How do iOS 8 "widgets" work versus Android widgets?

[tbayrgs]

C'mon now Tbayrgs........widgets in IOS are not nearly as functional or supported or thought out as on Android. Pointing out one very narrow use case of being in an app to check the Today screen is almost useless. When i am using my 6+ i hardly ever am in an app then check the Today notifications. I exit the app then check the Today screen. Then hinting that having widgets on the home screen is not as useful is just not accurate. You don't have to just have widgets on one screen in Android. You can have them take up the whole screen if you want them too. Plus you can have multiple screens filled with widgets. All of the information you need....right where you spend most of your time anyway. Then most apps in the Playstore have a widget available....you don't have to download and install a separate app just to get a widgets for say Calendar. the built in Calendar app already has a widget. So widget support is already built into Android. No need to install an app just to get information in the Today screen pull down. You can use the app you already have.

Jamezr, exactly why I prefaced my comment right at the start (see bold) and reiterated at the end:

I've brought this up before and we all certainly have our own preferences so I won't belabor the point too much. I won't disagree that overall, widgets on Android are far more plentiful, diverse and in many cases, functional than what's available on iOS.

<snip>...

Again, not professing iOS's solution to necessarily be better...

How you use your iPhone (why leave an app to check the Today screen when you don't have to?? ) doesn't change the fact that the widgets on iOS are no less convenient, if not more convenient to access. Again, go read my post again--wasn't refuting Android apps having more choices, flexibility or functionality, only the other poster's contention that iOS widgets are inconvenient to access.

Also confused as to why having multiple pages of widgets is better than being able to go to one spot to see all of them. People rag on the iPhone being just endless homescreens yet then advocate doing the same thing to accommodate more widgets. And you really spend all of your time on the home screen? Why? As good as a widget may be, they are never more functional than an actual app. Do you browse the web from your home screen?

Again, everyone has their preferences but i find using widgets for anything more than quickly checking info or simple functions is less useful than getting full functionality out of the actual app.

Finally, I don't download any apps just for a widget. All of the widgets I use on iOS are from apps I already use. Android does have the benefit of offering apps that provide just widgets with far better customization. Can't recall the pack I preferred (Android Pro Widgets maybe) but it was great being able to set up Twitter, Calendar, etc all with the same style, theme.

I personally find iOS' approach to be very clunky and cluttered. I think this is especially true if you have several widgets.

To each there own, no disagreement there.

 

[tbayrgs]

Interesting. I have all my android widgets on 2 home screens and I think your point may apply at times. If I'm already in an app on android I have to close that app to get to my homescreen and view my widget, then hunt down the icon to open the app once again or pick it from the task manager. It might be slightly less effort to just slide down the widget panel, and slide it back up when done.

Let's be honest here, we're really talking about really small time savings if at all. Accessing one's widgets on either platform isn't overly laborious (swipe down then swipe up vs. touch a home button then the task switcher) so unless a few microseconds is vital, neither way is really problematic.

What I'm curious about is the interactability of iOS widgets. For example can touching a calendar entry take you right to that entry in the calendar app? Can touching an email entry take you right to that email in the email app?

Depends on the widget but many of the ones I use do just that. If I touch an appointment in the Fantastical widget it takes me directly to the appt in the app. Same goes for Evernote or a sports score in Yahoo! Sports. It all really depends on the app/widget. Sadly, Apple does limit the functionality allowed via widgets under the guise of being to much for the system to handle or something like that, else you'd still be able to get Launcher (favorite of mine).

 

[jamezr]

Jamezr, exactly why I prefaced my comment right at the start (see bold) and reiterated at the end:



How you use your iPhone (why leave an app to check the Today screen when you don't have to?? ) doesn't change the fact that the widgets on iOS are no less convenient, if not more convenient to access. Again, go read my post again--wasn't refuting Android apps having more choices, flexibility or functionality, only the other poster's contention that iOS widgets are inconvenient to access.

Also confused as to why having multiple pages of widgets is better than being able to go to one spot to see all of them. People rag on the iPhone being just endless homescreens yet then advocate doing the same thing to accommodate more widgets. And you really spend all of your time on the home screen? Why? As good as a widget may be, they are never more functional than an actual app. Do you browse the web from your home screen?

Again, everyone has their preferences but i find using widgets for anything more than quickly checking info or simple functions is less useful than getting full functionality out of the actual app.

Finally, I don't download any apps just for a widget. All of the widgets I use on iOS are from apps I already use. Android does have the benefit of offering apps that provide just widgets with far better customization. Can't recall the pack I preferred (Android Pro Widgets maybe) but it was great being able to set up Twitter, Calendar, etc all with the same style, theme.

