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5 tricks I use to elevate my Android widget experience
- Android boasts arguably the most storied widget support in the computing industry.
- Consider third-party launchers or the KWGT app for a customizable home screen widget experience.
- If your phone supports widget stacking, it's an excellent way to save space without having to remove any of your widgets.
Widgets, which are bite-sized pieces of software that live on your device's home screen, are now ubiquitous across the computing industry. While you'll find widget support on iOS, macOS, as well as Windows, it's Android that has the most storied support for the feature.
Google incorporated widgets into its Android interface right from the beginning, and continues to offer arguably the most robust and flexible implementation of these home screen applets.
Here are a few ways you can supercharge your Android widget experience to take full advantage of one of the operating system's marquee features.
5 Android widgets that I simply can't live without
Whenever I setup a new Android phone, I always find myself adding these widgets to my home screen before any others.
Dive into the diverse world of third-party widgets
No matter your taste, there's a widget out there for you
Considering the advantage of multi-year widget support that Android enjoys over its competitors, there's a massive backlog of third-party offerings available to choose from. The Google Play Store alone is home to a remarkable selection of diverse widget styles and options.
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It's easy enough to rely solely on the default widgets that come out of the box -- after all, they're quite solid options overall. But if you want to open the floodgates and harness the true power of home screen widgets, you'll want to turn to some of the best third-party offerings.
How to add widgets to your Android phone's home screen
Widgets are the perfect way to add functionality to your Android phone -- here's how to easily drop them onto your home screen.
Take advantage of widget stacking
Save space on your home screen without removing any of your widgets
Widget stacking was first popularized by Apple with its 2020 release of iOS 14. Essentially, the system lets you stack widgets on top of one another to save space on your home screen, with a quick swipe gesture for cycling through your stack. There's even an option to have the OS dynamically cycle through your stacks based on time of day and usage patterns.
The utility of widget stacking is undeniable, which is why some Android manufacturers like Samsung wasted no time in implementing the feature into their own custom interfaces. Unfortunately, Android in its purest form doesn't offer native support for the feature yet, and the Google Pixel lineup is also stackless for the time being. If your Android device does happen to support stacking, it's worth giving it a test run.
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Swap out your layout for something fresh and new
Change tends to be a very good thing
If you're like me, you've probably settled into a basic home screen layout over the years, and not deviated from it much since. While muscle memory might make it challenging to overhaul your layout of widgets, change is often for the best.
It's worth experimenting with placing your widgets in novel locations, and adjusting the amount of space they take up relative to your app icons. There's a good chance that you'll find a new setup that clicks for you, which may end up improving the efficiency of your day-to-day device usage.
5 Android clock widgets that always keep me on time
Everyone loves a good home screen clock widget to quickly glance at the time and obligations -- here are my 5 favorite options available on Android.
Give third-party home screen launchers a test drive
Many launchers work better with widgets than in-built solutions
Aside from all the other perks that come along with third-party Android launchers, robust widget support is a killer app for many. If your phone doesn't support widget stacking out of the box, for example, then a new launcher such as Niagara will solve that issue with no fuss.
Third-party launchers also offer extra options not generally found in default launchers, such as the ability to increase or decrease widget padding to adjust the grid size for squeezing in more widgets, and to remove the pesky At a Glance and search box widgets often forced upon you by some phone makers.
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I never run out juice when I have one of these trusty battery widgets pinned to my Android home screen.
Consider downloading KWGT
If you love the idea of widget tinkering, then KWGT is the de facto choice
KWGT Kustom Widget Maker
The premier widget customization application on Android.
If all else fails, then KWGT has your back. It's by far the most well-known and robust custom widget-making app on Android, and it surrenders all control to you as the user. If you love tinkering, then KWFT is a must-download from the Google Play Store.
It should be noted that KWGT isn't for the faint of heart -- it's a fairly complex bit of software that can get overwhelming if you aren't well versed in the Android interface and OS design. If you can get the hang of things, and have the time and interest in crafting truly unique widgets, then there's simply no better option out there.
