Widgets are one of my favorite iPhone tools, and widgets can turn a boring grid of app icons into a nice, usable home screen. Some widgets provide quick access to information, but I like widgets that can help me and remind me to do things that I forget. When I’m away from home, I use these widgets to keep up with everything, whether it’s a reminder of an important event or just a fun show I want to watch later.
What is a widget anyway? A widget is an app or part of an app that sits on your home screen and works whether you open it or not.
You don’t need to open the Weather app to check the weather, you can just add the Weather widget to your home screen. Similarly, you can find widgets that tell you about the battery life of your phone and accessories, widgets that show photos from your gallery, and widgets that track your steps and fitness, just like the best Apple Watch.
In addition to widgets that provide information at a glance, I also like widgets that are a quick shortcut to apps, especially list building. I don’t need to open Notes or to-do list apps. Instead, I can just tap the widget and it will automatically create a new post.
Finally, I need reminders, not the usual alarm or timer. I like to know how much time I have left overall. For example, how much time until the next vacation! I also like to remind you about some habits that I try to develop. Instead of getting a notification or opening an app, I can just tap the widget to track my achievements and build my streak.
Widgets have to look nice, otherwise I won’t want to use them. It’s my iPhone after all, so my widgets should suit my taste and aesthetic without being too loud or distracting. I’ve picked out the six most useful widgets that I use to keep myself up to date, and it’s okay that for the most part, they look pretty cute when they do their job.
Widgets come bundled with the apps they accompany, so when you download an app, you also get its widget. For most apps, the widget won’t appear as an option until you open the app at least once and use it outside of the splash screen. Once you do that, you can search for your widget in Apple’s list.
To create a widget, hold your finger on any empty part of the home screen. The icons will start shaking and twitching, and a plus sign “+” will appear in the upper right corner of the screen. Tap on this sign to see the list of widgets.
There are three widget sizes in iOS 16 and they cannot be changed. You can have a smaller square, a longer strip, or a very large rectangle. I chose a small square because six widgets fit perfectly on one home screen, giving me one useful page with everything I need.
- Reshuffle the color of the widget
- Change your location or keep it static
- Watch out for subscription prices
Even though I had the weather widget on my iPhone 14 Pro, I was constantly shouting into my smart speakers asking for the temperature. I almost forgot that the forecast, highs and lows were sitting on my screen. This is because they look dull and blend in with their surroundings. I forgot my weather app existed.
That’s why I downloaded Cute Weather. It looks cute, in Japanese “kawaii” style, with modern colors and a fun look. I can set the widget to mix colors so I don’t get bored. This keeps the weather simple so I know what to wear and whether to bring an umbrella. If I want more, I can switch to the app, which has a similarly sweet design and a nicely customizable layout.
You can subscribe to Cute Weather, but beware of predatory trial prices. After a short free period, it costs $3.99 a week, which is a huge amount to spend on a weather app. The price of $19.99/year is more reasonable if you feel the need for a subscription.
Download the CuteWeather app
Bears countdown
- Easy timer widget with cute bears
- Lots of teddy bears to choose from including Games, Baby and Self Help
- Mac OS sync app
Sometimes I need to know when I have 10 minutes left, but often I just want to know how many days until something happens. How many days do I have until my kid leaves for summer camp? How many days until the show on Broadway? For a friendly countdown, I like the Bears you can get for iPhone and Mac.
Bears is a simple countdown timer for the day. You cannot set a specific time, only a day. There are plenty of bears to choose from to illustrate your timer, including bears playing video games if you’re counting down to a game release, or bears showing kindness to each other if you’re counting down to a spa day.
You can enable the widget’s countdown to a single event or, if you’re looking forward to a few things, you can cycle through the events. There are silly stories and articles attached to the app, but the widget alone is enough to enjoy. I especially liked being able to set up events on my Mac Mini and display them on my iPhone, which is a rarity these days.
Download Bears Countdown for Mac
Download Bears countdown for iPhone
Find My (via Apple)
- The Apple app keeps track of your iCloud devices
- Great for keeping track of kids and stuff
- Track AirTags and mobile devices
There are plenty of widgets made by Apple worth checking out, but I always keep the Find My widget on my home screen, and sometimes more than one. The Find My widget can track any devices connected to your iCloud account, including your family account. I track my kid’s iPhone with a widget on the home screen to make sure nothing weird is going on.
There are separate widget options depending on whether you are tracking a person or an item. You can also track AirTags, so if you have luggage or a vehicle that you need to keep an eye on, the Find My widget can help with that too. If you have a lot of items you want to track, try stacking widgets on top of each other so you can browse through them quickly.
Todoist: To Do List and Planner
- A simple to do app that can become more reliable
- Create a pre-tagged widget shortcut
- Organize everything later or not
There are tons of to-do list apps out there, and I’ve tried a lot of them – but I keep coming back to Todoist. This may be because it has great visibility and has been around forever so I have a history with the app and it hasn’t let me down.
Todoist can be as simple or as complex as you like. I use the widget to create new items on my to-do list and send them to my inbox, then organize them later if I feel the need. If you want to apply a specific label, the widget can automatically tag your posts as you create them.
You can also use Todoist to set goals and record series, and you can set up commands with Siri that will create exactly the entries you need. I mainly use it as a home screen widget, and since it syncs well with iCloud, I’ve used it on many different iPhones over the years.
Download Todoist
Sofa: downtime organizer
- For shows I want to watch but forget about later
- Follow shows, books, movies, podcasts
- The app takes a title card to create a cool looking widget
It never disappoints – when I’m out and about I see a must-see poster for a show. Later, when I’m home, I can’t remember anything good I’d like to watch. So comes Sofa, which is a list app specifically designed to keep track of the things you want to watch, listen to, or read.
What makes Sofa great is that it finds a title card for whatever content you’re trying to remember. You get not only a list of things, but also pictures of book covers and board games, music albums and podcast avatars. Whatever you like, Sofa provides a more visual approach that makes it much easier to remember what you see.
I wish more list apps were like this, but I’m glad Sofa reminds me of everything I need to watch in the vast landscape of streaming services. You can customize the look and feel of the device, and if you really love your quiet lists, there’s a premium tier, but I’ve never found the need to subscribe to make the sofa incredibly useful.
Download Sofa
Highlight
- Create one or multiple sets to form a habit
- It is a great reminder to take medication, write in a diary, drink water
- Add smudge notifications or not, your business
Self-improvement is one thing, but if you really want to improve, you need to change your habits. It starts with tracking your habits and doing a series. To do this, I like Streaks, a very simple tracking app. In the Streaks widget, I write down a few habits and it reminds me if I did them today.
This is especially useful if you’re someone who needs to take medication every day and has trouble remembering if it’s already been done. I also use Streaks to remind myself to start each day by drinking water, and to build a bullet journal habit.
I like Streaks because it doesn’t notify me unnecessarily, it just reminds me there are 3-4 things I want to do and keeps track of if I’ve done them. For simple habit building, this is an effective start. It helps that there are cool color options and stylish graphics that make it a pleasure to use.
Download Streaks