Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority
Google is implementing a big redesign of Android with Material 3 Expressive. This updated design language will spread across apps and Android itself with the upcoming Android 16 QPR1 update. And despite updating most of its apps, Google is overlooking widgets again with this release, keeping the same old Material You design for several of them, while Apple and other Android OEMs like Samsung have taken widget design more seriously.
But if, like me, you’d like to see a cohesive vision of Google’s widgets with a splash of Material 3 Expressive, you’re in luck. I turned to the Play Store and found this $1 set of 300+ Material widgets that perfectly capture Android’s latest design and add some needed fun to my home screen. Best part? I didn’t need KWGT to make it work.
Are you a fan of Material 3 Expressve so far? 32 votes Yes 75 % No 19 % I don't mind it 6 %
Setting up Material You Widgets
To get the most out of Material You Widgets (yes, the app’s name feels dated now, but don’t worry, the widgets themselves are all Expressive), we need to grant some permissions. The most important one is allowing background access, letting the app run in the background — even if you haven’t opened it — so that it can update things like weather, device info, and more for the relevant widgets.
Everything else is self-explanatory: choosing units, time format, what happens when you tap on widgets, etc. The one you’ll want to focus on is widget padding. It dictates the size of the non-responsive (more on that later) widgets within their placement on your home screen. If you’re using a custom launcher with an unusual grid size, this slider will help you if you find widgets are too small or are getting cut off.
Plus, when you’re planning your home screen, you need to pick between square or responsive widgets. A square widget will maintain its shape regardless of how you resize it in the grid, while a responsive one will stretch to fill the available room you’ve given it. In my setup, with the widgets I like to use, I’ve mostly stuck to square.
Something to note is that square widgets, confusingly, don’t have to be square. All sorts of shapes from the Material 3 Expressive library are available; here, square refers to how the widget will behave.
My favorite widgets
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