How to Add Widgets on Android and iPhone

Access your favorite apps with one tap

Written by: Elsie Otachi
Posted on: July 1st, 2021 in: Android

How to Add Widgets on Android and iPhone image

Widgets are like mini mobile apps on your phone that combine helpfulness with style. These small displays are a useful addition to your phone’s home screen as they give you easy-to-digest information snapshots.

You can add widgets to your phone’s home screen and tap on each widget to fully open the corresponding app. For example, you can add a widget for the Weather or Calendar app on your home screen to get the weather or see your appointments at a glance without having to open the apps.

Table of Contents

This guide explains how you can add widgets to the home screen or lock screen on your Android or iPhone.

How to Add a Widget on Android

Android devices come pre-loaded with several widgets which you can use to customize your home screen based on your needs. These widgets provide conveniences like prominent notifications, app shortcuts, and handy information that’s updated continuously throughout the day.

You can resize some widgets to show less or more data depending on what you want the app to display.

Here are a few easy steps you can take to add widgets on Android and personalize your device’s home screen.

Add a Widget to Android Home Screen

Some Android devices come with certain default widgets. You can add new widgets to your Android device, but you’ll first have to download the corresponding app.

Tap and hold on any empty space on the home screen and then tap Widgets tab.

Next, tap and hold the widget you want to add.

Choose the widget display size you want, and then drag and drop the widget onto the empty space on your home screen.

Adjust the Widget Size

You can adjust the size of the widget to be smaller or larger on your Android phone’s home screen.

Tap and hold the widget until you see a blue box appear around the widget.

Drag the box to make the size of the widget smaller or bigger.

Tap the space around the blue box to save your changes.

Note: Not all devices allow you to resize widgets, and not all widgets can be resized.

Adjust Widget Settings

Once you’ve added widgets on your phone’s home screen or lock screen, you can adjust the settings to add more details, change background color, or enable dark mode.

Tap and hold the widget until you see a blue box appear around the widget.

Next, tap Widget settings.

Adjust the settings based on your preferences and then tap Save to effect the changes.

Delete a Widget

It’s easy to remove or delete a widget from your phone’s lock screen or home screen using a few quick steps.

Tap and hold the widget to select it.

Next, tap Remove from home. The widget will be removed from your phone’s home screen, but if you wish to add it back, you can find it in the Widgets tab.

Check out our guide on the best Android home screen widgets you can use to customize and access the app’s functionality on your device’s home screen.

How to Add Widgets on iPhone

On your iPhone’s home screen, you’ll find icons for all of your apps, sometimes with notifications displayed on the upper right corner of the icon. However, this doesn’t offer as much information as what you’d get from a widget.

A widget can sit alongside your favorite apps on the home screen and provides details you may want to see at a glance. Plus, widgets come in small, medium and large sizes so you can adjust them to see a small amount of pertinent information.

With the launch of iOS 14, iPhone users are now able to add customized widgets. They can also change the widget’s appearance and location.

Tap and hold an empty area on your iPhone’s home screen until the apps jiggle.
Next, tap the Add (+) button in the upper left side of the screen.

Tap on the widget you want to add to the home screen, select the widget size and then tap the Add widget button.

Tap Done at the upper right side of the screen.

Add a Widget to Today View

Today View is a handy feature on your iPhone that you can tailor to house your shortcuts. The feature gives a quick glimpse at the date, time, stock prices, weather, next appointment at a glance.

You can add widgets to your home screen to keep your favorite widgets available when you unlock your iPhone.

Swipe right on your iPhone’s home screen to bring up the Today View.

Tap and hold an empty area in the Today View until the apps jiggle, and then tap the Add button at the upper left corner of the screen.

Select a widget, choose your preferred widget size, and then tap Add Widget.

Tap Done and the widget will appear on your phone’s home screen.

Edit a Widget on iPhone

With iOS 14, you can edit and configure widgets on your iPhone’s home screen based on your preferences.

Tap and hold the widget to access the quick actions context menu.

Next, tap Edit Widget, edit the settings and then tap outside the widget to exit.

Note: You can put your favorite widgets where they’re easier to find by tapping and holding the widget until it jiggles and then moving it around on your iPhone’s screen.

Create a Smart Stack

With iOS 14, you can build a Smart Stack and create a collection of widgets to save space in Today View or on your home screen.

Smart Stacks display the right widget based on the date, time, activity, or your location. In addition, the Smart Stack rotates the widgets automatically to display the most relevant information every day.

Tap and hold an empty area in Today View or on your home screen until the apps jiggle.
Next, tap Add (+) in the upper left side of the screen.

Tap Smart Stack.

Next, enter the name of the widget you want to add in the search bar.

Tap Add Widget.

Note: You can also create your own widget stacks by dragging and dropping a widget on top of another widget. With this method, you can stack up to ten widgets in a widget stack.