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After Apple’s iOS 14 update, which added widgets, the trend has now spread to the Windows 11 update from Microsoft. Because of this, widgets are getting more attention on all platforms, including Android. Because Android app developers have had more time to improve their widgets, there are now a lot of well-made home screen decorations to choose from.
If you haven’t tried widgets yet, you can expand your options on most Android phones by long-pressing an empty area of the home screen and choosing “Widgets” from the menu that pops up. You’ll see a list of apps with widgets. You can add a widget to your home screen by tapping and holding it. These small programs, called “applets,” are great for giving you quick updates on things like the weather or controlling your phone‘s music and flashlight. With so many apps offering cool widgets, it can be hard to make sure you don’t miss out on anything. Here are the best widgets for Android that we think every user should have.
Best Android Widgets Comparison Table
| Product | Features | Download Now |
|---|---|---|
| 1Weather | – Real-time weather updates | Download Now |
| KWGT Kustom Widget Maker | – Create custom widgets for Android | Download Now |
| Google Keep | – Note-taking app | Download Now |
| Overdrop | – Hyperlocal weather forecast | Download Now |
| TickTick | – Task manager and to-do list app | Download Now |
| Google Calendar | – Calendar app for scheduling events | Download Now |
| Evernote | – Note-taking and organizing app | Download Now |
1Weather
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Accurate Weather | Provides real-time weather updates with accurate forecasts for your location. |
| Multiple Locations | Allows you to track the weather in multiple locations simultaneously. |
| Hourly Forecasts | Provides hourly weather forecasts, giving you a detailed outlook for the day. |
| Weather Widgets | Offers a variety of customizable weather widgets to display on your home screen. |
| Severe Weather Alerts | Sends notifications for severe weather conditions to keep you informed and safe. |
One could argue that 1Weather is one of the best weather apps out there. It also has some Android apps that aren’t too bad. It looks like the old “flip clock and weather” style that used to be on HTCSense devices, and it can be set up in different ways. When you click on the clock, your alarm app opens. When you click on the weather section, you go to 1Weather’s main screen.
There are also widgets that just show the weather and give a lot of information. Use of it is free. The paid version only gets rid of ads. If you don’t like 1Weather’s widget, AccuWeather is another good weather app with a good widget.
The Good
- Accurate and reliable information about the weather.
- Interface is easy to use and navigation is clear.
The Bad
- Some features that are more advanced require a paid subscription.
KWGT Kustom Widget Maker
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Widget Customization | Allows you to create and customize widgets according to your preferences. |
| Extensive Options | Provides a wide range of design elements, fonts, and icons to choose from. |
| Interactive Widgets | Supports interactive widgets that can be programmed to perform specific actions. |
| Tasker Integration | Integrates with Tasker, enabling automation and advanced functionality for your widgets. |
| Presets and Templates | Offers a collection of pre-designed templates and presets for quick and easy widget creation. |
We’ll start with KWGT, a custom widget maker that lets you make your own Android widgets that you can put on your home screen. There are a lot of presets built into the app, and you can find even more presets made by other developers in the Play Store. The app lets you change everything about how the widget looks. This means that even if you use one of the presets, you can still make it completely your own.
Yes, the KWGT custom widget maker is a bit hard for beginners to use, but once you get the hang of it, you can make some beautiful widgets that are not only useful but also make your smartphone look better. I’ve been using the KWGT custom widget maker for a while now, and I’m sure that once you start using it, you’ll want to install it on every Android device you own. It really is that good.
The Good
- Customization options for widgets that are powerful and flexible.
- Lots of design elements and icons to choose from.
The Bad
- Beginners will find it harder to learn.
Google Keep
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Note-taking | Allows you to create, edit, and organize notes in a user-friendly interface. |
| Reminders | Sets reminders for important tasks, events, or deadlines. |
| Collaborative Notes | Enables sharing and collaboration on notes with other users. |
| Voice Recording | Records voice memos and converts them into text for easy note-taking. |
| Cross-Platform Sync | Synchronizes your notes across multiple devices, ensuring accessibility from anywhere. |
Google Keep is the next one to be shown. It’s one of the best widgets for taking notes. With this widget, you can quickly and easily read important notes right on the home screen of your phone.
You can also quickly scroll through the widget to look at old notes. Since your notes will be on the home screen of your phone, you can take notes whenever you want. From the Google Play Store, you can get this widget for free.
The Good
- A simple and easy-to-use interface makes it easy to take notes.
- Syncing between devices goes smoothly.
