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Widgets

Adding and Editing Widgets

Widgets let you view information from your apps at a glance on your Home Screen, Lock Screen, or Today View.

Adding widgets to your Home Screen

  1. From the Home Screen, touch and hold a widget or an empty area until the apps jiggle.
  2. Tap Edit in the top left-hand corner.
  3. Tap Add Widget.
  4. Select a widget, choose a widget size, then tap Add Widget.
  5. Tap Done.

Adding widgets to your Lock Screen

With iOS 16 and later, you can add widgets to your Lock Screen to view information at a glance — for example, the temperature, air quality, battery level, or upcoming calendar events.

  1. Touch and hold the Lock Screen until the Customise button appears, then tap Customise.
  2. Tap Add Widgets.
  3. Tap or drag the widgets you want to add to the Lock Screen.
  4. When you’re finished, tap the close button, then tap Done.

If there’s not enough room for a new widget, you can tap the Remove button to remove a widget and make room for the one you want to add.

Adding widgets to Today View

  1. Swipe right from the Home Screen or Lock Screen.
  2. Touch and hold a widget or an empty area in Today View until the apps jiggle.
  3. Tap Edit in the top left-hand corner.
  4. Tap Add Widget.
  5. Scroll down to select a widget, then tap Add Widget.
  6. Tap Done.

Editing widgets

Some widgets offer different configurations. For example, you can edit the Weather widget to see the forecast for your current location or a different location.

To edit widgets from Today View:

  1. Swipe right from the Home Screen or Lock Screen.
  2. Touch and hold a widget to open the quick actions menu.
  3. Tap Edit Widget or choose a different layout.
  4. Make your changes, then tap outside the widget to exit it.

You can also move your widgets around to put your favourite ones where they’re easier to find. Just touch and hold a widget until it jiggles, then move the widget around on the screen.

Using widget stacks

You can use widget stacks to save space on your Home Screen and in Today View. You can use Smart Stacks or create your own widget stacks.

Add a Smart Stack

A Smart Stack is a pre-built collection of widgets that displays the right widget based on factors like your location, an activity, or the time. A Smart Stack automatically rotates widgets to show the most relevant information throughout the day.

To add a Smart Stack:

  1. Touch and hold an area on your Home Screen or in Today View until the apps jiggle.
  2. Tap Edit in the top left-hand corner.
  3. Tap Add Widget.
  4. Scroll down, select A Smart Stack, then tap Add Widget.
  5. Tap Done.

Create your own widget stacks

  1. Touch and hold an app or empty area on the Home Screen or Today View until the apps jiggle.
  2. Drag a widget on top of another widget. You can stack up to 10 widgets.
  3. Tap Done.

Edit a widget stack

  1. Touch and hold the widget stack.
  2. Tap Edit Stack. From here, you can reorder the widgets in the stack by dragging and dropping the app where you want it in the stack. You can also turn Smart Rotate on or off.
  3. Tap Done.

When Smart Rotate is on, iOS shows you relevant widgets throughout the day.

With iOS 15 and later, you can turn on Widget Suggestions, so apps you already use can automatically appear in your Smart Stack at the right time based on your past activity. An option lets you add the widget to your stack so it’s always there when you need it. Just follow steps 1-2, then tap Widget Suggestions to turn it on.

You need iOS 14 or later to use Smart Stacks or create your own widget stacks.

Customizing widgets on iPad

On iPad, you can customize app icons and widgets on the Home Screen by changing their color, adding a tint, making them larger or smaller, and more.

  • Go to the Home Screen.
  • Touch and hold the Home Screen background until the icons begin to jiggle.
  • Tap Edit at the top of the screen, then choose Customize.
  • Do any of the following:
    • Make the icons bigger: Tap the Large App Icons button. (In large size, the names of the apps disappear.)
    • Choose a dark appearance for icons and widgets: Tap Dark. To show icons and widgets with a dark appearance at night and a light appearance during the day, tap Auto.
    • Give the icons a clear look: Tap Clear to make the icons translucent, then choose Light, Dark, or Auto.
    • Add a color tint to icons and widgets: Tap Tinted. Use the sliders to choose the color and saturation (or use the eyedropper to select a color in your wallpaper). Then choose Light, Dark, or Auto.

Removing widgets

  1. Touch and hold the widget that you want to remove.
  2. Tap Remove Widget.
  3. Tap Remove again to confirm.

Further information

For more information, see the Apple Support article here.

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The Bonobo Bundle →