How to add and customize widgets on iPhone to quickly access info from apps

• Widgets on iPhone allow you to quickly check important information from specific apps at a glance.
• Smart Stacks allow for multiple widgets to take up less space, similar to app folders.
• You can add, edit, customize, or remove widgets and Smart Stacks on your iPhone.

In iOS 14, iPhone widgets expanded beyond the confines of Today View and can be placed directly onto your Home screen.

You can organize widgets with Smart Stacks, which are folder-like structures for your widgets in the same fashion as folders for apps.

Here's how you can add, edit, and remove widgets and Smart Stacks on your iPhone to customize your Home screen.

How to add widgets on iPhone

You can add widgets directly to the Home screen, or in Today View.

Add widgets to Home screen:

1. Tap and hold an area of the Home screen that is empty until you see the icons wiggle.

2. Tap on the plus sign in the top left corner of your phone screen. A menu will open with all the widgets available to be added.

3. Tap the widget which you want to add.

4. Swipe left or right to select your preferred widget size.

5. Tap Add Widget.

6. Tap Done.

Quick tip: iOS has widgets already set up to the left of the Home screen. Swipe left from the Home screen to access them. Tap and hold until they wiggle and then move it to the right to put it on your Home screen.

Add widgets to Today View:

1. Swipe left from the Home Screen in order to access the Today View.

2. Scroll down to the bottom, click Edit.

3. Click the plus button in the top left of your screen.

4. Tap the widget which you want to add.

5. Swipe left or right to select your preferred widget size.

6. Tap Add Widget.

7. Tap Done.

Quick tip: Today View widgets can be accessed from the lock screen without having to unlock your phone first. This behaviour can be turned on or off in the Settings app by toggling the Today View switch in the Touch ID & Passcode or Face ID & Passcode menu.

Edit widgets

1. Tap and hold the widget until the options menu appears.

2. Select Edit Widget. If the widget does not have an Edit Widget button, select Edit Home Screen.

3. If Edit Widget was selected, you will now have the opportunity to edit. If Edit Home Screen was the only option available, the only options are to move the widget, remove it, or add it to a Smart Stack.

Use Smart Stacks

Smart Stacks are a type of widget added to iOS in iOS version 14. They consist of multiple different widgets which can be flipped through manually or flipped through automatically by your iPhone based on the time of day and your behavior.

To create a Smart Stack, drag existing widgets on top of each other in the same way as you create App folders.

Re-order a stack:

1. Tap and hold the widget until the options menu appears.

2. Tap Edit Stack.

3. Tap and hold the three horizontal bars to the right-hand side of the widget that you wish to re-order.

4. Drag the widgets until they are in the desired order.

5. Tap the X button in the top right to close the menu when done.

Delete items from a stack:

1. Tap and hold the widget until the options menu appears.

2. Tap Edit Stack.

3. Swipe it to the left across the stack item and tap Delete.

4. Tap the X button in the top right to close the menu when done.

Quick tip: Smart Stacks automatically "rotate" - flip through based on the time of day and your behavior - when created. This can be easily disabled by turning off the "Smart Rotate" switch when editing a Smart Stack.

Remove or delete widgets

Remove widgets on Home Screen:

1. Tap and hold an existing widget until the context menu shows.

2. Press Remove Widget.

Quick tip: Removing a Smart Stack is done in the same way as a widget, only with the button being Remove Stack.

Remove widgets in Today View:

1. Swipe left from the Home Screen in order to access the Today View.

2. Scroll down to the bottom, click Edit.

3. Tap the minus symbol (-) in the top left corner of the widget you wish to remove.

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