Key Takeaways
- Android widgets offer glanceable info & app shortcuts on your home screen.
- Third-party widgets from the Google Play Store can enhance Android customization to a huge degree.
- My favorite Android widgets include ones that let me connect with loved ones, count down days until vacation, and keep an eye on lunar phases.
Widgets are an iconic staple of the Android operating system. These bite-sized applets run directly on your home screen, and provide glanceable information and shortcut access to some of the best apps available across the OS.
There are some really solid widgets that come with Android by default, covering the basics such as weather, time, calendar events, and more. However, developers have done a good job of populating the Google Play Store with high quality and unique offerings of their own.
Here are 5 third party widgets in particular that I install as soon as I set up any new Android device.
1 Hurry
An aesthetically pleasing countdown widget
Pocket-lint / Google
Hurry
A countdown widget with ultimate glanceability for upcoming important dates.
Who doesn’t love a good countdown? Whether you’re counting down the days until that well-deserved vacation, or you’re wondering how many days are left before the beginning of Autumn, the utility on offer here is basic but undeniable.
Better still, the Hurry widget is simple to use and lightweight, with the bonus of letting you pick a GIF or image as the widget’s backdrop for some added uniqueness.
2 Locket
The perfect widget for keeping up with your friends or your significant other
Pocket-lint / Google
Locket
A wholesome widget for sending photos to loved ones.
If you have friends, family, or a significant other that’s geographically distant from you, Locket is the way to go. It’s a fun and wholesome way to stay in touch by taking a selfie or other image, which then gets shared onto the home screen of the person you’ve set up to link with.
Locket is great because it means you don’t have to rely on social networking apps such as Snapchat to visually connect with loved ones. It does require an account to initialize, but the setup is simple and accessible.
3 Widgeet
A simple yet powerful widget builder that’s filled with options
Pocket-lint / Google
widgeet
A simple widget editor that’s filed to the brim with customization options.
If you’re at all familiar with the likes of Widgetsmith on the iPhone, the same basic premise is at play here. Once downloaded, the app provides you with different widget size presets, including 1 x 2, 2 x 2, 4 x 2, and 4 x 4 configurations.
From here, there’s a great selection of styles, colors, and designs to work with, making Widgeet ideal for customization lovers. I personally opted for a flip clock design that hearkens back to the good old days of HTC Sense, but the possibilities are diverse and varied.
The perfect companion for some daily motivation
Pocket-lint / Google
Quotes Widget
A lightweight and insightful widget that surfaces daily quotes.
There’s something undeniably cathartic when it comes to reading inspirational quotes on the daily. Quotes Widget scratches this itch by providing a clean and lightweight tool for the job.
You get some basic customization choices when it comes to the presentation of the quotes, and you can tap on the widget itself to cycle through various quotes until you find the one that speaks to you.
5 Phases of the Moon
The ideal widget for fans of Earth’s natural satellite
Pocket-lint / Google
Phases of the Moon
A high-resolution lunar phase widget for lovers of space.
If you’re as fascinated by space as I am, the Phases of the Moon widget is the perfect pairing for your home screen. It’s nice and basic, displaying the current moon phase using a high-quality graphic that meshes well with high resolution displays.
Tapping into the widget provides some additional information, including illumination, distance, sunset and sunrise times, and more. Like others on this list, the app is lightweight by design, and isn’t crammed with intrusive ads.
