This Android 11 fullscreen ‘At a Glance’ prototype makes me miss Assistant Snapshot

Last week, Android Authority obtained some exclusive screenshots of a fullscreen ‘At a Glance’ prototype for the lock screen of Android 11 that never went public. These shots revealed that Google had plans to make ‘At a Glance’ much more robust and let it fill your entire screen while active instead of just being a small feature on the home screen of your Android device near the top.

You’ll probably be sad to hear this, but I should get it out of the way right now – Google abandoned this beautiful concept for the lock screen. Anyone familiar with the Home controls on Pixel phones while they’re docked onto the Pixel Stand will instantly recognize these cards though. These contextual cards pop up at the time when they’re needed most, making your life easier.

Basically, they’re a modern example of the late, great Google Now. Many facets of Now have been baked into Assistant, but where we’ve really seen cards appear magically when needed is in Assistant Snapshot – a feature that Google has all but killed off, at least on Pixel devices. Thinking back on this feature that I hardly ever used, I can’t help but be reminded of it in light of these abandoned designs, and I miss it sorely.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t miss it because it was an integral part of my life or anything. I miss Snapshot because of what it was – a continuous flow of information specifically about my day that I could check to see which task or meeting I was to do next, how far my drive would be without ever having to open Maps and search for it myself, and more.

What’s interesting is that the mock-ups tell us a whole lot about how the company intended to expand on several features within the operating system by giving users quick access to several things that currently don’t exist, and they really do feel like Google Now-style helper cards that are reminiscent of how Snapshot worked.

For example, the bedtime alarms give you suggestions for times that could be set, right there on the lock screen – no need to open the clock app. Similarly, the ‘Headphones’ section showed several one-tap suggestions for media you could begin streaming right to your ears.

Yet another card appears when the user arrives at Whole Foods, showing them their membership barcode, their shopping list, coupons, and even a card or tile to instantly open Google Pay at the register. I’m going to say something controversial here but bear with me…I want this type of help right in my Android device’s notifications bar.

Think about it – instead of opening your Calendar, your alarm, Google Pay, or any other app for tasks that are baked into your workflow, why not just let Android show you helpful Assistant Snapshot or ‘At a Glance’ style cards right in your notification shade? Instead of managing my todos from any particular app, I usually just check them and mark them off as I complete them right from the reminder in my notifications anyway.

I think whether or not you’d agree with this idea is based solely on your preference for how cluttered or clean your notifications are during each day, but as someone who sees the potential of this mock-up and how helpful many of these things could be to my daily lifestyle, I can’t imagine any reason why Google isn’t trying to bake these directly into the spot people would most likely interact with them.

I never opened Assistant Snapshot, despite how helpful it was because it was hidden on the Assistant or Discover screen to the left of my Pixel 4’s home screen. I never really utilized Google Now for the same reason, and I don’t really ever open Assistant except by voice. I also don’t want personal cards baked into the Discover news feed, so the only place this kind of information really belongs is in a personal location like the notification shade.

I know, I’m a crazy person who doesn’t care much about his privacy or sacred notifications, I hear you saying. Before you throw out the idea though, I think it’s worth consideration. I hope that Google brings back some semblance of this full screen ‘At a Glance’ prototype, and seeing it take up the entire screen just made me realize how great it would be if it were just a pull down from the top of my screen no matter what I’m doing or what app I’m currently using.

The one thing I’m sorely missing on my phone is a centralized, intelligent place to collect my thoughts and gain control of my digital life. Right now, I’m juggling Google Calendar, Tasks, Keep, and more, but a handful of automated Assistant-style cards to start my day would help me to wrangle my life a bit more and take some of the mundane things off of my mind. Let me know what you think about this in the comments!