I've spent way too many hours tweaking my home screen. And honestly? Most of that time was wasted. The Instagram-worthy setups with seventeen tiny widgets look great in screenshots but are useless in practice.
Here's what I've landed on after years of iteration. No aesthetic nonsense — just widgets that genuinely save me time.
The Main Screen: Information at a Glance
My home screen has exactly four widgets. That's it. Everything else lives in the App Library or folders on page two.
Weather (Medium, Top Left)
The native Apple Weather widget in medium size. Shows current conditions and the next few hours. I tried Carrot Weather and it's great, but the stock widget does exactly what I need without the subscription.
Calendar (Medium, Top Right)
Fantastical's medium widget. Yes, it costs money. Yes, it's worth it. Shows my next three events with color coding that actually matches my calendar colors. The native Calendar widget doesn't show enough context.
Convert Currency Widget (Small, Middle Left)
Since I travel frequently and have family abroad, I keep Convert's currency widget showing USD to GBP. One tap opens directly to the conversion screen. I also like that it updates rates automatically throughout the day — no manual refresh needed.
Reminders (Medium, Bottom)
The stock Reminders widget showing my "Today" list. Nothing fancy. I've tried Things 3, Todoist, and TickTick widgets. They're all fine. But Reminders syncs instantly and the widget just works.
The Lock Screen: Your Most-Checked Info
Here's the thing most people get wrong: the Lock Screen is premium real estate. You see it dozens of times a day, often for just a second or two. Put the information you'd otherwise unlock your phone to check.
My setup:
- Above the time: Weather condition icon (stock)
- Below the time: Next calendar event (left), battery percentage (right)
- Bottom row: Convert widget for quick currency check, Activity rings
That battery percentage one seems dumb until you realize how often you unlock just to check if you need to charge before heading out.
Widgetsmith: Still the Customization King
Widgetsmith doesn't get as much hype as it did in 2020, but it's still the best app for custom widgets. I use it for two things:
- Date widget with custom formatting. I like seeing "Saturday, Jan 11" rather than just "11" or the weird abbreviated format Apple uses.
- Photo widget that actually updates. The stock Photos widget shows random images. Widgetsmith lets you pick a specific album and set rotation frequency.
The free tier handles both of these. You don't need the premium version unless you want the weather complications.
Widgets I've Removed (And Why)
Sometimes knowing what not to do is more helpful:
- News widgets. Just endless distraction. If I want news, I'll open Safari deliberately.
- Music widgets. Takes up too much space for something I control from the Lock Screen anyway.
- App shortcuts disguised as widgets. If you're using a widget just to launch an app, pin the app instead. Widgets should show information.
- Social media widgets. No explanation needed.
- Notes widget. Seemed useful in theory. In practice, I never looked at it.
Quick Setup Recommendations by Use Case
If You Travel Often
Lock Screen: Weather at destination (add a second city in Weather app), Convert currency widget, Flighty departure countdown.
Home Screen: Convert medium widget showing multiple currencies, Weather, Airbnb or hotel app shortcut.
If You're a Student
Lock Screen: Next class (Calendar), assignment due date (Reminders).
Home Screen: Calendar (large), Reminders "School" list, Forest or similar focus timer.
If You Work From Home
Lock Screen: Meeting countdown, weather (for those "should I take a walk?" moments).
Home Screen: Calendar (large, showing full week), Slack status (if your company uses it), Reminders.
The Stack: My Hidden Widgets
Smart Stacks sounded great until I realized I was constantly swiping through them looking for the right widget. Defeats the purpose entirely.
Instead, I use one manual stack on page two with widgets I need occasionally but not daily:
- Screen Time summary
- Shortcuts (my most-used automations)
- App Store updates
- Convert's unit widget (for when I'm cooking and need quick measurements)
Smart Rotate is turned off. I swipe manually when I need something specific.
One More Thing
Don't copy my setup exactly. The whole point is that your widgets should reflect your daily patterns. Pay attention to what you actually check. If you unlock your phone six times a day just to see the temperature, put weather on your Lock Screen. If you never look at your calendar widget, remove it — even if productivity YouTubers insist you need one.
Widgets are tools, not decorations. Treat them that way.