But you do download a different app just to get widgets. Those widgets might be apps you already have. But to get a widget for them to show on the Today screen......you have to install a separate app to get that functionality. You have already named them the Fantastical app....and Launcher.

 

[tbayrgs]

But you do download a different app just to get widgets. Those widgets might be apps you already have. But to get a widget for them to show on the Today screen......you have to install a separate app to get that functionality. You have already named them the Fantastical app....and Launcher.

But I use Fantastical as my regular calendar--didn't get it just for the widget. And yes, I stand corrected, Launcher is a stand alone app (the only one of that type I presently use) that purely provided a widget. But how is that any different than downloading any of the numerous widget apps on Android? Go type 'widget' into the Google Play and you'll get a never-ending page of apps whose sole purpose it to provide widgets--two of my Android favorites are stand-alone widget apps, Android Pro Widgets and Dashclock.

Again, not sure why you're arguing points that I've basically been in agreement with you on--Android widgets offer far more flexibility, customization, and functionality at this point. Anyone disputing that doesn't use them. The point...and only point I was refuting was that iOS widgets are inconvenient to access. A simple swipe down from anywhere on the device cannot be considering a difficult, time consuming task. Whether one likes or dislikes this implementation on iOS is an entirely different discussion.

 

[chambone]

Are there any other folks who are not big widget users here. I have only 2 on my android device - time+weather & google search bar. Other than that I simply do not use them. I like the idea of them in principal, but neither like them, or actually use them in practice.

I don't use any at all, except for a torch thing on the lock screen. And that's only because I can't get that up-arrow at the bottom to show up for some reason. I can't think of any widget on the home screen that would be useful to me.

 

[MasterRyu2011]

I love the concept of widgets, but in practice I hardly ever use them. As limiting as iOS8 still is, I find its implementation of actionable "items" in the notification bar to be pretty intuitive. Of course, it won't help Apple's case if they kept to their game of shutting down every useful thing that pops up from the App store.

I haven't used much of Lollipop, but I think its notification bar got better too. However, what I find is counter intuitive for these Android widgets is that they exist on the home screen. Having to go back to the home screen just to look or perform an action on some widget is not as seamless as I would like. I love the idea of performing something in the forefront as a popup or a pull down and not lose what you have in the background. As diverse as Android widgets are, I think there are some improvements that can be made by Google to make them more accessible to the user once they're inside an app (and not on the home screen).

 

[Fireblade]

Got an iPad Air from my company today, tried those so called "widgets"...

They may be a step forward regarding IOS, but I wouldn't call them widgets.

 

[Shanghaichica]

It's interesting because all the widgets I used on android I've found replacements on iOS.

I used a weather widget, a calendar, a step counter, a torch and a widget for my music player.

All of these I either have as widgets in the today panel or are part of the control centre.

 

[Stuntman06]

The calculator widget proves you wrong.

I don't see an option to add a calculator widget. Is it the stock calculator app or a third party calculator app with a widget? Are you referring to the button in the control panel that launches the calendar?

I've brought this up before and we all certainly have our own preferences so I won't belabor the point too much. I won't disagree that overall, widgets on Android are far more plentiful, diverse and in many cases, functional than what's available on iOS.

I disagree regarding the convenience though. On Android, the customary location for the vast majority of widgets is on a home screen. This is certainly convenient if you're actually on that particular home screen but if you're anywhere else (I find myself spending most of my time in apps, regardless of the OS)--in another app, on a different home screen, in your recent apps switcher, in Settings, etc, you have to at a minimum hit your home button to access your widgets. If they're on another home screen, you'll have to swipe at least once more. How is this more convenient than pulling down the notifications/widgets panel? Yes, you may have to make a touch or swipe to switch from Notifications if that's what you were last looking at but that's no more effort than what I just described on Android. The added benefit on iOS is you can access these widget from anywhere and then swipe up to hide them without having to leave whatever you were doing..i.e. reading an email, browsing a web page, etc. I can also see them from my lock screen without having to unlock my device. Finally, there doesn't appear to be any limit to how many I can add (or at least, I haven't seen one yet) vs. the limited number of home screens you have on an Android device.

Again, not professing iOS's solution to necessarily be better, comes down to one's personal preferences. I just don't see how the iOS implementation is less convenient.

Thanks for your response. I guess my usage is different. I generally would access my widgets when unlocking the phone and tend not to access them while already in another app. That is my usage pattern with my current Android phone.

