Google Is Planning Cross-Platform Timers, Whereas iPhone Can Barely Manage One

Google is working on a feature that will let Pixels or other devices coerced into using the Pixel version of the At a Glance widget to see timers started on other Assistant smart displays or speakers. This Cross Device Timer, as the feature’s strings refer to it, implies that you may set a timer on, say, your Nest Hub in the kitchen and monitor its progress from your Pixel phone if an errand takes you away.

‘Cross Device Timer’

As with any unannounced additions gleaned from an app takedown, this is only evidence that Google is working on a feature, not proof that it will occur or arrive in the condition indicated. Details in a deconstruction analysis of the Google app’s beta v13.26 indicate two strings for a “Cross Device Timer” function that purports to offer “timer data from your home devices.” The context of the two strings is accompanied by an emblem depicting a speaker in front of a display. With all of that, it’s easy to conclude that the “home devices” from which the feature can retrieve timer information are most likely Assistant-connected displays and speakers — think Nest Hubs, Audios, and Minis, as well as potentially other third-party Assistant speakers and displays like Lenovo’s Smart Displays.

It’s unknown how many clocks this feature will show, or if any information related with them would be available. For example, when you create a timer on your Nest Hub, you may name it — useful if you’re doing anything complex with many scheduled events such as carrying out contact transfer while working. It’s also unclear if you’ll be able to see whose device the timer was synchronized from, or whether and how you’ll be able to act on these timers in other ways, such as dismissing or extending them in a manner that would sync back.

Google’s At a Glance widget is pre-installed and part of the Pixel’s default software experience, and it can be found in the default launcher and lock screen. Based on what’s going on, the widget may display facts such as future calendar appointments, weather, doorbell notifications, and more. You may also use the Google app to install a more restricted version of the At a Glance as a regular widget to most other devices.

This version of the widget offered to consumers on other phones, on the other hand, is more restricted, omitting even the current integration for on-device timers. If and when it appears, I believe this cross-device timer sync functionality will be Pixel-specific, maybe intended for a future Feature Drop.

Customers who have Assistant-connected speakers and screens have been waiting for this kind of feature for a long time. More than one of us at Android Police is ecstatic about the prospect, noting with glee that (some) Android phones will get cross-platform timers before iPhones can even run more than one at a time — a limitation on iOS that remains perplexing and embarrassing when the Apple Watch, HomePod, and most Android devices can handle such a simple task with ease.