I use to brag about widgets on Android before iPhones got them and some of my Apple fan friends back then told me widgets were stupid. Now fast forward to now and those same people are using widgets on their iPhones and love them
Once I started using widgets they’re really great. Especially for productivity style apps for viewing your finances, fitness tracking, and task management. I need these apps to be in my face or I’ll forget about them sometimes. I used to use widgets on android, but they often weren’t worth the hassle on there as so many apps didn’t support them there or had one but barely kept it updated.
Love widgets, and interactable ones should have came at the same time. If you're in the Apple Ecosystem with Homekit lights, cameras, etc. Having a widget for your lights at a glance is so very nice!
For me on my ninth GEN iPad and my 13 Pro Max, I use a couple of widgets: calendar widget, battery widget, Weather widget Sling TV widget Apple News widget for various topics I’m interested in, etc. Now, these are mixed between my lock screen widgets and my widget bar on my home screen but you get the idea.
I can totally relate to her because I don’t like the idea that widget is taking the existing space of my apps away and I get to see less apps in my fronts screen for iPhone
If you have a Pro Max or iPhone Plus, putting widgets with useful info like weather, battery levels, and world clock at the top of each screen means that you can reach all of your app icons without having to maneuver your thumb to the top of the screen. I personally really missed widgets after switching from Android. I want them for the info. But I really like being able to push app icons to the bottom 4 rows.
I like having my iPad Home Screen showing widgets, and the one I find most helpful is the files widget… This is because iPadOS doesn’t really have a finder like MacOS and it’s nice to have an easy way to see my files stored on my iPad… So I could kind of see where having a Finder widget on my Mac could be useful to quickly access my recently saved files without opening a finder window. I also like the notes widget and I’d probably use that on the Mac as well.
On my Pixel I have a bank widget as an example, and with that I can transfer money between two of my accounts and check my account balance just by using the widget. Like if I'm in a store in the casher que and realize that I need to transfer money, I can do it directly not needing to open and log in to my bank app. 🙂
For years when I was on Android I didn't understand the fuss about widgets. Eventually I started using calendar and reminder widgets, which helped keep important things in my face. I missed them when I moved to iOS, and then we got widgets. I have some others I use less often - frequent contacts, a few shortcuts, and weather (weather was more important before I got a watch and before lock screen widgets).
I’ve been using widgets since they became available on Home Screen. I now have only widgets setup, it’s amazing! Most beautiful widgets is the photo widget, I actually have it on multiple screens and both Apple and Google photos. There are smart widgets that will show apps based on predictions and these are helpful. I have couple apps here and there but mostly widgets across 6-7 screens. I tend to use search to look up an app instead of getting used to its place on screen, except for some apps that I place near large widgets to find quicker. I love that widgets are now on macOS too, I’m trying them on the beta and it’s looking great. It uses iPhone widgets on the Mac so you don’t need to search for any Mac specific widgets, whatever on your iPhone will be available on your Mac.
I have a 3 page iPhone setup. I swipe right and have a page of just smart stack widgets. I then have my main page of apps with just 1 widget smart stack at the top. then swipe left for the app library. I used to have pages of apps I had to dig through to get to what I wanted. Widgets are very useful. I can't wait to have more widgets to incorporate into my widget screen.
Widgets would be much more helpful on iPhone especially the iPhone Max models, if theres an option to scale the home screen a bit more cramped to fit a wide next to a small widget. So my home screen could show more information on larger screen phones.
@@funnyberries4017 I'm so sorry I wouldn't hurt your soul with my message 😅. There could be an option for more or less home screen icons or widgets. So you could stay at the old grid and both sides are happy 🤷♂️
The worst part is not only there are two different widgets system in IOS. But you also have the old iOS 9 widgets for some apps. The widgets instoduced on iOS 14. The new widgets introduced on iOS 16 on the Lock Screen. The widgets introduced on iOS 17 on landscape mode. And the almost widgets from the control center 🤡. The worst part is Mac OS Sonoma widgets behave like windows vista side bar than the original Mac OS tiger widgets 🤦🏻♂️
How about the original widgets for the iPhone. The ones that exist only when you swipe left. These have always been interactive, even with a working calculator widget. I don’t understand the move away from these to clunky ones that do less
I like using widget tbh. Funny part is that Apple default widgets sucks. I only use 3rd party ones from google & readdle apps. And yeah it's pretty awesome to have this option in ios and to be interactive in ios 17 will just elevate it to a next level.
I think putting more widgets on use makes your battery drain more faster, also your performance will definitely slow down as it well take some processing power to update those widgets, means app is running all the time in background.
I am just bothered that you can't lock and unlock the screen customization, most of the time, i press and hold something on my iphone homescreen and just rearrange everything. my 14 pro is fast, but hmm in terms of customization
I will absolutely tune in to a segment every week called "Bridget's Widgets" Been a fan since "Loaded," always wanted to ask for her digits. The segment can't be too long though or I'd start to fidget. If I got too bored I'll go back to binging the TV show Gidget. 😁
I agree with Apple changes keep creating learning curves that are out of the ordinary, I really tried to stay in the Apple ecosystem but if you work in the business PC world it's just confusing. Had to just relegate Apple to just for entertainment.
