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The top 9 Android widgets you never knew you needed

Android Development
Article
Technology, Information and Media
Widgets give you the best of an app in the smallest piece of on-screen real estate. But what exactly are they and why are they so helpful?

What is a widget?

For the uninitiated, widgets are essentially mini-apps that run on the home screen of your mobile devices. They are a vital component of the home screen customization feature on mobile devices. They are also portrayed as at-a-glance views of an app’s functionality that can be accessed from your home screen. 

Widgets allow you to access important information from apps without actually having to open the said apps. For example, a calendar widget on your mobile’s home screen shows current and upcoming events. 

Android is well-known for offering a wide range of customizable features, with widgets being the key among them. So, that might get you thinking about the must-have widgets on your Android phone. 

Don’t worry; we got you covered with an extensive and detailed list of the best widgets available in Android. 

Top 9 widgets in Android

  • Google At A Glance

As you probably realized, this widget is owned by Google 😲. 

All kidding aside, this widget is available for Pixel devices and offers a wide range of functionality. For example, you can simply access the calendar and the weather info right from this widget. Just tap the calendar to view your events in Google Calendar, and tap weather to view the latest temperature in your area. Furthermore, you can even get traffic alerts on this widget. Now, ain't that cool!

Overdrop is one of the highly-rated weather apps and widgets available on Android. Top weather forecast providers like AccuWeather, Dark Sky Weather, and WeatherBit power Overdrop. The app provides detailed weather forecasts from 24 hours to seven days while also providing severe weather alerts. More importantly, Overdrop provides you with over 50 beautiful widgets to choose from to make your life easier.  

It should come as no surprise that some of the most popular widgets for Android include music players. One of these is the Spotify (did you really think any other music app stood a chance 😄). As we all know the Spotify app is easy to use with a great UI and this extends to the widget too. You can resize the widget as per your choice. Additionally, the widget also lets you control music or podcast playback without opening the app. So, you can simply play, skip, or pause the music or podcast from your home screen. 

Most of us enjoy reading the news, and it's become even easier with widgets. The Google News widget is perfect for getting up-to-date with the happenings worldwide. You can browse numerous headlines and tap on the headline that interests you. In addition, the widget gives you updates on several topics and provides intriguing articles as well. As is the case with Google services, the more you use it, the more it adapts to your preferences. 

Note-taking apps and widgets have been in high demand over the past couple of years, and Google Keep is one of the more popular ones. You can add a Keep widget to your home screen and add notes whenever you want. Furthermore, the widget also lets you view important notes on the home screen.

Battery Widget Reborn is a great widget to add to your Android device’s home screen. This trendy widget has an innovative functionality that allows you to add a battery percentage indicator on your mobile’s home screen. Inspired by Material You, the widget has a circular-shaped battery indicator whose color can be customized depending on the device's battery level.

With the ups and downs of the stock market, most of us prefer keeping an eye on our favorite stocks. This widget can help you do precisely that. Investing.com: Stocks & News’ widget allows you to search for more than 70 global exchanges while tracking as many stocks as you’d like. These particular stocks can be added to your widget, and you can also resize and customize the widget’s size to your liking.

What if there was a widget that let you access more widgets? Enter Chronus which enables you to do exactly that! Chronus comes with a clock and a host of other widgets, including those for news and weather, among others. If you opt for the pro version, you can even get widgets for Google Fit and Reddit. Another great aspect of Chronus and its widgets is that they offer great customization features for your home screen. 

Microsoft To Do is the perfect to-do list app for your Android device. It has a seamless and stunning UI with numerous organization options. The app’s widget offers great customization options. You can set the transparency of the widget and select a font size for your tasks. Additionally, you can view completed tasks and task details like reminders, due dates, recurrences without having to open the app. The unique aspect about Microsoft To Do’s widget is that it lets you decide if you want a minimalist widget, a detailed one, or a combination of both. 

So, why don’t you explore the possibilities with each of these exciting Android widgets and let us know your favorites (or even mention some of your favorites that we can download ourselves 😄)

Apps they can't not talk about.

Kartheek Kodey

Kartheek is a senior engineer passionate about farming, tasting good food, and exploring the woods. He also enjoys watching tennis and documentaries.

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