Chapter 1: The Personalization of the iPhone Homescreen

The layout of an iPhone's homescreen is deeply personal. While some users set it and forget it, others, like myself, are always on the lookout for ways to enhance its functionality. I belong to the latter group, constantly contemplating how my homescreen can better serve my needs.

In today's world, smartphones have become just as essential as wallets. Therefore, the setup should be tailored to work for us rather than the other way around. My expectations for my phone are high; it should consistently meet my needs. However, balancing my actual needs against my wants is an ongoing challenge.

A significant part of this struggle stems from my tendency to hide apps that I should limit, as discussed in my previous post about "Binge Shifting." I have a habit of jumping between various media consumption apps excessively, so I have decided to remove distracting apps like Netflix, YouTube, and TikTok from my homescreen.

This strategy has been effective in curbing my impulsive urges to check TikTok or YouTube immediately upon unlocking my phone. However, during relaxing moments at home or breaks at work, I still find myself searching for these apps rather than opening my preferred leisure options like News or Twitter, which I have surprisingly managed to control.

While deleting these apps would be the ideal solution, I am focusing on moderation instead. My wife and I enjoy sending each other amusing parenting TikTok videos, and I don’t want to sacrifice that joy due to lack of self-discipline. Consequently, I keep these apps off my homescreen and access them only briefly each day.

Another method I thought would encourage the use of my preferred apps was through widgets. However, they have proven to be more of a nuisance than a solution. Despite my initial optimism, the current implementation of widgets in iOS has left much to be desired.

Here's what my iPhone looked like at the beginning of the year:

Each widget on this homescreen is a stack, containing:

• Top Medium Widget Stack:
  • News — Top Stories
  • News — Tech Stories
  • AnyList
  • Notes
  • Carrot Weather
  • Photos
• Small Widget on the Right:
  • Stocks
  • Robinhood
  • News — Stock Market Stories
• Small Widget Bottom Left:
  • Castro
  • Music

I appreciated the accessible information and the ability to limit the number of apps on my homescreen. It provided a fresh aesthetic, moving away from the traditional grid layout of iPhones.

However, launching apps via widgets has often been a frustrating experience, especially with Music and Castro. Since the pandemic, I've been listening to more music than ever, making it essential to easily access playlists during work hours. Unfortunately, launching the music app from the widget can be a hassle.

For instance, sometimes the Music widget does not reflect the last song played, causing the app to default to the Browse screen and disrupt my current listening queue. Other times, accessing a specific album leads to multiple screens before finally reverting to the last album I played.

Here's an example of the Music widget not functioning as expected:

It’s incredibly frustrating to spend so much time just to get back to my last song, or to find that my queue has been cleared. I would prefer the app to open directly to the Now Playing screen instead of navigating through various menus.

The same issue occurs with Castro; often, I want to play a specific podcast featured on the widget, but instead, it redirects me to my queued list. Sometimes it does show the Now Playing screen, but collapses back to the queue shortly after.

This experience indicates that iOS Widgets still feel underdeveloped, even in other applications like Stocks, Robinhood, Carrot Weather, and Fantastical. Each time I launch an app from a widget, it feels like the app is refreshing unnecessarily or taking me to an unwanted screen.

I don’t hold the developers or the widgets themselves responsible; we are still in the early stages of what iOS widgets can achieve, and I expect improvements over time. However, the current issues have led me to reconsider using widgets on my primary homescreen.

Now, my homescreen looks like this:

I still have a Widgetsmith widget at the top displaying the date and time. This widget serves a simple purpose, occupying two rows at the top of the screen and pushing app icons down for easier access. The apps displayed are my most frequently used and valued on my iPhone, allowing me to focus on my preferred options and avoid getting lost in endless scrolling.

After about a month with this new setup, I feel much happier and less frustrated. I do miss some of my widgets, though, so I created a second screen featuring widgets that provide glanceable information without the need to launch the apps regularly, which works out well for me.

This second homescreen page offers quick access to the weather, my calendar, and stock information (including Dogecoin updates from Robinhood):

I have retained one Widget Stack, which rotates between my Fantastical and Photos widgets. Since I don't often check my calendar, I don’t need it constantly visible. However, seeing random photos from the past pop up can brighten my day, making it worthwhile to keep the Photos widget.

Having my favorite widgets just a swipe away has proven as effective as launching apps from their icons. Quick access to current weather and Dogecoin updates with a simple swipe has been more beneficial than trying to launch apps through widgets. I always have the necessary information at my fingertips, and by limiting their functionality, I find myself using them more often.

While app icons on my homescreen may not be as visually appealing as widgets, I prioritize functionality over aesthetics for my iPhone. I hope future iOS updates will enhance widget capabilities, potentially allowing me to reintroduce them to my main screen.

Chapter 2: Solutions to Common Widget Issues

To address some of the common frustrations with widgets, consider these helpful resources:

The first video titled "iPhone Widgets Not Working? Here's The Fix!" offers practical solutions for anyone facing issues with their widgets.

The second video, "How to Customize Your iPhone with iOS 14! Widgets and Custom App Icons," provides tips on personalizing your device effectively.