I have used widgets since android I think they are good at the beginning then it get left behind you use them less and less till they are just something covering the screen
I can’t believe you don’t like Widgets… I absolutely love them. Here are the widgets that I use that are super helpful: Fitness, Weather, Photos, Stocks, Batteries and Siri suggestions…. Having all these widgets on Home Screen is super handy and I open those apps less often
I have a Samsung S22 and an iPhone 13 (for work) and i love them both but the one thing that still has me loving android more is WIDGETS. Apple widgets are not useful at all. They are frustrating. They need to step up!
Why add widgets ? I put a weather radar widget on my phone just to realize they don’t update unless I initiate them. Your looking at something that’s hours old. May as well just open the app. All it does is just give you a shortcut to the app.
Widgets only are useful for the Pro consumer. They have to multitask many things going on at once. Quick information that can be accessed in a glance is helpful. But to a regular user who only Streams music and video, posts stuff on social, or play games on their smartphone, widgets just get in the way. Widgets also add more complexity and confusion for people not adept at tech stuff.
You don't need to be a techie to use widgets. On home screen add your social and music widgets. Done... nice and clean. On the next screen add couple more. As a Galaxy Note 3 user, widgets streamline access. I use them daily & it eliminates having to open the app.
Widgets are the dumbest thing ever inflicted on computers and iPhones. They are nothing more than a waste of storage space, which is at a premium these days.
I'm an Android user, and I was a apple user. I never .. used widgets. I always felt it was just a gimmick, and I waste of time. Just showing the time normally on my taskbar, and not extra stuff, is just fine. I feel... The more widgets you have, the slower your computer will become
The most important thing to remember is that nobody is making anyone use widgets. They are just there if you want them. Second thing, if widgets are making it harder to do something, don't use that widget. I only have the battery and weather widgets on my lock screen, because that's what I use. And I will use the reminders widget once it becomes interactive. But if I have to relearn an app without any additional benefit then I'd just leave that widget alone and move on with my life
Apple iOS widgets suck to me. I’ve tried, honestly, tried to use widgets to improve productivity for the last 16 months. Guess what, I still have to open the app to make use of what I need. They just provide a preview of what I’m interested in. Maybe that’s how it’s intended?? It doesn’t give me the wow factor like, “I’m glad I had the widget open because it gave me important information.” Blah. Plus, the widgets by some providers don’t work which leave me thinking that they all worthless. I’ve had to remove many widgets just to keep the apps that I need closer to my Home Screen. Plus, I really don’t use any widget at all on my Mac. I have no interest. Fyi, I’ve been in IT since 1992. And I don’t know anyone personally who use them and find them helpful. Just saying
at 4:57 you mean Windows Phone OS? "live" tiles, living on your screen.... I think they are going overboard on widgets. Apple ignored them for 15 years while Android had them. Now all of a sudden every screen needs 5-10 widgets. Not using desktop widgets on mac. They can stay in the side panel where they belong. I use 2 widgets on iPad. Calendar and weather. No need for more. I have Calendar, photos, stocks and weather on my iPhone. That's plenty .... How bout innovating and turn off Auto Arrange and let us put icons wherever we want .... Android has had that for 16 years.
I barely even use the Desktop on my Mac for anything. I, simply, immediately go to Finder and proceed from there. In fact, I simply use Alfred (a Spotlight alternative) for most of my navigation needs.
I’m not crazy about widgets either, the only widget I use on my iPhone is the weather widget. I also have the S23U and I even have only one page of like two widgets
Widgets were a Is cool thing before Before voice assistance Now if you wanna check any or all of the things that widgets do? You can just ask your phone ask your watch Literally You can just ask your computer.
I guess it depends on what info you genuinely require at a glance, that can't be fuller achieved better by a single touch of the screen and possibly an added flick of the finger. For me, that's not much-actually it's nothing at all. The only thing I would consider, is a weather widget that shows the hours of the day. Strangely, the BBC weather app shows the current weather on the widget ... well I can look out the window or that! Nah, not a fan of widgets at all.
Also grace lol hit the nail in the head XD I feel like.. nah apple is pushing something that I swear.. in all my years, not even my mom uses. And hse is a massive apple fan girl
I wish CNET would do a video on how it's impossible to create ad-free RU-vid videos, which keep people like me from putting serious videos from our organizations on RU-vid. Better to have a limited audience than have a video on the suffering caused by Alzheimer's interrupted by someone screaming about a new dolphin-free floor wax that makes a great dessert topping. I can't even PAY RU-vid not to put ads in videos.
funny thing is, windows phone had the idea of the widgets and nobody liked it, because 1... they were dull with only showing info and very ugly... 2... devs didn't care and most just were dull icons.
@@PSy84 Nope, they did not. Widgets have been available for a very long time in different OSes before Apple ever dreamed of OS X. Apple didn't invent widgets even for their own OS; they literally stole it from Konfabulator.
