Do you ever wish for widgets?

[redbeard]

Based on what empirical evidence? If that's the case, I am confused by the sheer volume of articles out there that recommend disabling widgets to save battery life. One of them illustrates the sheer differences between the concept of Android and iOS, as one article has 15 steps to take to save battery. Apple's view has consistently been that we shouldn't have to take 15 steps. For instance/starters:

Complete Guide to Maximizing Your Android Phone?s Battery Life - How-To Geek
Improve your Android device's battery life
Improve Your Android Phone's Battery Life | PCMag.com
How to Save Battery Power on an Android: 15 steps (with pictures)
Android AdvicesHow to Save Battery Life in Android Phones | Android Advices

I do agree, however, that the option to have some widgets would be cool, so long as I can turn them off to save battery. I guess Apple's version of widgets are the two we get with iOS 5 (stocks and weather, and those can be disabled).

The issue at hand, to me, is not whether widgets drain the battery - they just do, because they're running processes, fetching data over the network, and other functions, so by design, they will eat up battery. The issue is whether they belong on iOS.

They aren't yet available on iOS so how do you know? Android itself is supposedly a battery hog, why does anyone think Apple would make widgets that are battery hogs as well? And like Irish Rose said, everything drains the battery in one way or another, if all we cared about was battery life, what's the point of owning a smartphone?

I am running two widgets on my jailbroken phone and I haven't noticed any hit on the battery, I have them set to retrieve info every 15 minutes, and it only does so when I'm actually using the phone, it's such a tiny bit of info I don't see how it could even make a difference. Also these are widgets quickly written by some young hacker, I'm sure Apple could even do better, and of course they would be optional just like everything else Apple introduces as I pointed out above.

Bring on the widgets and other new features, I want my smartphone to continually get smarter, not dumber so that a few obsessive people only have to charge their phones once a week.

 

[Adawg1203]

Widgets would be a welcome feature. I love them on android based devices. The Additional strain on battery wouldn't even be noticeable enough for concern. Besides, the user sets up any widgets they would want on a home screen. The question is, does Apple want give its users that customizing ability???

 

[EmceeGeek]

Sure. I'd like a photo album on a screen but that's about it. I'm sure I can do that now being jailbroken but to do it without a jb would be cool.


Sent from my iPhone 4S or iPad 4G using Tapatalk

 

[coggster]

I have had Android for a while and iOS. About the only widget I use with any regularity is the calendar one. Handy to have an at a glance without having to do anything but I am guessing that is possible if JB. I really should research more..
My iPhone already outlasts my Android battery by a considerable margin and there is always, and I mean always, an iPhone charger within like 20ft - much like the rat saying.

 

[dev84]

NO!!!

I would be open to them on Notification center but no where near my home screen. Personally I rather have launchpad (app draw) so I could have an empty home screen and scrollable dock that can hold maybe 10 Apps at the most. I seriously never go to an app icon, I launch nearly every app from spotlight most of the time.

Also with local and server notifications I pretty much get tons of at glance info and not sure what info you would need widgets for.

My Banks sends notification of every transaction, I can scroll through them in notification center and if I want more details tap go to the app from N.C. ESPN updates me on the scores, PayPal tells me who sent me in N.C. and how much. Basically N.C. is one big at glance info widget.

 

[SteveW928]

Yes, but...

Yes, but not necessarily Android type widgets (at least from what it seems like folks are discussing here), but widgets like Snow Leopard had... which could float temporarily above an app. (Not like Lion where Apple kind of ruined them.)

Basically, I often end up in situations in iOS where I'm looking at some document and would love to be able to pop up a calculator which I could use while still being able to see the document underneath... or sometimes when reading something in an app where a pop-up note-pad would be nice (for example, in apps where copy&paste won't work) so I could take a quick note.

 

[steelew]

Yes

I would like something like this to replace spotlight. I never use spotlight, in fact I have it disabled through a jailbreak app because I just don't even want to accidentally go to it because it's useless to me. I do think that the unlock screen would also be a great place for more info as well as the space below the bottom row of icons and above the dock. I'm not saying to use one of these places either, they should make all 3 available and let the users turn them on or off as we see fit. I am strongly considering moving to android just because I am tired of jailbreaking and always wondering if apple made this feature (any jailbreak feature) would it be better. Then I get mad because they should have a platform for people who want more from their phones. I have been an iphone user since 2009 and it is just getting old to me. We as pasionate users always want more then they are willing to give. End of Rant...phew , that was good!

 

[gordol]

I've spent a fair amount of time on Android devices, and the one thing that I continually miss are home screen widgets. The notification center is nice and all, but I really wish iOS implemented a more immediate way of getting information at a glance. The icon grid is certainly simple and streamlined as is, and who knows how continually-updating widgets would effect battery life, but I would like to have the option, at least. Besides, this would open up a whole new content avenue for developers, especially if they've already put in the legwork for the Android versions of their apps.

I'm preparing to make the jump back to iOS (from Android) (just waiting for both my upgrade eligibility this year and the iPhone 5), and there are some widget functions I will miss: The ability to toggle power-consuming features on or off from the home screen (or Notification bar) without having to go into three layers of Settings. Specifically WiFi and Blue Tooth.

