If you're not using widgets, something's wrong with you.
After iPadOS 17, widgets became ultra-powerful. Now you can directly use widgets from the Home Screen. In other words, widgets have become mini-apps.
If you're spending hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars on an iPad, you gotta use widgets. Here are 11 cool starter widgets for your iPad:
Batteries 🔋
You absolutely need the batteries widget. If you're new to widgets, get this one first.
When I was looking for cool widgets for this post, there was one widget that came up every single time: the Batteries widget.
If you have an Apple Pencil, AirPods, or any other accessory, the Batteries widget is worth your screen space. The widget comes in smaller sizes anyways, so it won't take up a lot of room.
If you're only gonna get one widget, get this one. You'll never forget to charge your stuff again.
Photos 📸
This is more of a sentimental widget.
It's pretty motivating to see a memory pop up from years ago. It feels nice to think about the story behind the memory and the people you made that memory with.
Using the Photos widget might not be the most productive widget ever. But seeing a mini-photo frame in the mornings is worth it anyways.
The Photos widget has a few different sizes to choose from. You can also choose whether you want to use automatically selected photos or photos from a specific album.
Find something that works for you. You'll be happy.
Screen Time ⏰
In 2024, one of my goals is to break my scrolling addiction.
Screen Time is one of the best widgets to do that. It gives you insight into how much time you've spent on device. In addition, depending on which widget size you choose, you can also get insight into which apps you use.
If you're trying to cut down screen time, get the Screen Time widget. It's literally in the name.
Calendar 📆
This is a pretty standard widget too.
It doesn't have to be Apple's Calendar app. It could be Google Calendar, a third-party calendar, or anything else.
Having your schedule right on your Home Screen is unbelievably helpful. As a student, it keeps me aware of what I have to do every single day.
If you use a calendar app, get its widget. It'll make you 10x more organized.
Streaks 🗓️
Streaks is a cool habit tracker.
Unlike most other widgets on the list, Streaks is a paid app. That being said, I think it's 100% worth it.
When I read Atomic Habits by James Clear (highly recommend if you haven't read it), I became obsessed with habits. After exploring a bunch of different apps, Streaks was my favorite by far.
It's simple, intuitive, organized, and has every feature you would need in a habits app.
And now that you can directly interact with widgets from the Home Screen, the Streaks widget is awesome to use.
Would recommend if you're into habits.
Notion 📓
Notion needs no introduction.
If you genuinely don't know what it is...watch a YouTube video. Now. You've been missing out.
I use Notion widgets to quickly go to certain pages.
When I used to journal every day (a habit I want to get back into), I had a Notion widget linked to my journaling page. This made it super easy to journal every morning.
Todoist ✅
Todoist is one of my favorite iPad apps of all time.
I use the Todoist widget every single day. It's incredibly powerful, simple, well-organized, intuitive, and so much more.
With the widget, you can check upcoming tasks, view your productivity stats, and add new tasks.
I would keep rambling on about Todoist, but I just wrote a post about it. Check it out here.
Spark 🔥
Spark is another one of my favorite iPad apps.
Like the app, Spark's widget is insanely powerful. It offers a ton of different sizes and options, including:
the ability to see a summarized version of your email inbox
the ability to see your full email inbox
the ability to see your calendar
the ability to see your email inbox and your calendar
shortcuts to write emails, attach files, add calendar events, and more
If you're looking for an email app, I'd highly recommend Spark.
Calm
Calm is a meditation-oriented app. And a good one too—4.8/5 stars from 1.7 million ratings 🤯.
Its widget looks pretty simple—just a shortcut to a meditation session.
That being said, it's promising. It is one of the most popular widgets out there, and it seems like the go-to widget for people who are into mindfulness.
Lookup
If you like learning, Lookup could be a pretty cool widget.
It's a dictionary/vocabulary widget. You can:
see the word of the day
view flashcards you've made
search up words
look at collections you've made
study collections you've made
It's new to me, but it seems cool so far.
Concepts
Concepts is an awesome app I've used for a long, long time.
Its widget is useful too.
I use Concepts to take notes and brainstorm ideas. With the Concepts widget, I can create shortcuts to different notes folders or brainstorm sessions.
Concepts is one of the few apps I highly recommend for every iPad user out there. And I genuinely believe this (check my post history if you wanna verify this claim).
It has an incredible free plan. And if you're looking for more, Concepts has been kind enough to offer a free 30-day trial (no credit card info required).
Final Thoughts
"Woah, that stuff is pretty cool"—my friend after seeing the Streaks widget
Thanks for reading!
Adi