In order to make things convenient for the user, widgets are miniature screens from apps that display important information on the home screen.
A few of the most common widgets include weather, time, and control widgets, enabling mobile phone users to perform simple tasks or check information without opening the app.
Your phone’s home screen allows you to add and remove widgets. This article will explain how to add widgets to an Android 12 phone. It will also go over what widgets are, how to remove widgets, and examples of widgets.
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What are Widgets?
You could think of widgets as mini versions of your apps, similar to extensions. In this sense, you could think of it as a shortcut for displaying an app’s most important data without having to open it directly.
App widgets are available for specific apps, and you can add and remove them from the home screen as you see fit. As such, widgets are incredibly useful because they enable you to place your favorite applications on your home screen for easy access.
Widgets, however, do not replace applications. This view of the app only demonstrates a small fraction of the app’s functionality, which is probably its most crucial feature. The app will nonetheless provide a more comprehensive set of features than the widget.
Widget Examples
Widgets can vary from informational widgets, such as those showing the weather or time, to controllable widgets. Control widgets allow you to instruct an app to perform a particular task without opening it. The most common widgets include clocks, alarms, weather, health, finances, news, travel, navigation, and calendars.
- Calendar widgets – a weekly or monthly view of your calendar
- Google Chrome widgets – search widget, bookmark widget, shortcut widget
- Clock widgets – date and time widget, stopwatch widget, city time widget
- Gmail widgets – inbox widget, Gmail label widget
- Google News widget
- Google Maps widgets – directions widget, driving mode widget, share location widget, traffic widget
- Google Photos widgets – memories widget, people and pets widget
How to Add Widgets To Your Home Screen on Android 12
While your Android phone will come with a set of pre-installed widgets, you can always download more from the Google Play Store. In the Google Play Store, you can find a variety of widget apps. Once you have installed the app on your phone, you will need to follow the steps below.
Android makes it easy to add widgets to the home screen. You can add widgets to your Android home screen by following a few simple steps.
Here are the steps to how to add widgets to your home screen on Android 12:
- Long press your Android phone’s home screen
- Tap Widgets
- Select the widget that you want to add
- Touch and hold the widget selected
- Select the borders of the widget to determine its size and location on your home screen
As a result of the steps outlined above, your widgets will appear on the home screen. Should you need to move it, you can always tap and drag the widget, and it will adjust accordingly. Alternatively, you may enlarge or decrease it as necessary.
If there is no space left, you may want to remove some items, make the widget smaller, or rearrange things. The steps to remove a widget are outlined below.
How to Remove Widgets To Your Home Screen on Android 12
It may also be necessary to remove some widgets if there is no remaining space on your Android phone’s home screen or if you no longer require a particular widget. Removing a widget is quite simple.
Here are the steps to how to remove widgets from your home screen on Android 12:
- Select the widget to be removed
- Drag the widget to the section of your home screen that says Remove
The widget will be removed after it is dragged to the remove section.
Final Thoughts: Adding Widgets on Android 12
By having access to widgets, users can find information faster and enjoy an enhanced smartphone experience. Information that is relevant to the user is readily visible and accessible on the home screen. Android widgets may also be interactive, so you can toggle and control certain elements directly.
A widget is extremely useful since it allows you to place your favorite applications on your home screen for easy access. It can be viewed as a shortcut to display the most crucial data of an application without opening it. In other words, they act as mini versions of your applications. They can be added and removed from your home screen at any time.
