All articles tagged with #widgets
iOS 27 adds five new Apple Music features: landscape viewing of artwork and controls, improved AutoMix across Apple Music on TV and HomePod, a redesigned artist page with fullscreen color backgrounds, a new Friends playlist showing what friends are listening to, and three extra-large widgets (Recently Played, Recommendations, Top Charts) for more home screen customization.
iOS 27 introduces a slate of non-AI upgrades that improve daily use, including richer AutoMix transitions in Music, full-resolution iCloud Shared Albums, independent alarm volume, a new extra-large Home Screen widget and full-screen widgets, the option to move the Lock Screen clock, saving a video frame as a photo, a redesigned Find My app, an easier Apple Pay flow, broader landscape support, a clipboard paste shortcut, and a CarPlay audio scrubber, alongside the ongoing Apple Intelligence enhancements.
iOS 27 brings major CarPlay updates, including support for third‑party widgets, an audio scrubbing progress bar with a persistent mini‑player, Apple Music filters, and Maps improvements, plus new Celosia wallpapers and better wireless reliability. However, features like AirPlay video in CarPlay and route sharing to a car screen require automaker support, so many cars won’t have them yet; Siri AI enhancements also depend on compatible iPhones and enrollment waitlists.
Apple will launch iOS 27 on September 14, headlined by Siri AI (a delayed AI overhaul, in beta for English-only devices with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish coming in October). The update also adds a Liquid Glass opacity slider for a clearer or frostier UI, refreshed app icons, extra-large widgets, a smaller lockscreen clock, and distinct volume controls for ringtones, alarms, timers, and system sounds.
To escape the noise of modern feeds, Khamosh Pathak tests two minimalist Android RSS apps—Read You (free, open-source, highly customizable, not on the Play Store) and FeedFlow (mature, cross‑platform with OPML support and a home‑screen widget). He prefers Read You for the reading experience but uses both, concluding these lean options offer more control and a calmer feed than Feedly.
iOS 27 introduces AI-driven features and major UI refinements building on iOS 26, including a Siri-like AI experience, expanded lock-screen customization, a refined liquid glass design, larger widgets, a redesigned camera app with new editing tools, easier Shortcuts automation, and broad performance boosts (faster app launches, faster AirDrop, and quicker photo loading) that also benefit older devices.
iOS 27’s public beta introduces a slew of non‑AI improvements: smoother AutoMix transitions in Music, iCloud Shared Albums with full‑resolution sharing, independent alarm volume in Settings, a new extra‑large Home Screen widget with full‑screen options for Music/Photos/Weather/Calendar, the ability to dismiss the Now Playing widget on the Lock Screen, moving the clock to the top area of the Lock Screen, saving a video frame as a photo, a redesigned Apple Pay checkout flow, expanded landscape support across more apps, a refreshed Find My design with richer location details, a clipboard paste shortcut above the next keyboard, and a CarPlay audio scrubber for quick scrubbing in cars.
Google has begun rolling out the July 2026 security update (vCP2A.260705.006) for Pixel 6 and newer—the first patch after Android 17 launch—phased over the next week. It fixes issues including navigation alignment on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold when folding/unfolding and a wallpaper shape bug, plus broader fixes for apps that crash, widgets with incorrect colors, and potential boot loops. Google notes some home-screen widgets may disappear after update, with a fix expected in a future release.
Microsoft’s July 2026 Windows 11 quality update (for versions 25H2 and 24H2) focuses on reliability with features like Point-in-time Restore for automatic rollback via VSS, Screen tint accessibility overlays, and a new, more flexible Windows Update pause (up to 35 days). It also tightens daily-use polish—Widgets defaults become less disruptive, Magnifier gains precise zoom, File Explorer and printers see improvements, and Bluetooth, location, and networking get reliability tweaks. Additional enhancements cover Phone Link call handling, Voice Typing/Voice Access for Copilot+ PCs, and incremental touchpad and SR-IOV networking refinements, all delivered via CFR rollout to gradually reach users. Overall, the update emphasizes safer updates and smoother everyday use rather than flashy new features.
Apple’s iOS 27 introduces a new extra-large widget size that stretches the Home Screen to a 4×6 grid, with 11 core Apple apps currently supporting these widgets in beta 1, enabling more content to be visible at a glance and likely expanding further in future updates.
Google says a bug in Android 17 is causing some Pixel home-screen widgets to disappear for users with a work profile; a fix is in development and expected in a future software update, with a workaround being to remove and re-add the work profile to restore widgets.
Microsoft’s June 2026 Windows 11 Insider previews mainly polish existing features, adding Screen Tint for eye comfort, a Low Latency Profile to boost responsiveness, quieter Widgets, Magnifier enhancements, File Explorer improvements, a streamlined Windows Update restart flow, and improved Windows Search typo handling to deliver a smoother, more accessible OS experience.
The Verge’s early look at the iOS 27 developer beta highlights non‑AI improvements: a more configurable Liquid Glass opacity, refined app icons, separate volume settings for ringtones/alarms and alerts, the introduction of extra‑large widgets, and a movable Lock Screen clock to reduce clutter, signaling a polished, user‑focused update.
Google announced Wear OS 7 with up to 10% longer battery life for upgrades and new features including Gemini Intelligence, Wear OS widgets (replacing tiles), Live Updates, Enhanced System Media Controls (per-app auto-launch and audio routing), and Watch Face Format 5; a Wear OS 7 Canary emulator is available for developers ahead of a full release later this year.
Googlebook adds a true ChromeOS desktop with app icons, folders, and drag‑and‑drop Android apps, plus Gemini‑powered, Create My Widget widgets for personalized dashboards, delivering a more capable, bridge between mobile and desktop workflows while keeping a minimalist option.