Google’s range of Pixel phones is always counted among thebest Android phones, even though they have their fair share of hardware-related concerns, likeoverheatingandpoor modem connectivity. That’s largely because of the unparalleled stock Android experience on Pixel phones. The At a Glance widget baked into the Pixel Launcher is an undeniably important part of the user experience. However, it has a few shortcomings which a new app called Smartspacer hopes to address.
TheAt a Glance widgetis a handy utility for the date, time, and weather information. You can also configure it to display a slew of other information such as earthquake alerts, timers, and stopwatches, a flashlight toggle, package delivery alerts, and data pulled from compatible fitness apps. All these nuggets of information are placed on the Pixel Launcher home screen, and At a Glance is often presumed to be a widget.
At a Glance isn’t really a widget
Technically, At a Glance is not a widget. Instead, it is a data feed for Google’s Smartspace, introduced withAndroid 12, now present on the home screen, lock screen, and Always-On Display (AOD). That’s why it has pages you’re able to swipe through, content-dependent long-press actions, and support for showing video feeds from your video doorbell. However, At a Glance has several significant limitations, including the lack of personalization.
Stock At a Glance widget
Sure, you can toggle integrations on and off, but that’s about it. There are no options to determine when the displayed information changes, and for how long it stays. As a result, the At a Glance widget is reduced to a glorified weather display most of the time, even more so in countries outside the US where features like boarding passes, loyalty cards, and shopping lists aren’t supported.
App developer Kieron Quinn, who you may recognize fromAmbient Music Modfame, rose to the challenge and created a new app, suitably named Smartspacer, to address these shortcomings. Understandably, it piquéd my curiosity, and I spent a few weeks testing several versions of the app, which is still in active development. Quinn has created a custom smartspace service that can operate as an independent widget on most Android phones, or integrate with the default At a Glance if you’re using a Pixel phone. For a deep dive into the technicalities and how this is achieved,check out the developer’s thorough documentation. In this article, I’m more concerned with the user experience, though.
Installation and Prerequisites
Smartspace is like a widget on steroids because it deeply integrates with installed apps and has access to various system-level permissions. This is a big reason why third-party widgets cannot rival At a Glance. However, Smartspacer turns the Android feature up a notch. To work properly, it needs the same system-level permissions, and Google doesn’t make that easy. The setup process is fairly elaborate, but Quinn has done a fantastic job walking the user through every step of it. Even if it’s a lengthy process, I recommend finishing it in one sitting instead of doing it in fits and starts. Otherwise, it may seem intimidating, like an app built for power users.
You can download the latest version of the Smartspacer APK fromQuinn’s GitHubor fromAPKMirror. All the in-app features work without a hitch on Android 12 and newer, but you will need root access on devices rocking older versions like Android 10 and 11. On Pixel phones, you will need Shizuku to enable Smartspacer integration with At a Glance on the lock screen and AOD, enabled by theEnhanced modeoption within Smartspacer. Shizuku setup mandates wireless debugging permissions and sync via a pairing code.
The setup process is well laid out
Note that you will need to restart wireless debugging and Shizuku every time your phone runs out of charge or reboots. It may seem like a chore, but this additional step saves you from rooting your device. Smartspacer also needs permissions like access to accessibility settings, and device and app notifications. Both these settings were blocked by the Android system on my Pixel 7 immediately after the app was installed, and I had to toggle theEnable restricted settingsoption in theApp infopage overflow menu. These permissions are essential to integrate features likeNow Playingon Pixel phones.
The At a Glance you always wanted
Once installed and set up correctly, Smartspacer offers its own At a Glance look-alike widget you’re able to add to your homescreen setup. The app works perfectly with third-party launchers such as Nova Launcher. You can use Smartspacer to supplement At a Glance’s features, or serve as a drop-in replacement.
