You should be able to personalize the shortcuts in the Lock Screen with Android 13’s upcoming feature update, version QPR2—at least for Google Pixel phones. It was discovered by Mishaal Rahman of Esper, and afterward, colleagues from 9to5Google were able to verify the hints. Obviously, as these are code snippets for unannounced additions, Google may not launch this feature with the upcoming minor release and may delay it to the launch of Android 14.
Additional lock screen customization options are coming to Android
There will be a new option under Settings > Display > Lock screen that, when clicked, will open a screen that looks somewhat like the one used to change the background image, with a preview of the screen at the top and other commands and choices below. According to sources, among the choices we have are:
- Activating/deactivating the flashlight.
- Opening the camera, scanning a QR code.
- And a few other unnamed ones.
The user will need to momentarily hold down the icons in order to prevent unintentional touches. It appears that the plan is to extend the effort to third-party manufacturers as well. Which will be allowed to change the list of connections and the safeguard against unintentional activation, among other things.
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It is important to note that you can already adjust this part of the lock screen on a variety of manufacturer-specific user interfaces, such as Samsung‘s One UI 5.0, which is based on Android 13. Since the release of iOS 16, we have clearly seen the spread of this feature. Only the bottom left (smart home controls) and bottom right immutable shortcuts are available on Pixels at the moment (Wallet on Pixel 7, list cards saved on previous devices).
The integration of this feature in Android by default will be a good thing. And much more fluid and stable than what is currently available in several third party customization layers.
