How to edit iPhone widgets
You have recently purchased an iPhone and, since you have never owned an Apple-branded smartphone, you are trying your hand at discovering all its different functions. Among the various interesting features that you have found there are widgets , ie “shortcuts” to the apps on the phone that can be inserted on the Home screen and that allow you to view “on the fly” information such as weather conditions, residual traffic, songs being played and much more.
Intrigued, you decided to do a quick search to find out how to change iPhone widgets to customize them according to your needs. This is exactly how things are, right? Then I am happy to help you on your mission ! By continuing to read this tutorial, in fact, you will find explained everything you need to know about widgets and their modification: from the most general information to insert them on your home screen to the more specific ones on widgets dedicated to photos and the battery, passing through the creation of collections and creation of 100% customized widgets.
At this point I would say that the time has come to actually take action! Take a few minutes of free time to read the instructions I’m about to give you and then try your hand at putting them into practice on your iPhone. In no time at all you will succeed in your intent, I promise!
Index
- How to customize iPhone widgets
- How to edit iPhone Photos widget
- How to change iPhone Battery widget
- How to edit iPhone Collection widget
- How to change iPhone widget size
- How to create iPhone widgets
How to customize iPhone widgets
As I mentioned in the opening lines of this guide, widgets are a sort of “shortcut”, introduced with iOS 14 , which re-addresses specific app functions. They can be placed on the Home screen or on the Today view page , reachable by swiping from left to on the first page of the iPhone home screen (in this section they were also available in older versions of iOS). There are many ways to customize your widgets, of which the primary ones are: choosing where to place them, which ones to use and in what format to display them.
First, to set up a new widget, you need to choose its location between the pages of the Home screen or the Today view screen. To put a widget on the home screen, the procedure is as follows: make a long tap anywhere on the screen, until you see all the icons shaking , then press the (+) button , located at the top left and, on the screen that see open, locate the widget you want to insert among those placed in the foreground (such as Photos, Clock, Notes, etc.) and those placed in the list (which you can view by scrolling down the aforementioned page).
Once you have identified the widget you want to insert, tap on it, then choose the format you want to view from the three or four proposed (which vary in size and functions) and finally press the Add widget button . In this way the widget will appear on the Home screen and, by holding it down, you can drag it to the position you prefer among the various pages of the home screen (by dragging it to the right) or in the Today view screen (by dragging it to the left).
The same operation, with only a few slight variations, can be done directly through the Today view screen which consists, in a nutshell, in a section dedicated to the collection of widgets where you can keep an eye on all the most important information. To proceed then go to it, then tap the Edit button and the (+) button , then add the widget you want as explained above. Alternatively, after pressing the Edit button , you can press the Customize button to access a particular screen that shows the widgets that display real-time information of your favorite apps (for example WhatsApp ).
In addition to what has just been described, there are also other specific operations that you can perform on equally specific widgets. Below you will find therefore explained how to modify the Photos widget, the battery widget and information dedicated to the widget collections that you can create to combine more of them in a single box.
How to edit iPhone Photos widget
The Photos widget has the specific function of showing memories and foreground photos on the screen by extracting them from the Photos app (of which the widget is an implementation) and showing them randomly.
To set it on the Home screen or in Today view, the operations are only the same as I indicated in the previous paragraph . All you have to do, therefore, is to select the Photo item among the widgets in the foreground or through the complete list, select one of the three formats based on the size you want the box shown on the screen and finally press on the Add widget button .
In addition to this, at least for the moment, there are no other operations that can be carried out to further customize the aforementioned widget. If, on the other hand, you want to proceed with its elimination, you can make a long tap on the Home screen or in the Today view screen and press on the symbol (-) corresponding to the widget to be deleted, and then confirm the operation using the key. Remove . Alternatively, you can also make a long tap on the widget itself and, once the relative menu has appeared, press on the item Remove widget> Remove .
A valid alternative to the official Apple widget is to use one developed by third parties. To have more control over the photos shown, for example, you can install the Photo Widget: Simple app on your iOS device directly from the App Store , free with ads and the possibility of removing them with a one-time purchase of 22.99 euros (not particularly necessary since the advertisements are not very invasive).
Once downloaded, all you have to do is start the app, press the Widget tab and then the Photos icon . Then tap the (+) button corresponding to the item Create album and then select the photos that will be shown in the widget on the screen. Once selected, press on the item Completed and exit the app.
Now proceed by adding the widget as explained above and, through the list of those available, select Photowidget , choose the size and make a long tap on it to set an album. At this point, in the opened menu, click on the Edit Widget> Choose> Photos items and, in correspondence with the Select album item , tap on Choose and on the name of the previously created album. This way the photos that appear in the on-screen widget will be the ones you want to view. In addition to this you can also choose to change the interval between one photo and another and to have the images browse randomly or sequentially.
How to change iPhone Battery widget
Also with regard to the Batteries widget , useful for showing the exact percentage of the iPhone battery on the screen (which I told you more about in this guide on the subject , especially ideal for devices equipped with Face ID) the instructions are the same. provided in the previous paragraph .
