When Apple launched iOS 14, it gave users a feature that many people have been asking for for years: customization. Yes, without a jailbreak. We can finally customize our app icons and even take things a step further with customized widgets.
While Android users still have a much better process for customization and theming, Apple gave us a start in iOS 14, though it didn't add more customization in iOS 15, unfortunately. I mean, at least we can customize app icons in Shortcuts and no longer have an annoying banner saying our automation ran in iOS 15.4, at least. And honestly, the app icons are just a part of the customization equation. The other half is with widgets, which you can create and customize with various widget-making apps.
Here are some of the best Home Screen widget apps for your best iPhone, iPad, and even Mac.
Widgetsmith
Widgetsmith is made by David Smith, the same developer behind other apps like Watchsmith, Sleep++, and Pedometer++. Widgetsmith also appears to be the first widget-making app that went viral on TikTok, as TikToker katamogz talked about Widgetsmith making your iOS 14 "aesthetic AF,", thus setting off the trend of highly customized home screens.
In Widgetsmith, you start with three different sized widgets, which you can customize to your liking. Customizations include functions like date, time, weather, astronomy, and more. Every single function can be fine-tuned for your desired functionality and appearance. All of the widgets that you create in Widgetsmith can be dynamically scheduled to appear on your Home screen based on rules that you define. For example, you could have a weather widget show up in the morning when you wake up, then a calendar as your work day begins, and then switch to your Activity rings when work ends and you want to get some exercise in.
There are a ton of tools in Widgetsmith that are there to help you create the perfect widgets on your iPhone Home screen. The interface is not the prettiest, but the possibilities are endless with Widgetsmith.
Color Widgets
The problem with Widgetsmith is that it doesn't have the most user-friendly interface when it comes to creating widgets. If you want something that's easier to work with, then Color Widgets could be better suited for you.
Color Widgets has many different premade widget designs that are stylish and colorful, but you can still make your own if that's what you want. Even the premade widget designs can be personally customized to your liking since you can change fonts, theme colors, and even the background color. Your widgets can be up and running on your Home screen in seconds.
Widgeridoo
If you want to go for practical information in your widgets on iPhone, iPad, and even your best Mac, rather than just some style, then Widgeridoo could be what you need. With Widgeridoo, you have the freedom to combine different blocks of information into a single widget where you can also choose the size of each block. Widgeridoo can display the following bits of data: calendar events, birthdays, text and images, dates and countdowns, Health data, websites via JSON, battery percentage, and more. You can also change things like colors for your blocks if you want to add some stylish flair.
Widgeridoo is free to download, but you will need to upgrade if you want all of the features.
OneWidget
OneWidget is another contender in the widget making app space, but this one certainly looks promising. You'll find a wide variety of well-designed widget templates in OneWidget, and you can customize them as you see fit. Functions that can be in OneWidget widgets include clock, date, system information, reminders and todos, desktop calendar or agendas, life counters, and more. Your widgets can have up to four functions in one, and everything about them can be customized, including colors and style. And if you're unsure of what the widget will look like on your Home screen, you can preview it in the app before committing.
Widget Wizard
Want to customize, but don't want something complicated? Then Widget Wizard could be for you. Widget Wizard allows you to create widget blocks that contain multiple functions, or you can keep it simple with one if you prefer. The data that Widget Wizard shows is comprehensive, and you can get both calendar events and reminders together, for example, and Health data includes over 35 options to display. The widgets that you make with Widget Wizard can also be fine-tuned with your choice of accent and background colors, your own fonts, and themes.
Widgy
Widgy is one of the most popular widget-making apps on the iPhone right now, especially among the iOS Setups reddit community. Why is Widgy so popular? It is one of the most powerful widget apps, giving you pretty much complete freedom of choice when it comes to making your own widget. You can go for something that's purely aesthetic with images, or you can make something that is pretty on the eyes while also providing useful and valuable information at-a-glance.
One of the biggest strengths of Widgy is the ability for users to share their widget creations with others. This is done via a QR code, so once someone scans a Widgy QR code, they'll be able to get access to that widget and customize it as they see fit. Widgy also has a gallery of user-uploaded widgets to browse from, so you can easily add cool widgets to your own collection.
With Widgy, there is a bit of a learning curve, but once you master it, the app pretty much offers infinite possibilities when it comes to what widgets you can make. You can also use this on your Mac.
Add some aesthetic to your Home screen
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Thanks to iOS 14, we can all customize our iPhone Home screens to match up with our own likes. Whether you're using an iPhone SE or an iPhone 13, as long as you have at least iOS 14 or later running, you can tweak it to your style. And if you're making an aesthetic Home screen, you should try and match it up with a great case.