On my old phone (HTC Desire Z), I would use an auto-rotate widget. It would have been nice to be able to access this widget from a notification drop down. I don't need such a widget on my current phone as the auto-rotate is part of the power controls on my Galaxy S3 that I can access from the notification drop down. My old phone did not have this feature. There is an app that allows you to add an auto-rotate control in the notification drop down that can do this.

On iOS, I just launch the apps. I have widgets set up, but I really just don't use it all that much. Also, there are not very many iOS apps that have widgets at this time. My theScore app has a widget for Android, but not iOS. I use the widget on my Android phone. I'd probably use this widget on my iPhone. As widgets are fairly new to iOS, I currently don't have any iOS widgets that I find that useful to make me want to use them over launching the app. Perhaps in the future, there will be some that I would want to use.

I can see lock screen widgets can be useful. iOS does allow you to see your widgets on the lock screen. I'm using an iPhone 5S as well and I find that the finger print reader makes lock screen widgets redundant. I currently don't use lock screen widgets on my Android phone. If anything, I'd rather have a fingerprint reader like on the iPhone than lock screen widgets.

 

[Stuntman06]

It's interesting because all the widgets I used on android I've found replacements on iOS.

I used a weather widget, a calendar, a step counter, a torch and a widget for my music player.

All of these I either have as widgets in the today panel or are part of the control centre.

I haven't been able to find iOS versions of most Android widgets I use. The only good iOS widget I use is the calendar.

I have a volume control widget that has no exact equivalent in iOS. iOS does have a DND button in the control panel. It does part of what my volume widget does.

As for the weather widgets, there is a lot more variety on Android at the moment. Different Android weather apps offer a wide variety of different widgets. I use 1Weather on Android and it comes with several different widgets of different sizes showing different amounts of information. I'm personally very picky about my weather widget. 1Weather is not available on iOS. On iOS, I use Yahoo Weather. There is only one iOS Yahoo Weather widget where as there are several on Android.

I do use a clock widget on my Android phone. The clock app icon on iOS actually does what I want in a clock widget which is to show the analogue clock face with the second hand. I just would like a larger clock face which is not possible on iOS.

 

[SolarShane]

IOS 8 does have widgets?
Never seen that...

That's because they're actually "Interactive Notifications". iOS 8 has no widgets at all.

 

[spinedoc77]

Let's be honest here, we're really talking about really small time savings if at all. Accessing one's widgets on either platform isn't overly laborious (swipe down then swipe up vs. touch a home button then the task switcher) so unless a few microseconds is vital, neither way is really problematic.



Depends on the widget but many of the ones I use do just that. If I touch an appointment in the Fantastical widget it takes me directly to the appt in the app. Same goes for Evernote or a sports score in Yahoo! Sports. It all really depends on the app/widget. Sadly, Apple does limit the functionality allowed via widgets under the guise of being to much for the system to handle or something like that, else you'd still be able to get Launcher (favorite of mine).

I don't know, I might find the pulldown widgets easier. With android I have to close out to the home screen, then hunt for my app icon and hit it again. Once again I'm really not sure as I haven't experienced iOS widgets first hand, just the wheels in my head turning a bit.

 

[Abazigal]

I currently have 8 widgets on my iPhone 5s. Arranged in order from top to bottom:

Dataman - for quickly viewing my 4g data usage.

Fantastical.

Todoist - to quickly add a task

Pedometer - view the number of steps I have taken

Clips - Saved copied text to the clip app

Wordpress - view number of visitors to my blog

Writing aid - view word of the day

ETA

Quite okay. I am access and view them from the notifications shade readily enough, and don't think they are cluttering up the screen.

 

[tbayrgs]

I don't know, I might find the pulldown widgets easier. With android I have to close out to the home screen, then hunt for my app icon and hit it again. Once again I'm really not sure as I haven't experienced iOS widgets first hand, just the wheels in my head turning a bit.

Well, nothing better than just giving a go yourself. I like how it's done on iOS and find myself using them a bit more than I do on Android but can certainly understand why one would like Android's approach. In my time using various Android handsets, I just found that I wasn't spending that much time on home screens and consequently wouldn't rely on my widgets very often. I'd customize my device so that it was very simple to get straight into the more functional app (swipe gestures, Swipe pad, a few other apps I cannot recall of the top of my head).

 

[TechGod]

I don't see an option to add a calculator widget. Is it the stock calculator app or a third party calculator app with a widget? Are you referring to the button in the control panel that launches the calendar?



Thanks for your response. I guess my usage is different. I generally would access my widgets when unlocking the phone and tend not to access them while already in another app. That is my usage pattern with my current Android phone.