 

[borrowedchief]

I think just having the option would be nice.

Battery life aside, it would open up a lot more development opportunities.

 

[emirozmen]

Wouldn't say no to widgets.

 

[pjames6]

That's one of the main things about android I miss. That and google maps.

 

[Thegreatone3]

The only widget that I really love to have is a weather widget. One of the first things I did after jailbreaking my iPhone 4 was add a weather widget to my home screen.

 

[Duvi]

No... I don't. If they added them, it wouldn't effect me. I more than likely wouldn't use them... unless it was an ESPN ScoreCenter widget

 

[cotton]

So many people use "battery life" as the reason they don't want them. What if battery life was not an issue? Wouldn't we all love widgets if it wasn't for that?

How will the advances in batteries ever get here if we don't keep pushing for them? If Apple would support widgets, and they were one of the bigger battery drainers, don't you think apple would push the battery industry even harder than they are now?

 

[c5sparkchaser]

I'd like to have the option of using widgets or not. I just switched over to the iPhone after using an Android for about 5 years. It's been something I've been looking forward to for a while and I've found alternate methods for almost everything, but I miss my calendar and WeatherBug widgets. I'd also like to be able to place icons where I want them on the screens, not just shift positions.

 

[2oh1]

Nope.

I have no interest in widgets on my iPhone or iPad. On my Mac, I never use Dashboard. I installed geektool because I thought it was really neat being able to put stuff like that on my desktop, but I never use that either.

I'd love to be able to add things like the weather to notification center, but widgets on my iPhone or iPad? iPass on that

 

[macharborguy]

being a jailbreaker and having just got an Android-based media player, i have to say I see both sides of the argument.

Home-screen widgets are great for not only having information right there at your fingertips, but also having control of that information (the widgets for TuneIn Radio, Pandora and PocketCasts for example). I have all of them on the home screen of my Android media player and love being able to almost seamlessly switch between them without having to delve deeper into app screens.

I also like having the device hardware options available (brightness, wifi, bluetooth, airplane mode) without having to go into the Settings app, which is why I will continue to jailbreak my iPhone and iPad.

But I also see the "widget bloat" of having too many running at once draining not only battery life, but RAM as well (after all, you have to use power to keep stuff in active RAM).


But we have to remember these things:

1) Some users wouldn't use them at all. Even on Android, there are MANY users (at least most of the Android users that I have run into personally, face to face), had NO IDEA that they could add widgets or customize their home screens. If they don't know they can do it, or just don't want to do it, then there is no risk of battery drain or RAM usage.

2) Some users will do it, but will OVER-do it. But we already have that right now with people having 3G turned on in areas that do not offer 3G, or people that leave Wifi on when there are not around Wifi. Those hardware systems are still hard at work looking for a signal, draining battery life. There are also those people who JAILBREAK their device and load it up with so many hacks and JB apps that it just bogs their phone down even more.

3) Some users will hit the sweet spot, they will use just what they need, maybe test out a few widgets here and there, but after awhile they would settle on just the ones that work for them.

I would hope I would be in camp 3, but I have found myself in camp 2 quite a few times with the whole jailbreak thing.

 

[Rene Ritchie]

iOS has widgets, they're just confined to Notification Center and Siri... Which is interesting. Would the NC and Siri widgets be more useful of they could be pinned to the Home screen?

 

[macharborguy]

iOS has widgets, they're just confined to Notification Center and Siri... Which is interesting. Would the NC and Siri widgets be more useful of they could be pinned to the Home screen?

That really depends on the widget I guess.

I enjoy having the "not immediately need-to-know" stuff like the Stocks and Weather Forecast widgets in the Notification Center, and via jailbreak i also like having the hardware controls (wifi, bluetooth, flashlight, brightness controls, etc) in the Notification Center as well as my Multitasking tray.

However, I also like having things available on the home screen and lock screen, which is why I have "Weather Icon" and "IntelliScreen" installed (and I would have LiveClock if it worked correctly with iOS5, though i haven't checked its status in months). IntelliScreen is nice for having my Twitter and Facebook streams available for quick browsing without having to launch into the app. Yes the time it takes is trivial, but there is just something that feels right about having it right there. Kind of the same reason that Apple added the "Slide Up Camera Access" in 5.1, even though they just added the camera button to the lock screen some months back sans the slide-up mechanic.

What I have noticed i have been doing with the Notification Center, especially with IntelliScreen, is that I am loading it up with more tools than notifications. SBSettings, Flashlight, Weather, Stocks, Calendar, all of those take up the whole screen worth of real-estate, and only after i begin to scroll do I see any notifications. This may be going against what the NC is for, but at the same time i find myself using NC more than I was before i jailbroke.

 

[domaz]

Funny how everyone is praising the battery life on iPhone.

I had 2 iPhone 4S that couldnt get true 10 hours of use, both on iOS 5.1.

Never had a android with so bad battery life, but then again, I only had high-end android phones.