From IphoneLoyals, we want to explain how to put widgets on iPhone. On your Apple device, you can add widgets of different applications that you have installed on your mobile, such as, for example, the battery you have or Email; all you have to do is click and if you have iOS 14, you will have more advantages. If you want the complete step by step, stay!
What is a widget
Widgets are application replicas, shortcuts that you can place on your home screen to display information quickly and easily without having to go to the equivalent application. They can also be used to access handy features with special "buttons" that enable or disable a particular function.
How to Add Widgets on iPhone
How to Edit Widgets in iOS 14
Before we get to the heart of this tutorial and explain to you how to put widgets on iPhone, it is necessary to make some premise regarding the types of widgets available.
First, you should know that widgets have been available on iPhone for some time, but only with the release of iOS 14 (in 2020) have they expressed their full potential. Initially, widgets could be added, without too much customization, exclusively in the Today view of your iPhone.
However, starting with iOS 14, it is also possible to add widgets to the iPhone home screen and customize their appearance, choosing from three different sizes. In addition, widget "containers", called smart collections, have been introduced, allowing you to collect different widgets within the same container and switch between widgets with a simple swipe.
Finally, as you probably already know, since widgets are extensions of the apps installed on your device, by accessing the screen to add new ones you will find both the system defaults and those implemented in the apps you downloaded from the App Store. Having also clarified this aspect, let's see in detail how to proceed.
How to add widgets on iPhone
If you are wondering how to add widgets on iPhone, all you have to do is open the screen dedicated to the available widgets, choose the one you are interested in and add it in the position you prefer. How to do it? I'll explain in a moment. In the following steps I will deal with several specific types of widgets, but actually the steps to add and customize are the same for all elements of this type. Enjoy reading!
How to put widgets on iPhone with photos
If your intention is to put widgets on iPhone with photos, it will be useful to know that the Photos application, factory installed on all Apple phones, implements the relative widget that allows you to view the photos available in the application in question.
To add the Photos widget, make a long tap anywhere without icons on the home screen until all the icons present begin to "vibrate". Then press the + button, top left, type "Photos" in the search widget field (or scroll down the screen) and tap the Photos item.
Now, choose the size of the widget you prefer and press the Add widget button, to place it on the home screen. To change the position of the widget you just added, do a long tap on it, drag it to the screen and to the position of your interest and press the end button.
If you are wondering how to choose which photos to display in the Photos widget you just added, I'm sorry to tell you that this cannot be done. In fact, the widget in question randomly displays the available shots from the Photos application.
To manually select the photos to be included in the widget, you must rely on third-party applications, such as Photos widget: simple. In this case, you will first need to launch the application in question, create an album with the photos you want to display in the widget and then add the related widget (e.g. Photowidget for the Photo Widget: Simple application), as I indicated in the previous lines.
To remove a widget, instead, do a long tap on the one you want to remove, select the Remove widget option from the menu that opens and confirm by tapping on the Remove item. Alternatively, activate the mode to change the home screen, as I explained at the beginning of the step, tap the "-" button related to the widget of your interest and press on the Remove item.
How to set a news widget on iPhone
The procedure to put a news widget on iPhone is identical to what I indicated in the lines dedicated to the Photos widget and, also in this case, you can use the widget "factory" Apple, called News.
Then activate the mode to change the home screen by making a long tap on any point without icons and press the + button, top left. In the new screen that appears, tap the News item and select the widget size you prefer, noting that the latter also influences the amount of news displayed(1, 2 or 4). Once you have made your choice, click the Add widget button, place the widget in the position you prefer and press the end button, to save the changes.
In addition to the home screen, the news widget (as well as all widgets that can be placed on the home screen) can also be added to the iPhone Today view (where it allows you to see up to 6 news items). The procedure for adding a widget to the Today view is the same as for placing a widget on the home screen.
Would you like a different news widget than the default Apple ones? If so, I can advise you onGoogle news, the famous Google news service. However, please note that this widget is designed specifically for Today view and cannot be placed on the home screen.
In addition to all the applications that can not be added to the home screen of your iPhone, to add the Google News widget to the Today view, move to the latter, tap the Modify button at the bottom of the screen and select the Customize option. Then press the + button related toGoogle news, do a long tap on the widget and drag it to the position you prefer. Then press the end button and you're done.
