6 Best iPad Widgets for Your Home Screen (iPadOS 17) (2024)

What To Know

  • A widget is like a small app window on your Home Screenthat can display information in real-time.
  • Many widgets are interactable, meaning you can engage with the app without actually opening it.
  • While Apple has a great selection of native app widgets, there are a few non-native widgets that are an excellent addition to any iPad.
6 Best iPad Widgets for Your Home Screen (iPadOS 17) (1)

iPhone widgets are cool, but iPad widgets are even better. Why? The iPad's larger display means you can add more detailed widgets that show inspiration, updates, and needed information from your apps without ever leaving your Home Screen. We've tested the most popular optionsand created this roundup of some of thebest widgets foriPad.

Rather than focusing on native Apple widgets and apps, we've also opted to focus mainly on third-party apps and widgetsto help take your iPad Home Screen inspiration in new directions.If you're interested in learning more about how to get the most out of your iPad, I recommend checking out our free Tip of the Day.

1. Kitchen Stories6 Best iPad Widgets for Your Home Screen (iPadOS 17) (2)

This well-designed cooking apphas one of the best iPad widgets I've come across.Whether you're a seasoned foodie or just looking to spice up your cooking, this widget will take your chef-ly aspirations to a new level with simple, savory, and healthy meal ideas. This large widget option is ideal for your iPad screen and displays a daily recipe recommendation withestimated cook time, difficulty level,andingredient list. What I love about this food widgetis that it displays the ingredient list right on the iPad Home Screen, so before I even open the app, I know if this daily recommendation is a recipe I'm interested in.

2. Flipboard - Latest Stories6 Best iPad Widgets for Your Home Screen (iPadOS 17) (4)

Flipboard is a popular news app that sets itselfapart from the pack by helping you to scan the latest news in a readable format. While the Apple News app is also a great option, a few things make the Flipboard widget preferable. For one thing, the Flipboard app is incrediblyeasy to customize to your interests, and this, in turn, means the widget will only display topics you are interested in. Want to avoid political news on your iPad Home Screen and instead focus on food and travel? You can customize this in the Flipboard app with just a few taps on your screen. The Flipboard widget is one of the best widgets if you're a news junkie, as it morefrequently updates the headlines displayed than the Apple News widget.

3. Streaks6 Best iPad Widgets for Your Home Screen (iPadOS 17) (5)

You don't even have to love to-do lists to appreciate this cool widget. Streaks acts as a visual habit tracker, making for a fun addition to your iPad Home Screen, reminding you to walk your dog, exercise, or drink that daily green smoothie. If you have tasks that need to be completed daily or a few times a week, and you don't want to receive pushy notifications reminding you about them, the Streaks widget is an easy way to add a visual reminder on your Home Screen. As you use the widget over time, it will also display your running "streak"—how long you've been meeting the daily or weekly goal without missing it. The large widget will display up to four tasks, and offers different color schemes and over 600 task symbols, so you can create a fun to-do list that will inspire you on your worst days.

4. Daily Budget Original6 Best iPad Widgets for Your Home Screen (iPadOS 17) (6)

The Daily Budget Original widget proves that you don't have to take up a lot of space to add a lot of value. While lesser known than other budgeting apps, Daily Budget Original is one of the few budget apps that offers a Home Screen widget. The widget itself can display daily spending or track daily savings and display whether you're on track to meet your financial goals. If you're like me, and cringing a little at the thought of seeing your savings on your Home Screen, this widget might be just the thingto get your spending back on target. What makes this widget valuable is that it not only displays daily spending and savings, but also shows your progress toward set financial goals.

5. Deliveries6 Best iPad Widgets for Your Home Screen (iPadOS 17) (7)

If you do very little online shopping, this iPad widget might not be useful for you. But if you tend to frequently order packages online, I highly recommend the Deliveries app and widget. Once set up on your iPad Home Screen, the widget will display yourcurrent order status, location, and estimated date and time of delivery. This is especially useful if you live on a busy street or in an area that often has inclement weather. With the ability to closely track your packages, you can be on hand for expensive or fragile packages or those that require a signature for delivery.

6. Shortcuts6 Best iPad Widgets for Your Home Screen (iPadOS 17) (8)

Admittedly, I've saved the best for last. After all, who doesn't want an iPad Home Screen widget that helps them to more efficiently complete common tasks? While most of the widgets discussed in this article are third-party apps, Shortcuts is a native Apple widget andapp. If you have an iPad, this simple and colorful app is likely already installed.The function of the Shortcuts app is in the name—it allows you to set up handy shortcuts for tasks such as settings you often adjust orinformation you often need to reference. Once you set up the large widget on your Home Screen, you can implementthese shortcuts with a single tap.