The Bad
- There aren’t many ways to format notes.
Overdrop
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Weather Forecast | Provides accurate and detailed weather forecasts for your location. |
| Customizable Widgets | Offers a selection of customizable weather widgets to match your home screen. |
| Real-time Rain Alerts | Sends notifications for rain starts, stops, and intensity changes in real-time. |
| Dark Sky Integration | Utilizes Dark Sky API to deliver hyper-local weather forecasts with high precision. |
| Weather Radar | Includes a weather radar feature for visualizing precipitation patterns. |
Overdrop, one of the best weather apps, lets you add widgets to keep track of the weather. These widgets include things like battery information, weekly weather forecasts, storm warnings, and the speed of the wind right now. There is a paid version of the app, but the free version has 31 widgets that are usually enough for most users.
The Good
- Accurate and detailed forecasts of the weather.
- Personalization tools with beautiful designs.
- Rain alerts in real time help you be ready.
The Bad
- Some features that are more advanced require a paid subscription.
TickTick
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Task Management | Allows you to create, manage, and organize tasks and to-do lists efficiently. |
| Reminders | Sets reminders for important tasks, deadlines, and events. |
| Calendar Integration | Integrates with popular calendars, enabling synchronization of tasks and events. |
| Subtasks and Checklists | Provides the ability to break tasks into subtasks and create detailed checklists. |
| Collaboration | Supports collaboration and sharing of tasks with team members and colleagues. |
Do you believe that you can be both useful and productive at the same time? If so, you should go to TickTick at least once. The app was on our list of the best ones to download for Android this year. If you’re wondering, “This is a productivity app, and you also talked about being efficient. How?” Well, TickTick widgets are the easy answer.
You can put widgets right on your home screen with this app. This makes it easy to see at a glance all the important tasks and commitments that need to be met. Also, you don’t have to open the app every time to check a small detail, which makes you more efficient.
The Good
- Easy-to-use interface for managing tasks well.
- Integration with calendars is seamless, which makes it easier to plan.
- Ability to divide tasks into smaller tasks and make lists.
The Bad
- Some of the most useful features are only available in the paid version.
Google Calendar
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Event Scheduling | Allows you to create, edit, and manage events and appointments in a calendar format. |
| Calendar Sharing | Enables sharing and collaboration on calendars with other users. |
| Reminders | Sets reminders for important events and appointments. |
| Integration with Other Apps | Integrates with various apps and services, allowing seamless data exchange. |
| Smart Suggestions | Provides intelligent suggestions for event details based on your activity and preferences. |
The Google Calendar is another Google app widget you might want to add to your home screen. You can use the calendar month and the calendar schedule as the main widgets. The month view on the Google Calendar app is like a smaller version of the month view on the calendar.
Here, you can quickly look at the current month and the events, reminders, and tasks that you’ve already added to it. By clicking the left and right arrows on the widget, you can switch to a different month. Tap the plus sign on the widget if you want to add a new event.
The Good
- The interface for scheduling and managing events is simple and easy to use.
- It’s easy for people to share their calendars and work together.
The Bad
- There aren’t many ways to change how events are shown and how the calendar looks.
Evernote
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Note-taking | Create and organize notes in various formats (text, audio, images, etc.). |
| Tagging and Categorization | Tag and categorize notes for easy organization and retrieval. |
| Cross-Platform Sync | Synchronize notes across multiple devices for accessibility from anywhere. |
| Web Clipping | Clip and save web pages, articles, and online content for later reference. |
| Collaboration | Collaborate and share notes with others for teamwork and information sharing. |
If you want a note-taking system with more features and don’t mind paying $8 per month for a premium subscription with no restrictions, Evernote is a good choice. Evernote will add a healthy dose of productivity to the home screen of your Android phone.
The app’s widget lets you see a list of notes that you can scroll through. You can choose what kinds of notes to include, which notebook to save new notes to, and whether you want to see images, tags, and text in the widget or just note titles.
The Good
- Flexible note-taking options that work with different formats.
- Using tags and categories to organize and find things quickly and easily.
The Bad
- Paid subscription plans are the only way to get advanced features.
FAQs
Android widgets are small apps that can be put on an Android device’s home screen or lock screen. They let you get to certain information or features quickly without having to open a full app.
Yes, you can customize a lot of Android widgets. Most widgets can have their size, color, font, and layout changed. Some widgets also have different “themes” or “skins” that you can use to match the look of your device. You can also set up certain widgets to show certain information or do certain things based on your preferences.