Google is adding a new widget to Google Maps for Android home screens

Google Maps, in the coming weeks, will get a new widget that will provide the latest on nearby traffic at your current location. The tool will now show live traffic around you, not just in the app but in a widget you can access on your lock screen.

Using data from Google Maps that is updated in real-time, the widget shows you where you are and uses red, orange, and green to show how busy the roads around you are. So instead of having to open the Maps app and plan a route to observe local traffic, the widget will give you an overview right on your smartphone’s home screen.

While this is a feature that already exists, this would be the first time that the information is displayed in real-time in widget form from your home screen. The live traffic widget will be an extra, user-friendly tool for users to give them a better idea of how busy an area will be in case they need to adjust their travel times or even routes to avoid the scrum, without needing to open the app.

9to5Google reports a floating action button (FAB), which is themed with Dynamic Color, in the bottom-right corner that lets users zoom in (and out), while the Google logo appears in the bottom-left corner. “…you’ll see this information for your current location right from your Android Home screen. So if you’re about to leave home, work, school or anywhere else, you’ll know at a glance exactly what local traffic might be like.”

The company says the new widget is rolling out to users in the coming weeks, so you might not yet see it in your widget library. Though you will still need to have Maps launched for it to work.

Google Maps widgets are already available to iPhone users. With this widget, you can also get real-time traffic statistics in the area, as well as an estimate of how long it will take you to go back home from your current location.

Widgets may be more convenient in some situations, but they also serve a secondary purpose: encouraging more people to use the app, especially at times when it might have previously seemed too cumbersome.

On Android, there are presently 35 Google Widgets.