On my old phone (HTC Desire Z), I would use an auto-rotate widget. It would have been nice to be able to access this widget from a notification drop down. I don't need such a widget on my current phone as the auto-rotate is part of the power controls on my Galaxy S3 that I can access from the notification drop down. My old phone did not have this feature. There is an app that allows you to add an auto-rotate control in the notification drop down that can do this.

On iOS, I just launch the apps. I have widgets set up, but I really just don't use it all that much. Also, there are not very many iOS apps that have widgets at this time. My theScore app has a widget for Android, but not iOS. I use the widget on my Android phone. I'd probably use this widget on my iPhone. As widgets are fairly new to iOS, I currently don't have any iOS widgets that I find that useful to make me want to use them over launching the app. Perhaps in the future, there will be some that I would want to use.

I can see lock screen widgets can be useful. iOS does allow you to see your widgets on the lock screen. I'm using an iPhone 5S as well and I find that the finger print reader makes lock screen widgets redundant. I currently don't use lock screen widgets on my Android phone. If anything, I'd rather have a fingerprint reader like on the iPhone than lock screen widgets.

Third party calculator widget.

 

[tbayrgs]

I don't see an option to add a calculator widget. Is it the stock calculator app or a third party calculator app with a widget? Are you referring to the button in the control panel that launches the calendar?

The one I use is PCalc Lite. You can see a screenshot of it back on the 2nd post of the thread.

 

[kdarling]

Interesting. I have all my android widgets on 2 home screens and I think your point may apply at times. If I'm already in an app on android I have to close that app to get to my homescreen and view my widget, then hunt down the icon to open the app once again or pick it from the task manager. It might be slightly less effort to just slide down the widget panel, and slide it back up when done.

What are some of your widgets?

Quite often a widget (or the app behind a widget) can also give notifications.

As far as going back to the original app after clicking Home and viewing a homescreen widget, the Back button usually does that.

 

[spinedoc77]

What are some of your widgets?

Quite often a widget (or the app behind a widget) can also give notifications.

As far as going back to the original app after clicking Home and viewing a homescreen widget, the Back button usually does that.

That's true, the back button is nice. That's something I would miss greatly.

 

[Klyster]

I have 4x1 slider widget at the of every screen on my note 4.
Ive been using it since the S2.
I can't imagine not having it.

 

[pdqgp]

What are some of your widgets?

Quite often a widget (or the app behind a widget) can also give notifications.

As far as going back to the original app after clicking Home and viewing a homescreen widget, the Back button usually does that.

I too am curious as to what information/widgets you're looking to use. Totally agree with Kdarling on the notification piece. Most of my information is presented there, thus I really don't use widgets on the desktop anymore.

However, I did install Notification Toggle from the Play Store. Here's one way I use it. I like to use my phone for my own personal to-do lists that and notes that pop in my brain on the go. I use Keep or other apps and simply keep their lcon/launcher inside my notification tab and it is easily accessible anytime. So I can use the widget on my desktop and or the app inside the pull down and get to it quickly.

It does other things as well that to me make it invaluable on my phone.

 

[spinedoc77]

I too am curious as to what information/widgets you're looking to use. Totally agree with Kdarling on the notification piece. Most of my information is presented there, thus I really don't use widgets on the desktop anymore.

However, I did install Notification Toggle from the Play Store. Here's one way I use it. I like to use my phone for my own personal to-do lists that and notes that pop in my brain on the go. I use Keep or other apps and simply keep their lcon/launcher inside my notification tab and it is easily accessible anytime. So I can use the widget on my desktop and or the app inside the pull down and get to it quickly.

It does other things as well that to me make it invaluable on my phone.

Don't forget the appeal of old information. For example, in my android widgets I can scroll up and down to see old information. I can do this in my email, google voice, hangouts/messaging, oneNote notes, calendar, etc. I find myself doing this constantly during the day. Hand in hand with that is also quick actions. I can go right to an email reply, a calendar entry, a oneNote note, etc right from the widget.

 

[Stuntman06]

Third party calculator widget.

The one I use is PCalc Lite. You can see a screenshot of it back on the 2nd post of the thread.

Thanks, for the info. Personally, I hardly ever use my calculator app. Having it in a widget is not something I would find useful.

Don't forget the appeal of old information. For example, in my android widgets I can scroll up and down to see old information. I can do this in my email, google voice, hangouts/messaging, oneNote notes, calendar, etc. I find myself doing this constantly during the day. Hand in hand with that is also quick actions. I can go right to an email reply, a calendar entry, a oneNote note, etc right from the widget.

I use scrollable widgets as well. I use an Android Pro Widget for my Twitter feeds and Calendar. They take up 5/6 of my screen and scrollable.