How to use interactive widgets in iOS 17
With iOS 17, Apple has introduced support for interactive widgets, a significant upgrade from the initial version of widgets that debuted with iOS 14. Here’s how to use them.
Apple redesigned its system of widgets to let users add them to the Home Screen and the Today View. They come in small, medium, and large sizes and display various data bits.
In prior versions of iOS, tapping on a widget would take you directly to the corresponding app. Developers can now incorporate interactive features into their widgets using iOS 17, enabling users to carry out app functions directly from the widget without opening the app.
How to use interactive widgets in iOS 17
Due to iOS 17 being in its beta stage, third-party applications will require some time to adopt the interactive widget functionality.
- Press on the Home Screen until icons and widgets start jiggling.
- Next, tap on the plus (+) button in the upper-left corner of the screen to access widgets.
- Tap on a widget of your choosing and select the size you want. Then, drag it onto the Home Screen or tap Add Widget at the bottom.
Choose an Apple widget like Reminders, Music, or Podcasts to benefit from interactivity. A different color shade is used to differentiate the interactive buttons from the rest of the widget.
Then, tap on the buttons to start or pause music and podcasts. Or tap on the circles in the Reminders widget to complete tasks without opening the Reminders app.
Also read: How to transfer Sim contacts to Google
How to add interactive widgets on iPhone lock screen
You can also add interactive widgets on the lock screen. Once added, you can interact with the widgets without having to open the app or even unlock your iPhone. Compared to the home screen, the process of adding widgets (interactive or regular) on the iPhone lock screen is quite different.
- Long-press anywhere on your lock screen and tap on Customise from the bottom.
- Here, tap ‘Lock Screen’.
- Then tap in the “+ Add Widgets” section.
- Unlike home screen widgets, you can’t search for widgets that you wish to add to the lock screen. You can choose from the suggested widgets at the top or scroll through the list of installed apps that offer lock screen widgets.
- Then, tap or drag the widget to the “Add Widgets” block to add it to the lock screen.
- Once added, tap on the ‘X‘ from the right corner or any blank area on your lock screen to close the lock screen widgets menu.
- Next up, tap on ‘Done’ from the top-right corner.
- Finally, tap anywhere on-screen to see the lock screen.
- You can now interact with the widgets right from the iPhone lock screen.
