Whether you’re looking to customize your overall iPhone theme or have a more specific goal in mind — like tracking your workouts or email — there are already several apps out there today that can help you personalize your Lock Screen device using graphic elements. These widgets come in three sizes: circular, rectangular, and inline. The first two appear below the clock on the lock screen, while the embedded widgets are found as a line of text and/or symbols above. But it’s up to developers which widgets they choose to support. To add the widgets, just long press the lock screen after updating to iOS 16, then tap the Customize button. From this edit mode, you can then tap the row you want to add or swap widgets to. This will open a window that lists the available widgets that you can add. Lock Screen widgets will likely appeal primarily to an app’s most loyal customers and those who already spend time customizing the look and feel of their device on a regular basis with other customizations such as custom icons and home screen widgets. We’ve taken a look at some of the iOS 16-ready apps that have today introduced support for lock screen widgets and compiled the list below with a few recommendations. Over time, there will be many more apps that will be updated to include widgets, but whether significant user adoption will follow remains to be seen.
Personalization widgets
Motivation: This motivational quote widget hit 500,000 downloads the day iOS Home screen widgets were first released. It will now allow users to add the same motivations to their lock screen in different widget sizes.
Image Credits: Applying Incentives
I Am: Made by the same company as Motivation, this variation features only positive affirmations designed to disrupt self-doubt, many of which begin with the text “I Am.”
Image Credits: I am the app
Launch: This custom widget builder extends beyond the interactive Home screen widgets to allow users to add widgets to the Lock Screen that let you do things like run shortcuts, play music, communicate with people, or run any application. It will also support Watch Face Widgets in watchOS 9. Themify: Another home screen personalization app that has been updated with support for iOS 16 features, including depth effect wallpapers and lock screen widgets that offer inspirational quotes. Widgetsmith: One of the most popular home screen widget customization apps has been extended to now support the iOS 16 Lock Screen, giving users the ability to design their own text, circular or rectangular widgets using a variety of options, themes, symbols , photos, and other types of widgets — similar to how you can create your own home screen widgets. A must-have for true adapters.
Widgetsmith’s iOS 16 update has been approved and is ready for Monday. Lock screen widgets, redesigned editor, image content isolation, powerful tools and URL triggers. If you’re a fan/influencer/super fan and want a sneak peek, here’s a TestFlight: pic.twitter.com/7U6MvTs769 — David Smith (@_DavidSmith) September 10, 2022
Livepic: (to become MyScreen): A customization app previously focused on Live wallpapers and Home Screen themes will be updated after iOS 16 is released in about a week (Sorry, this one is late!). It will ditch Live Wallpapers in favor of Depth Effect Wallpapers with the iOS 16 update and change its name to “MyScreen” as a result. The app will also add a new “Lock Screen Pack” feature that contains many elements designed to work together, such as wallpapers, widgets, charging animations and more. It also adds a photo shuffle feature that lets you configure how often you shuffle between your favorite lock screen photos. Each pack has up to 20 images with a similar design, theme or color scheme. Lock Screen Icon Widget: WWDC’20 Swift Student Challenge winner Rihab Mehboob has designed a very simple Lock Screen widget that allows you to customize your screen with icons and text, as well as another to communicate with your favorite people with messages or FaceTime.
I’m making another lock screen widget app 😇 Show icons and text above/below the clock to personalize your lock screen! pic.twitter.com/od2Yj4QaBF — Rihab Mehboob (@elohohel) July 27, 2022
Journey
TripIt: This frequently used travel app adds Lock Screen widgets that will display the most relevant details about a user’s trip or activity, including things like their upcoming trip or plan (eg flight, train, hotel, etc. .), relevant flight information and post-landing details such as car booking or hotel booking.
Image credits: TripIt Image credits: Flighty
Work/Productivity
Things: The popular task management app brings your “to do” list to the lock screen. The company has created three new lock screen widgets, a Lists widget that puts your to-dos right on your phone screen — including either today’s tasks, your inbox, deadlines or more. Meanwhile, the New To Do widget lets you tap to launch the app and add a new item, while the Progress Chime widget lets you quickly see how many of your to-do items you’ve completed .
Image Credits: Stuff
Readdle: This company’s long-running PDF app for iPhone, PDF Expert, will introduce Lock Screen widgets for quick access to recent and favorite files, switching to an audio player, or syncing files to your computer. The Documents and Calendars apps will also include the lock screen with widgets for recent and favorite files, tasks and events, to-dos, and other features. And the Scanner Pro app will let you start a scan or visit your scan library from the lock screen. Todoist: This popular to-do list app and task manager added a variety of iOS 16 lock screen widgets for quickly adding tasks, keeping up with task goals and other productivity stats. GoodLinks: This $4.99 read-later app has been updated for iOS 16 with support for a number of features, including focus filters, app shortcuts, and lock screen widgets that let you access a list or tag or to open a random unread link. LookUp: This English dictionary app already offered more than just definitions with features like Word of the Day, quizzes, translations and more. With iOS 16, it adds lock screen widgets including a word of the day, quick access to Search (so you can look things up without unlocking your iPhone), and a Learn widget for growing your vocabulary.
LookUp’s Lock Screen widgets focus on three areas of the app:
- Word of the Day information
- Quick access to Search: especially useful when you’re reading and don’t need distractions.
- A learning widget that shows your vocabulary building progress. pic.twitter.com/8cnhLmjCdJ — Vidit Bhargava (@viditb) September 12, 2022
Google: We should note that Google today promised iOS 16 Lock Screen widgets for core apps like Search, Chrome, Gmail, Maps, and more, but doesn’t have them available on launch day, saying they’ll be coming on ” coming weeks.”
Cooking
Pestle: This recipe app will be updated for iOS 16 with features like Siri shortcuts, support for “Shared with You” to embed recipes sent via iMessage, and lock screen widgets. Its new widgets will include one that shows the user their meal plan, as well as the Live Activity widget when iOS 16.1 is released later this fall.
✨ Pestle Live activities on iPhone 14 Pro ✨ Live Activities is coming to all iOS 16.1 devices, not just the 14 Pro, and it’s going to be awesome. pic.twitter.com/ZK3DG53nLt — Will Bishop (@WillRBishop) September 8, 2022
Weather
CARROT Weather: This award-winning weather app has already made a name for itself with its great design, feature set, and the humor it brings to something as simple as a weather forecast. It now adds over 20 customizable Lock Screen widgets that will allow users to see the weather, daily and hourly forecast, and even CARROT jokes without unlocking your iPhone.
Slopes: This ski and snowboard app’s new Lock Screen widgets will keep you updated on conditions at your favorite local resort and other snow forecasts. The iOS 16 update also added a new Home screen widget that displays your favorite winter photos.
Image Credits: Slopes
Health and fitness
Personal best: This fitness tracker is rolling out a big update for iOS 16 that includes new features like heart rate zones, new workout icons and more, in addition to lock screen widgets that help you track your latest workouts and their details.
Image credits: Personal best
SmartGym: Along with plans to support Live Activities in a later version, this fitness app adds iOS 16 Lock Screen widgets that offer a weekly summary, heart rate and calorie maps, and a way to track how many workouts you’ve done. Widgets also come in many shapes and sizes.
Image credits: SmartGym
Sleep Experience: This iPhone sleep tracker works with the Apple Watch to help users analyze their sleep patterns, including integrating its data with the iOS Health app. The app looks at three main metrics — sleep onset, duration and quality — and makes recommendations for better sleep. With iOS 16, Empirical Sleep is updated with a new “sleep stages” support supported by watchOS 9, new watch complications and iPhone Lock…
