upcoming calendar events above other notification cards. The weather, in this case, is inserted just behind the calendar event so that users can quickly see what that will be like for their event. For clarity, this isn’t appearing on every device running the recently launched Android Developer Preview 2 (DP2). However, it is appearing on a limited number of devices in what appears to be a testing period before a wider rollout. There’s currently no way to know if or when the feature will actually be included as part of the stable Android P firmware, either.
Overall, the new look is much cleaner than previous lock screen layouts, while also being more helpful and informative. Rather than putting the focus on the time, it places emphasis on future events and weather in order to help users plan for those events. A dash creates a degree of separation between the clock and the new event and weather widget below. Meanwhile, the more standard material design-based card style typically used for notifications remains intact to create further separation between those other elements.
With any luck, the update will be finalized by the next developer preview, or at very least by the stable version of Android P. Having said that, it’s important to note that these kinds of design implementations don’t always, or even often, find their way to end users. That’s primarily because OEMs like to utilize their own lock screen or always-on-display designs, so this may only crop up in an updated or aftermarket Pixel Launcher application. Of course, it will almost certainly be present with Google’s own Pixel 3-branded devices expected to be launched this fall, likely in early October. What’s more, Google might decide from the tests that more work is needed or that the new layout should be scrapped altogether, so it may be best not to get too attached to it just yet.
