iOS 14: Best widgets, how to create an empty space on the home screen



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Apple has devoted its own time to bringing widgets to iOS, and now that they’re here, we can’t ignore the fact that the company has done a very good job. On iOS 14, you can now customize the appearance of your iPhone’s home screen by simply installing widgets. Users get a ton of widget options in different sizes and, truth be told, the entire UI now looks modern and polished. IOS 14 has incredible widget options, and in this article, we’ll suggest some of the best widgets you can download right now for your iPhone.

First, let’s learn how to add a widget to the iOS 14 home screen. Remember that you can only add widgets to the iPhone home screen, which means that if you have an iPad, it won’t work. With that said, follow these steps to add a widget on iOS 14.

  1. Tap and hold an empty space on the iOS 14 home screen until the app icons start to swing.
  2. Touch + in the upper left corner to open the Widgets menu.
  3. Select any widget> select its size> touch Add widget.
  4. The widget will now be added to the home screen. You can easily drag it to place it wherever you want. After you finish, press Done.

1. Batteries

Our iPhones do not display the battery percentage on the home screen. However, the battery widget changes everything. If you want to check the battery status of your iPhone and the connected Bluetooth accessories, use the Batteries widget. It is available in three sizes – Small, Medium and Large, and as soon as you unlock your iPhone, this widget shows the battery percentage of all your connected devices, such as AirPods, Apple Watch etc. Very practical.

2. World Clock

If you have family or friends living abroad, being able to find out the time of different countries in the world with a single look can be very useful. The Clock widget is available in all three sizes and allows you to see the time in different cities around the world.

3. Screen time

The Weather on Screen widget allows you to check the weather activity on the day screen. The widget is available in all three sizes and, with Screen Time on the home screen, you can easily take a quick look at the screen in time, the apps you use most and other useful information.

4. Notes

Want to make a quick note? The Notes widget will allow you to do this. You can add the Notes widget in all three sizes and get instant access to one of your Notes folders. In addition, you can even add a single note to your home screen in a small size widget, if desired.

5. Smart Stack

If you don’t prefer individual widgets on your iPhone’s home screen, try Smart Stack. Based on its usage pattern, Smart Stack basically creates a stack of all these widgets, which exist in one place. You can swipe through them to change or you can also activate Smart Rotate, which automatically changes the widget based on the time of day. In addition, you can also create a custom Smart Stack by configuring any widget you want on the home screen and then dragging and dropping the other widgets onto it. Note that all of the widgets with which you will create your stack must be the same size.

These were some of the best widgets for Apple apps. Now, let’s take a look at some of the best third-party widgets that you can download now on iOS 14. Here is the list.

1. Google

Available in two sizes – small and medium, the Google widget allows you to start a personalized search directly on the home screen, without searching for the Google app. The best part of this widget is when you select it in the medium size. Not only can you use Google search on the home screen, but you can also activate and use Google Lens, Voice search or incognito mode with just one touch.

2. Pedometer ++

Pedometer ++ allows you to keep a record of your total step count, distance and floor count in one day. You can define the widget in small or medium size, however, you will get different options for configuring the widget. You can choose to display your step count, you can choose to display the completion of the goal, or you can simply define a daily step graph that displays all the data the app has to offer at a glance.

3. Fantastic

Fantastical is available in all three sizes, and you get a lot of different options that you don’t have with Apple’s own calendar widget. For example, if you want to define dual calendars, check. You want a small widget showing the date, the weather and a reminder, check. You want a large widget showing your reminders, day, date, weather, check. Fantastic just works. However, remember that you will need to subscribe to Fantastical Premium to get more advanced features of the app.

4. Fixed widgets

Do you want a simple sticky note on your iPhone’s home screen? Sticky Widgets allow you to do this. You can add Sticky Widgets to your home screen in all three sizes and, after adding the widget, you just need to edit the note. When editing the widget, you will have three background color options to choose from. You can also change the font, text size and alignment to your preference. However, if you want more options for the background color, you will have to pay the upgrade price of Rs. 159.

5. Motivation

If you need motivation to continue the day, we suggest you take a look at Motivation. You can choose from three different sizes to display motivational quotes on your iPhone’s home screen. You can also select a lot of themes, which are paid by sign, but you can unlock the themes by watching the ads as well.

6. Day One

Day One is a very good newspaper app that is available on the App Store. With Day One, you can add widgets that allow you to add brief insights into your daily life. Every day, you can answer a different set of questions and, sometime in the future, you can just remember your memories by taking a look at your entries.

7. Apollo

If you are a Reddit user on iOS, you may have heard of Apollo, which is a popular Reddit client. The good part is that Apollo widgets are now also supported. The Apollo widget is quite versatile – you can use it as a place to automatically change wallpapers or simply as a widget to display the latest posts on your favorite subreddit.

8. Good Task

Good Task is very minimalist, but functional. Its widget allows you to see all of your important tasks listed right in front of you on the home screen. For example, you can make a to-do list for all the things you need to do in one day. To access your complete task list, instead of opening the app and searching your list, all you have to do is tap on the good task widgets on the home screen.

iOS 14: Create an empty space on your home screen

With the help of two third-party apps, you can now place a widget that creates an empty space on your iPhone’s home screen. Sounds interesting? Follow these steps.

  1. Download Scriptable and Widgetsmith from the App Store.
  2. Then take a screenshot of an empty home screen on your iPhone. To do this, tap and hold an empty space on the iOS 14 home screen until the app icons start to swing and scroll to the last page of the home screen.
  3. If you have an iPhone with Face ID, you can take screenshots by pressing increase volume + side button. If you have an iPhone with Touch ID, you can take a screenshot by pressing the home button + power button.
  4. After taking the screenshot, go to this Github page and copy the entire code.
  5. After copying the code, open Scriptable> tap + > paste the code> touch the run icon in the lower right corner.
  6. You will now see a pop-up, tap Continue and choose the screenshot you took a few moments ago.
  7. Select the size and position of the widget. Once this is done, export your file to Files or Photos. Now close Scriptable.
  8. Then open Widgetsmith to create an empty, transparent space on your home screen.
    Based on the size of the screenshot you took earlier, choose between Small, Medium, or Large Widgets in Widgetsmith.
  9. After creating a new widget, tap to open it. Touch the preview to enter the customization page.
  10. Under Custom, select Photograph. Remember that the choice is yours if you want to give access to all or some of your photos. Now, go ahead and choose the photo you created with Scriptable.
  11. Once this is done, go back to the preview screen> rename the widget if you wish> press Save ๎‘.

Finally, to create an empty space on your iPhone’s home screen, you’ll need to configure the widget you just created with Widgetsmith. To do this, follow these steps.

  1. Tap and hold an empty space on the iOS 14 home screen until the app icons start to swing.
  2. Touch + in the upper left corner to open the Widgets menu.
  3. Select Widgetsmith > select your size> touch Add widget.
  4. Place the widget in the desired area of โ€‹โ€‹the home screen where you want to create an empty space.
  5. Press and hold the widget> touch Edit widget > touch Tool to open the list of created widgets> select the one you made to create an empty space.

In addition to allowing the creation of empty spaces on the home screen, Widgetsmith also allows the creation of custom widgets for weather, calendar, world time, reminders, health, astronomy, tides and photos.

These are some of the most amazing widgets that you can download on iOS 14 now. Do you have any suggestions? Let us know in the comments.


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