FAQ

  • How do I get cool widgets on my iPad? To add widgets to your iPad home or lock screen or the Today View, long-press on your iPad's Home Screen until the apps enter wiggle mode. Then tap the plus button in the top left corner to add widgets.
  • Will iPad get Lock Screen widgets? The iPad Lock Screen gained the ability to addwidgets with iPadOS 17.
  • How do I organize my iPad home screen widgets? To reorder or organize widgets, long-press on the widget you want to move, tap Edit Home Screen, and then move the widget where you'd like it to be.

If you add one (or more) of these widgets to your iPad Home Screen, we'd love to hear about your experience!

Master your iPhone in one minute a day: Sign up here to get our FREE Tip of the Day delivered right to your inbox.

6 Best iPad Widgets for Your Home Screen (iPadOS 17) (2024)

FAQs

What are the widgets on the iPadOS 17? ›

Widgets on the Lock Screen. Place widgets on your iPad Lock Screen on the left side. Larger widgets are available to glance at information like the weather, time, date, battery levels, upcoming calendar events, alarms, and time zones. Rotation support.

How to get fun widgets on iPad? ›

Go to the Home Screen page where you want to add the widget, then touch and hold the Home Screen background until the apps begin to jiggle. at the top of the screen to open the widget gallery. Scroll or search to find the widget you want, tap it, then swipe left and right through the size options.

What are widgets on iPad Home Screen? ›

Widgets show you current information from your favorite apps at a glance. On iPad, you can add a Mail widget and customize which mailbox it shows on your Home Screen.

What did iPadOS 17 add? ›

iPadOS 17 brings a redesigned Lock Screen with new ways to customize, showcase your photos, and add widgets for information at a glance. Messages includes a new Stickers experience which brings all of your stickers together. The Health app comes to iPad designed for the larger display.

Are color widgets safe? ›

(“Color Widgets”, “we” or “us”) ensures that your data stays private. Any data that is “on-device” cannot be accessed by us and will never be uploaded, or shared. Photos: All photos which you upload to Color Widgets stay on-device. This includes any photos you add to your widgets or icons.

How do I turn off my iPad? ›

Press and hold either volume button and the top button until the power off slider appears. Drag the slider, then wait 30 seconds for your device to turn off. If your device is frozen or unresponsive, force restart your device. To turn your device back on, press and hold the top button until you see the Apple logo.

How to personalize an iPad? ›

Swipe to the screen you want to change, tap Customize, then tap Lock Screen. Tap the time to change the font, color, and style. To add widgets that include information such as today's headlines, the weather, and calendar events, tap Add Widgets or the date. (See Add, edit, and remove widgets on iPad.)

What are the Apple widgets? ›

Widgets are a way to view current information at a glance—today's headlines, weather, reminders, battery levels, and more. You can view widgets in Today View and add them to your Home Screen or Lock Screen to keep this information at your fingertips.

Should I remove widgets? ›

Widgets are useful, but too many can make your Home screen feel cramped. No worries, you can remove the widgets to tidy it up.

Will an iPad get lock screen widgets? ›

You can personalize your Lock Screen by choosing a wallpaper, showcasing a favorite photo, changing the font of the time, adding widgets, and more.

What is a smart stack? ›

The Smart Stack is a set of widgets that uses information such as the time, your location, and your activity to automatically display the most relevant widgets at the appropriate time in your day.

How to make an Apple Pencil work? ›

Remove the cap and plug your Apple Pencil and a USB-C cable into the USB-C to Apple Pencil Adapter. Plug the other end of the cable into your iPad. When the Pair button appears, tap it. Wait for your Apple Pencil to pair, then unplug it from the USB-C to Apple Pencil Adapter.

How to use widgets in iOS 17? ›

To use Interactive Widgets in iOS 17, you first need to add the widget to your iPhone's home screen. Then you can: Tap and hold anywhere on the home screen until the icons start to jiggle. Now, tap on the “+” icon from the top-left corner.

Are interactive widgets coming to iOS 17? ›

Overview. Starting with iOS 17, iPadOS 17, or macOS 14, widgets and Live Activities can include buttons and toggles to offer specific app functionality without launching the app. For example, a Reminders widget allows people to mark a task as completed with a toggle.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Golda Nolan II

Last Updated:

Views: 6166

Rating: 4.8 / 5 (78 voted)

Reviews: 93% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Golda Nolan II

Birthday: 1998-05-14

Address: Suite 369 9754 Roberts Pines, West Benitaburgh, NM 69180-7958

Phone: +522993866487

Job: Sales Executive

Hobby: Worldbuilding, Shopping, Quilting, Cooking, Homebrewing, Leather crafting, Pet

Introduction: My name is Golda Nolan II, I am a thoughtful, clever, cute, jolly, brave, powerful, splendid person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.