In either case, Smartspacer unlocks a plethora of cool features like your Google Keep shopping list showing up as soon as your phone is in the range of Wi-Fi at that store you frequent. You could also have specific information show up at a pre-configured date and time, like a traffic update from Google Maps around the time when you usually leave for work. Using location-based triggers, you can have your gym membership show up as you set foot in the building, and this can work with almost any loyalty card imaginable.
Get apprised of the traffic situations before you leave home
The app also has provisions for static messages and image displays you can set up, so you aren’t staring at the boring old data and weather all the time. This makes the smartspace on your home screen significantly more personalizable than At a Glance would ever allow. You can do other cool stuff, like track your favorite stock price with Google Finance widget integration, get a motivational quote every day, see a five-day weather forecast, or just track the battery level of your Bluetooth earbuds when they are connected. Since smartspace allows scrolling horizontally through pages, you can have multiple such add-ons active simultaneously. Smartspacer can effectively replace several others which you only consult occasionally.
If swiping through pages isn’t your thing, you could even set up an Expanded Smartspace in the app settings, showing you all the dynamic data and associated shortcuts at once. If you use Discover Killer, your Expanded Smartspace can effortlessly replace the Google Discover page in Pixel Launcher and other compatible launchers, bringing back something that resembles Google Now.
Although I did not get around to testing every possible feature, the ones I did try out worked without a hitch after Smartspacer was granted all the necessary permissions. Since they are all device-level settings and the app is merely an adapter of sorts between Google’s smartspace and Android system functions, there was little room for things to go wrong.
Targets and Complications are your best friends
How to unlock all these cool utilities, you ask? Well, Smartspacer relies on three components calledtargets,templates, andcomplications. Targets represent individual pages of the Smartspacer widget, and templates are the layouts possible with the data of the chosen target. Complications are small nuggets of information which show up alongside the targets, just like on a watch face.
Every page of information you see in smartspaces on your home screen, lock screen, and AOD are individual targets. Smartspacer has a bunch of default targets you can install from thePluginspage, like Greeting, which can show you text like “Good evening, Chandraveer.” Within the target’s settings, you will find toggles to define its visibility in each of the smartspaces I mentioned. In that section, you have target-specific settings such as how app shortcuts appear and if additional content should be delivered.
Requirements
The last section allows you to set upRequirements— trigger conditions which must be satisfied for the smartspace to show this target. You can leave the requirements blank if you want the target visible all the time. Otherwise, you can define multiple requirements like time, date, location, etc. in theAny ofsection, so the target shows up as soon as any of them are satisfied. If the requirements are created in theAll oftab, they must all be satisfied for the target to show up. I couldn’t help but recall how this section of target settings resembles that for automations in Tasker orIf This Then That (IFTTT), and those are exemplary sources of inspiration.
Complications are shown within targets. For instance, theGreetingtarget can show two complications. you’re able to reorder the sequence of targets and complications, but by default, Smartspacer shows the first two active complications under my greeting. Currently, I’ve set them up to show the weather info pulled from Google Weather, and my Wi-Fi usage for the month.
Greeting target with Google Weather and data usage complications
In my usage, I found it quite fun to play around with multiple pages in the At a Glance widget, supercharged by Smartspacer. However, some people may prefer a one-tap gesture to bring up Expanded Smartspace, which is essentially a full-screen overlay which displays a page full of widgets, both normal ones and Smartspacer integrations with At a Glance.
Enhanced Smartspace
Smartspacer has been in development for a year and a half at this point, and it shows — the app’s onboarding process and setup flow is comprehensive and well laid-out, the app works exactly as advertised, and there is a steady stream of updates to ensure you don’t encounter bugs. Smartspacer has a devout Discord server teeming with testers and active users who would be happy to share setup ideas and troubleshoot bugs. Quinn himself is quite active there as well, actively acknowledging and troubleshooting Smartspacer glitches.
If you always wished At a Glance was more helpful more often, Smartspacer is the app for you. It may be cumbersome to get running, but that’s just Google making life difficult for developers and users alike. I just hope Google learns a thing or two from this marvelous creation.
