As part of an ongoing project, I’m building a simplified replacement for Trebuchet (Android’s default launcher). One aspect that I need to simplify is showing Widgets on the launcher without requiring the user to add them by hand. Normally, Android restricts this by requiring apps to use the AppWidgetManager.EXTRA_APPWIDGET_ID intent to launch a system picker. The only way around this is for system apps to request android.permission.BIND_APPWIDGET in their manifest, so this method is only available on rooted devices where the app is installed at the system level (in /system/app or /system/priv-app). Continue reading Adding Android Widgets Without User Interaction