- Home Screen and Today View widgets are now interactive
- Developers can add functionality that doesn’t require an app open
- At launch, it’s mostly Apple’s apps that utilize this feature
Tap that
Widgets have long been a great way to quickly view snippets of app data right from your Home Screen. With iOS 17, Apple has expanded their usefulness by allowing widgets to be interactive.
For example, this means you can tick off a reminder or pause a podcast without delving into an app. You can even share your location right from the Home Screen.
Compatible apps
This functionality is available to all developers, but as with all new features, Apple’s own apps lead the way and third-party apps will follow over time. If you want to try out interactive widgets for the first time, we’d recommend starting with Reminders, Music, Podcasts, Find My, and Home.
Adding widgets
If you need a refresher: to add a widget, long-press on the Home Screen to enter ‘wiggle mode’. Tap the top-left + button and choose a widget from your widgets library. Pick from the size and style choices and it will be added to your Home Screen. You can then drag to position it just like you would with an app icon. Long-press a widget and tap Edit to customize it further.