The Best iPhone Widgets You're Not Using
No matter how many times per day you look at your iPhone, there are bound to be some great features that even you have overlooked. And based on my own super-scientific study conducted by asking the three people sitting closest to me, one of the iPhone’s most frequently ignored features is its app widgets.
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Introduced as part of Apple’s iOS 8, widgets give you quick access to your most important app information at a glance. You can find your widgets by dragging your finger down from the top of your screen and finding your Notifications Center; once there, you can check sports scores and your dinner reservations and control your music player, all without having to open the app that generally controls those things.
Want to give it a try? Then these are the first widgets you should get.
But first…
Some quick housekeeping: Widgets are simply extensions of your apps, so if you want a specific widget, you’ll have to download its parent app first.
To add a widget to your iPhone’s Notification Center, you have to pull down the Notification Shade, swipe to the bottom of the page, and press the Edit button.
From here you’ll be able to see which widgets are available for the apps you have on your phone and add those widgets that you want to see in your Notification Center.
OK, now then: Which widgets do I recommend you download? Let’s get started.
WDGTS
Free
If you’ve never used a widget before, the WDGTS app is the best place to start. The app comes with a starter set of helpful widgets, including a calculator, currency converter, and a calendar with a month view.
There’s also a battery status indicator, a widget that monitors your memory usage, a Wi-Fi network monitor, and a photo frame, but those aren’t very useful for most users.
ESPN SportsCenter
Free
Want to know the score of the Knicks game? Well, they’re losing. I mean, come on, they’re awful. But if you like a team that’s actually good, ESPN’s SportsCenter widget is just what you need.
With a quick swipe down of the Notification Center shade, you can check out scores for your favorite teams, their record, and times for upcoming games, as well as what the bettor lines are for them. What’s more, the widget also lets you know which ESPN radio show is playing, so you can tune in whenever you want.
Evernote
Free
If you’re a frequent Evernote user, the Evernote widget is going to be a godsend for you. That’s because it gives you the ability to access all the app’s major features right form the Notification Center shade.
You can start a new text document, add images to notes, set reminders, create lists, and even take photos. Better still, you can quickly open your most recently viewed notes, so you’ll never be too far from your super-important shopping lists.
Dropbox
Free
Dropbox is an incredibly useful app for storing and sharing your stuff online. But if you’re tired of constantly checking to see if your friend uploaded that batch of photos from your crazy karaoke night, then you’ll want to use the Dropbox Notification Center widget.
The feature automatically updates whenever a new item has been added to one of your Dropbox folders. So if you share a folder with someone, you’ll be able to see as soon as they add a new file. It’s pretty darn convenient and makes having to check back in the Dropbox app itself unnecessary.
OpenTable
Free
OpenTable is already a great app for making dining reservations, and its widget is even better for reminding you what time those reservations are for.
Once you’ve made a reservation via OpenTable’s app or website, the widget will automatically update with the date, time, and location of your upcoming meal.
NYT Now
Free
The New York Times’ NYT Now app widget gives you a quick and easy way to check in on the day’s events without having to scour the full Times app or the NY Times website. The NYT Now app is a list of bite-size stories chosen by the Times’ editors and made available for easy reading while you’re on the go.
The widget takes that same concept, but instead of making you open the app, it provides you with a preview of the selected stories in your phone’s Notifications Center. It’s super simple and super convenient.
Kindle
Free
Do you spend more time reading Kindle books on your phone than anything else? Then you’ll want to make sure you use the Kindle widget for iOS.
No, you won’t be able to read from the widget, but it will tell you how far into your favorite book you are and let you jump right to the last page you read with a quick tap. It’s also helpful for prodding you to read, since you’ll see the book you’re halfway through so often.
Music Center Pro
$0.99
This is the only widget I recommend that actually costs money, but for $1 Music Center Pro is definitely worth it.
The widget puts your favorite music within reach of your Notification Center, so you can choose what you want to listen to without having to open iTunes. It’s easy to use and makes controlling your music player far easier than with Apple’s standard Control Center music controller.
The only problem with the app is that it doesn’t let you control your music from the iPhone’s lock screen like you can with iTunes or Spotify. Otherwise, it’s a really useful addition to your widget menu.
Bonus Widget: Yahoo Weather
Free
First, a quick disclaimer: Yahoo, which also owns Yahoo Tech, owns Yahoo Weather. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, the Yahoo Weather widget is actually a great alternative to the standard iOS weather widget, and we’re not just saying that because the engineers happen to work on our building.
Instead of just giving you a text description of what’s going on in your neck of the woods, the Yahoo Weather widget provides you with a beautiful image of the city or region you’re in, as well as the current weather conditions and the forecast for the rest of the day. If you’re already a Yahoo Weather app user, it’s certainly worth checking out.
To find out if your favorite apps have widgets, just check the Notification Center’s edit tab.
Have a favorite app widget that we forgot to mention? Sound off in the comments section below.
Email Daniel at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley or on Google+ here.
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