How to put weather widgets on iPhone
With putting weather widget on iPhone - guess what - you can follow the same steps described for the above-mentioned types of widgets. Then access the home screen of your iPhone and activate the mode to change the latter. Then press the + button at the top left, select the item weather and choose the widget appearance you prefer.
Once done, press the Add widget button, drag the widget to the position you want and tap the end button, top right, to save the changes. Next, long tap on the Weather widget, select the Edit widget option from the menu that appears, press on the Place item and select the Current position option to view the weather forecast at your current location. Alternatively, you can set a specific location by typing the name in the Search field and then selecting the one you are interested in.
As you can imagine, there are also other weather widgets for iPhone, such as Meteo and radar, 3B Weather Weather Weather. To learn about other solutions of this type, I leave you with my guide dedicated to the best weather widgets.
Other widgets available on iPhone
How to Put the Time on the Home Screen
In addition to widgets for photos, news and weather, you will be happy to know that there are many other widgets available out of the box on iPhone. These are the ones you can place on both the Home screen and the Today view of your iPhone.
- Battery: allows you to quickly see the battery charge status of your iPhone and all devices associated with your Apple ID and connected to your phone (e.g. AirPods and Apple Watch).
- Calendar: allows you to view upcoming events on the calendar, as well as the date of the day and the monthly calendar.
- Files: is the widget related to the Files app and allows you to quickly access the most recent files.
- Music: Quickly access recently played albums and playlists through the music application.
- Note: allows you to set one of the folders available in notes and quickly access the most recent notes it contains.
- Clock: to view the time in one or more cities, depending on the size set for the widget in question.
- Reminders: quickly access one of the reminder lists.
- TV: dedicated to users with an activeApple TV+ subscription and allows you to resume viewing interrupted content or view content in the playback queue.
- Usage Time: is the widget that allows you to see the daily activity in front of the screen of your iPhone. In that regard, my guide on how to view usage time on iPhone may be helpful.
In addition to these widgets, there are numerous third-party applications that implement widgets that can be placed on the home screen (e.g. Spotify, Google Drive). Other apps, on the other hand, offer widgets that can only be placed in the Today view (e.g. WhatsApp, Telegram, LinkedIn orGoogle Maps).
Finally, as I indicated in the opening lines of this guide, I would like to point out that theSmart Collection widget is also available, allowing you to collect other widgets within it. To use it, activate the mode to change the home screen of your iPhone, press the + button at the top left, select the Smart Collection option, choose the size you prefer and tap the Add widget button.
Once done, move the widget in question to the position of your interest and press the end button, to save the changes. Now, long tap on the smart collectionin question and select the Edit collection item from the menu that opens, to view the individual widgets it contains.
To delete a widget, swipe left on the widget you want to delete and select the delete item. In addition, if you want, from this screen you can also disable the automatic rotation that allows you to automatically switch from one widget to another: to do this, move the lever next to the Smart Rotation option fromON to OFF.
How to set widgets on iPhone with Widgetsmith
Widgetsmith is a free application, also available in Premium version with subscriptions starting from 1.99 €/month, which allows you to create and customize widgets of all kinds. The latter can be added both on the home screen and in the Today view of the iPhone.
To create a new widget with Widgetsmith, launch the application in question and press one of the available options between Add small widget, Add medium widget andAdd large wid get to add a small, medium and large widget, respectively.
Regardless of the choice made, click on the widget you have just created (e.g. Small #1), select the default widget option and choose the category of your interest(device, date, custom, battery, calendar, reminders, weather, healthy and activity, tides andastronomy), depending on the type of widget you want to create.
Then select the widget you prefer, choose one of the ready-to-use style templates or tap the Custom Theme item, to manually configure the appearance. Once you have completed the widget customization, click on the top left and tap the save button, to save the changes and create the widget.
At this point, access the home screen of your iPhone, make a long tap anywhere without icons, until all the applications present begin to "vibrate", and press the + button located at the top left. In the new screen that appears, select the Widgetsmith option, choose the size of the widget you created earlier and press the Add widget button.
Now, move the widget to the position you prefer and tap the end button at the top right to save the changes. Finally, if you have created several widgets of the same size, long tap on the newly added widget, select the Edit widget option in the menu that opens, press on the players item and put the check mark next to thename of the widget you want to see. Simple, isn't it?