You can set the widget on the Home screen of your device or in the Today view screen, select the size between small (which shows only the percentage and a circular graphic representation of the same), medium (which shows the percentage of the iPhone and accessories to it connected via Bluetooth) and large (which instead displays a list of devices showing their name and battery percentage) and, if necessary, remove it.
If you want a more personalized battery widget you can use the Photo Widget: Simple app , which, in addition to taking care of photos as I explained above , also has numerous other functions to customize different types of widgets such as the one battery.
To proceed in this sense, after downloading the app on your device, start it, tap on the Widget tab and then on the Battery icon . Now press on the box with the symbol (+) called Create album and customize your future widget: by pressing the Change style button you can choose how to display the battery widget graphically by choosing one of the formats (the charge symbol only, the charge symbol plus the percentage, the percentage with the circular charge symbol or the percentage with the date and the charge symbol) and its size between Small , Medium and Large . Also, by pressing on the itemChange photo you can select a background photo other than the one set by default and then proceed by choosing the colors using the Border color and Font color options . Finally, select the Font to be used from those available and, once completed, press the Save button .
Now add the widget to the screen as described above, make a long tap on it and press on the Edit widget item . In the box that you see open, click on the items Choose> Battery> Select album> Album name .
How to edit iPhone Collection widget
A collection of widgets is nothing more than a set of widgets placed inside the same “folder” that rotate showing the main information during the day. Therefore you can choose to use Smart Collections provided directly from iPhone or Custom Collections created by you.
To proceed and insert a collection on the Home screen, make a long tap anywhere on the screen and press the (+) button icon located at the top left. Then, on the page you see open, click on the Smart collection item and on the Add widget button ; in this way the collection will be created automatically and inserted in the Home screen and you can proceed to move it to the point of the screen you prefer.
Now, to modify it and go to see which widgets are present inside it (and eventually replace them), make a long tap on the widget and, from the menu you see appear, press on the Edit collection item . In the new screen that has opened, scrolling down the collection, you can view all widgets it contains: by pressing the (-) button corresponding to a specific widget you can delete it, by pressing the (+) button on the top left, instead, you will be able to delete it. insert several, also by holding down a widget and dragging it to the bottom or top of the list you can change its location.
In addition to this, by pressing on the Smart rotation Yes icon you can choose whether to scroll the various widgets throughout the day based on their relevance and with the Widget suggestions icon yes you can, in fact, receive suggestions on new widgets to be included in the collection .
To create a custom collection , however, just drag the individual widgets on the Home screen one onto the other. Please note that, in any case, you cannot insert more than 10 widgets per collection.
How to change iPhone widget size
As I mentioned in the previous paragraphs relating to the Photos and Batteries widgets (but also in the more general part , since the same rules apply to all) it is possible to change the size of the widgets, to create combinations between them and the apps on the Home screen.
To set the size of the widget just select it from those available as soon as you choose the type of “shortcut” to use, before pressing the Add widget button to insert it on the Home screen or in Today view. There are usually three sizes available, from the smallest to the largest. Some apps, on the other hand, have four or more, with slightly different functions (such as the clock app that shows the current time in the place where you are or the hours in different places).
If you have set a particular dimension and still want to change it, you can make a long tap on the widget, delete it by pressing on the Remove widget item and then on the Remove button (or on the (-) icon corresponding to the relevant box) and set it again in the correct size. To proceed with the insertion of the widget you can use the same information that I gave you in the initial paragraph of this guide . Simple, right?
How to create iPhone widgets
None of the solutions offered by Apple or third parties that I have shown you fully meet your needs and you want to know how to modify iPhone widgets , perhaps creating them on your own? No problem, it’s a feasible operation! There are, in fact, numerous apps useful for the purpose.
What I want to recommend is Widgetsmith , a free app that allows you to create many types of widgets divided by size and categories (such as photos, calendar, reminders, pedometer, astrology, health, etc.) with the ability to customize everything according to your own tastes in terms of graphics such as style, color, background images, etc. It is also available in a Premium version , with a payment of 1.99 euros / month or € 21.99 / year , to unlock all the functions present.
First, proceed by downloading the app through the App Store : then press the Get button , confirm the operation via Face ID , Touch ID or code and, once downloaded, press the Open button . Now start creating your widget by first selecting the size between Small , Medium and Large ; then choose the type among the many available by scrolling down the page opened. Once you have identified the widget to insert, proceed by choosing the theme by tapping on the Aesthetic / Theme tab and, once set, press the button Customize Theme and on all subsequent tabs to customize the various aspects of your widget. Once finished, press the Back and Save items .
Finally, to insert your new widget on the Home screen, you can follow the procedure indicated above : make a long tap anywhere on the screen, press the (+) icon and, from the list you see open, select the Widgestsmith preview or search for the item in the list and tap it to add the widget to the home screen of your iPhone.
In case some information is not clear to you or you are curious to know more about how to create widgets for iPhone , I suggest you consult the guide I have created on the matter where you will find many other useful information.