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How to add, remove, and customize widgets in iOS

By AppleVis, 16 September, 2020

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

In this podcast, Thomas Domville explores some of the new features and options for widgets in iOS 14 and iPadOS 14. These include:

  • Place widgets anywhere on the Home Screen for information at a glance.
  • Widgets now come in small, medium, and large sizes so you can pick the information density that’s right for you.
  • You can create stacks of up to 10 widgets to make the most of the space on your Home Screen. Drag one widget on top of another and swipe through them.
  • A Smart Stack consisting of a set of widgets you can swipe through that uses on-device intelligence to surface the right widget at the right time based on factors like time, location, and activity. For example, you might see the Apple News widget in the morning, Calendar events during the day, and commute time from Apple Maps in the evening.
  • A Siri Suggestions widget that uses on-device intelligence to show actions you might take based on your usage patterns, such as ordering a coffee or starting a podcast. Tap the suggestion to perform the action without launching the app.

Podcast File

AppleVisPodcast1339.mp3 (12.04 MB)

Tags

iOS
iPadOS
New Users
Quick Tips

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Comments

How hide pages

By Holger Fiallo on Friday, October 9, 2020 - 19:05

Where I can find podcast on hiding pages? I listen to a podcast but can not recall name.

Row and Column

By Jeff on Friday, October 9, 2020 - 19:05

In the podcast, you suggest finding the location (row and column) of an icon on the home screen, but how did you get Voiceover to speak that value?

Can you place widgets elsewhere besides row 1 column 1?

You described the widget being sized as a 2 by 2 matrix, but I thought widgets came in 3 different sizes. Why did you choose this size and is this the large, medium or small size?

Answers for Jeff

By AnonyMouse on Friday, October 9, 2020 - 19:05

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

Hi Jeff,

Answer #1:
Just tap the screen once with three fingers, to announce your current row and column on your home screen.

Answer #2:
Yes, you can place the widget anywhere on the home screen except for the Dock.

Answer #3:
So far, the size of the widget doesn't appear to be size specific in terms of taking what amount of real estate on the home screen. I would also be curious of what others have seen on this topic. For now, it only appears to take up 2 by 2 square area regardless of the widget size.

HTH

Columns, my experience

By SSWFTW on Tuesday, February 9, 2021 - 19:05

Thank you very much Thomas,
I have been trying out using widgets in the past week or so and have seen that the smallest size of a widget as one by one
The second size to me, appears as if it is taking one whole row and the third size takes two four rows out of your screen

iOS 18: widget stacks are broken

By Elena Brescacin on Saturday, November 2, 2024 - 19:05

Hello,I bring this podcast upwards because widget management has somehow changed.
First of all, when in editing mode there's no longer the "add widget" button but it's an "edit" button which includes "add widget", "customize" and "edit pages". Sorry, maybe it's not the exact translation in English but I suppose you all understand what I am talking about.
Then, what I noticed is that VoiceOver rotor's drag-drop feature no longer works with stacks (I have iOS 18.1).
When over a widget you just hear drop before, drop after, cancel drag but no longer "create a stack with [widget]".
And, even worse, dragging manually with touch screen movements, VoiceOver gives you feedback when it's already too late and you've moved the widget in the wrong place. Added to this, when you manage somehow to create a stack, it happens it's not detected with ordinary swipe right-left in home screen, seems that VoiceOver does not manage stacks properly.
Then, I find generally the widget configuration less VoiceOver reliable for example when wanting to change default options. In editing mode, attempting to open the widget to configure it according to your needs, no longer works.
Now I don't ask Thomas to bother recording a podcast again, but maybe an updated written guide would do the trick.
I also discovered that "Shortcuts" can be used as widgets, that's even more complex and needs an in-deep walkthrough I think. We can really have a good customization, knowing how to do it. Maybe someone more clever than me can help getting a guide done for this site.

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