After testing last year, the Google app on Android will now let you set a custom Shortcut in the Search widget.
If you have the Search widget on your homescreen (this is different from the Pixel Launcher bar at the bottom), open Google app settings > Customize Search widget. In addition to Theme — System, Light, Dark, Device, or Custom — and Transparency, you now have “Shortcuts.” Your nine options are:
None: Stick to just voice search and Google Lens
Translate (text)
Song Search
Weather
Translate (camera): Google Lens
Sports
Dictionary
Homework: Lens
Finance
It appears to the left of the microphone and camera, with all three buttons still appearing at 3×1. (At 2×1, you just get the ‘G’ — which opens the Home/Discover feed — and Lens.) The shortcut icon is just a solid color and not themed. Most of them open a Search results page, including Weather (instead of the app). Others directly open Google Lens and Song Search.
This is a nice quality-of-life improvement if you’re on a non-Pixel device, though it is available on Google phones and tablets.
We’re seeing this Search widget shortcut widely rolled out with version 16.3.34 of the Google app, which is available in the stable channel this morning.
More on Google app:
Google app on Android, Search testing a blue dark theme
Google Search’s new ‘Ask for me’ calls local businesses for availability, pricing
Google app showing new bottom toolbar for Search, Discover pages
Google Search adds new ‘Block Breaker’ game
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