The Amazon app now allows you to shop directly from the lock screen of your iPhone.

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      Amazon's lock screen widget represents the company's most assertive attempt yet to transform shopping into an ambient activity instead of a purposeful task.

      Opening the Amazon app, tapping the search bar, and locating a product through text or image search is how most users typically engage with it. Yet, Amazon believes this involves too many steps.

      The company has introduced six new visual search features, including the Amazon Lens widget for iPhone. This widget places a camera shortcut directly on your iPhone’s lock screen, allowing you to point it at anything around you, and the app will identify it even before you unlock your device.

      How can you add the Amazon Lens widget?

      Adding the widget is easy. Once your phone is unlocked, press and hold the lock screen, then tap the Customize button at the bottom.

      In the lock screen editing mode, select "Add Widgets," choose Amazon from the list of apps, and scroll to find the Amazon Lens widget. You can tap on it or drag it onto your lock screen, and you're done.

      Additionally, you can place Amazon’s existing Search and Orders widget alongside the Lens widget. Just a heads up: this will convert your lock screen into an Amazon shopping panel for discovering products, conducting text-based searches, and tracking shipments.

      What is the purpose of a lock screen shopping widget?

      The need for such a widget may not be immediately clear until you consider how impulsive shopping functions. When you come across something desirable, there’s a brief moment before distractions take over. You might forget about it or hesitate, contemplating whether you truly want it.

      Even if you remain motivated, the steps involved in unlocking your phone, launching Amazon, and searching for the desired product can be cumbersome. There’s a risk that you could change your mind midway, resulting in a potential loss for Amazon. That’s where the lock screen widget proves beneficial.

      It streamlines the purchasing process to a single tap, requiring no phone unlocking. The main goal of this feature is to ensure that Amazon is the first application you reach for when you see something you want to buy.

      For over five years, Shikhar has consistently made developments in the consumer tech field easier to understand and has presented them…

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