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Widgets are among the best methods to customise your smartphone expertise, each by way of model and performance. If you wish to step up your widget sport, listed here are ten of my favourite widgets that I take advantage of each single day.
Some of the unorthodox widgets needs to be the OnePlus Climate widget. Though I solely had one OnePlus cellphone (the OnePlus 3), its Climate app caught with me. The app will get its forecasts from The Weather Channel, so it is moderately correct. The widget tells you the present and upcoming climate forecast, and it has a nifty refresh button together with information on when it was final up to date.
The explanation why I like this widget a lot is the esthetics. Like most different climate widgets, it adjustments the way it seems to be based mostly on the present climate, however this one options the basic Google Material Design language. Though there are different climate widgets that use the same model, I am simply too nostalgic, because the OnePlus Climate widget has been gracing my dwelling display since 2017.
The one concern with the OnePlus Climate app is that you simply most likely cannot set up it immediately from the Play Retailer. As an alternative, you will must sideload the APK to get it on non-OnePlus Android smartphones.
For those who do not like or cannot set up the OnePlus Climate app, take a look at Overdrop as an alternative. It is my colleague Cory’s favourite Android weather widget app as a result of you possibly can open a number of apps from a single widget (e.g., click on on the date to open the calendar). I prefer it just because it has over 70 superior widgets to select from. If I wasn’t so obsessive about the OnePlus widget, I might use Overdrop as an alternative.
The Google Clock widget has been gracing my dwelling display for over a decade, and it is the primary app I set up after I get a brand new cellphone. Most smartphone producers have their very own clock apps now, however I am a fan of the “if it ain’t broke, do not repair it” strategy. Although I personal a cheap smartwatch and might test the clock on the always-on show, I nonetheless love having a clock widget smack dab in the course of my dwelling display.
To be fully trustworthy, there’s nothing particular concerning the Google Clock app or widget; it is so simple as it will get, and the one noteworthy function is that you should use Spotify in your alarm clock (when it would not bug out). Its simplicity is the precise cause why I like the widget a lot.
Many smartphones include the Google Search widget on the house display for a superb cause—you most likely use Google on a regular basis. I do know I do, which is why I am unable to reside with out the Google Search widget.
You should utilize the search bar, voice search, or Google Lens to search for stuff, however you too can faucet on the Google icon to open the Google App to learn How-To Geek articles on Google Discover.
Google has a serious issue with task apps, as they nonetheless have not consolidated duties right into a single app. This is the reason I take advantage of each the Google Hold and Duties widgets on my cellphone. Each widgets mean you can resize them, which is why I permit them to take up half my display and virtually by no means use the precise apps.
I choose Google Hold and use its widget as a result of it has an online app that I can use on my PC, however I even have Google Duties for vital duties that I need to carry on my Calendar. Fortuitously, this twin widget state of affairs is simply non permanent, as Keep and Task are set to sync up this yr.
Google Calendar has two equally superior widgets that you should use. One reveals you the entire month, and the opposite is only for the week (or the following couple of days). Since I have already got Hold and Duties for my present duties, I take advantage of the widget that reveals me all occasions and duties for the month. I do not personal a printed calendar, so that is how I keep on high of birthdays and holidays.
Shazam is an app that may identify a song taking part in within the background, equivalent to in a espresso store, gymnasium, or retail retailer, by listening to it for just some seconds. I like music, and after I hear a brand new tune that I actually like, I’ve to whip out my cellphone and faucet the Shazam widget to reserve it.
Whereas the Google Search widget has a “Search a Track” button, I all the time neglect to make use of it. Plus, the Shazam widget solely requires a single faucet earlier than it begins listening to the tune, so it is quicker.
Spotify is my go-to music app, so it is solely pure that I’ve a widget for it. It solely has probably the most primary music participant capabilities with out shuffle or repeat, however the expanded model of the widget allows you to play current playlists. Since I principally hearken to Spotify on my PC, I can use this widget to regulate the music after I’m not at my desk.
It is advisable have at the least one chatbot on your own home display in 2024, and I fairly just like the ChatGPT widget. Whereas it would not allow you to sort a Message within the widget immediately to hurry up your prompts (it simply opens the app), you should use the buttons beneath the message bar for fast entry to pictures and voice typing. If in case you have a ChatGPT Plus subscription, you need to use the ChatGPT widget to get probably the most out of it.
Asana is likely one of the finest work administration apps, which is why we use it to trace our initiatives at How-To Geek. I take advantage of the widget to overview my present assignments and hold monitor of due dates at a look. I’ve additionally used Notion and ClickUp beforehand, and you’ll’t actually go flawed with any of the three, even when it is simply to maintain monitor of your private initiatives.
A Pomodoro app with a widget offers you a simple strategy to make the most of the Pomodoro Technique. With out entering into the weeds, the Pomodoro Approach permits you to break up your workflow into 25-minute chunks with 5-minute breaks in between so that you simply by no means really feel overworked.
Whereas I really choose utilizing a Pomodoro timer on my PC, I take advantage of the Focus To-Do widget for private initiatives, equivalent to engaged on my automotive or round the home. The app has a couple of different nifty productiveness widgets that you could take a look at.
The widgets that I showcased at the moment are fairly primary and mainstream for probably the most half. I not have the time or endurance to customise stuff on my cellphone, however if you happen to really feel the other manner, you need to know that some apps allow you to create customized widgets. The most well-liked is KWGT. It offers you loads of closely customizable widgets (each within the free and paid model), and you should use it to make an entire custom Android theme.
