On Android 14-based One UI 6.0 and One UI 6.1, when you close an application, the app’s home screen widgets keep running. However, that will not be the case with Android 15-based One UI 7.0.
On Android’s developer website, Google states that on Android 15, when you close an application, the OS will disable the app’s widgets. Once that happens, the widgets will stop working, they will be grayed out, and you will not be able to interact with them. To make the widgets work again, you will have to open the app to which they belong, either directly (by tapping the app’s icon or clicking the open button in the Google Play Store, Galaxy Store, or Settings) or indirectly (by tapping on the app in the Share menu).
One UI 7.0 will help when widgets are not working properly
There are advantages and disadvantages to this change. Let’s start with the advantages. Suppose an app’s widget is not working properly and to fix that, you close the app and re-open it. In Android 14-based One UI 6.0 or One UI 6.1, closing the app and re-opening it will not help you as the widget will keep running even after you close the app. In Android 15-based One UI 7.0, however, closing the app will stop the widget from running, and when you re-open the app, the widget will restart too, which should solve issues with it.
The story continues after the video…
But it will not allow you to run a widget when the app is closed
As for disadvantages, there is a serious one, and that is if you want to close an app but keep its widget running, you can’t. Many people, including me, like to close all apps (to keep the multitasking menu clean and save a little battery) but keep all the widgets running. Unfortunately, that will not be possible with Android 15-based One UI 7.0. We hope that Google will come up with a solution that allows people to close an app but keep its widget running. To get more such useful information, follow our channel on WhatsApp.