For the longest time, iPhones have not allowed users to add any widgets on the home screen. However, among the host of new iOS 14 features is the ability to finally configure your home screen to include widgets. While third party apps will take some time to design widgets for iOS 14, Google has seen the opportunity and already released a new Google Search widget for the iPhone.
So, you can now add a Search widget on your iPhone home screen, kind of similar to the one you usually see on Android phones. This is great, because it provides faster access to Google search, and frankly, I’m sure most people use Google search anyway, so this is much better than opening a browser (or opening the Google app) and then searching the web.
The Google widget is only available in two sizes, by the way; there’s no third, larger, option. Also, while the widget looks good, thanks to iOS 14’s limitations, I assume, it feels a little bit like a glorified button. That’s because when you tap on the search box to actually search anything, it opens up the Google app and then you can type your search query. Sure, the app opens really fast, and you can directly begin typing afterwards, but it’s stil not really the experience the Google Search bar offers on Android phones which I find so useful for getting quick searches out of the way.
Apart from that, Google has also announced that Gmail has been updated for iOS 14 and can now be set as the default mail app on your iPhone. Microsoft Outlook already supports the new feature, by the way, so Google isn’t the first to get this here. That is, until you reboot your phone and the default apps get reset. That’s just a weird bug.
Either way, the new search widget is available right now with the latest version of the Google app on the App Store. Do note that for some reason the widget wasn’t showing up for me until I rebooted my iPhone.
