Ask HN: Do you use widgets on Android? As a designer I'm interested of widget usage on Android. I found this (old) post where HTC claims that people don't use widgets: http://www.imore.com/htc-learns-2013-what-apple-knew-back-2007-widgets-arent-widely-used I'm a bit confused because I know many people who use widgets on Android. So, do Android users use widgets or not? I guess widgets are mainly for techies than casual non-tech-savvy users? What do you think? |
My need is to have a glanceable schedule for the day - what is coming up, when and where; or how packed the day is or not. Calendar notifications don't work for me as I need information at the back of my mind. Having a widget displaying information without me seeking it out, helps my back of mind scheduler.
Now thinking about it, Widgets (atleast for my case) acts like an ambient device.
Some internal company ones giving quick KPI/dashboarding. I think this market is under-served by corporate apps in general. If a process is critical to an organisation no matter it's size, a widget can be a great tool for monitoring it.
When a real-time statistic is sufficiently important I prefer a widget to needing to load (or even develop) a dedicated app. I can then go through unified web-based (responsive) interface to take any action needed.
I perceive them to use up battery and memory and I don't want the unnecessary distraction. Whether they actually do use battery or not is another question.
I used to use a wifi/BT/GPS toggle widget but all that is now in the notification drawer there's no need.
What I have used instead (but not much ) is the OneNote badge. It works kind of like Facebook "conversation bubbles", giving me a shortcut to OneNote from any app.
There are not a lot of information you need to have always up to date.
I used to use the Weather widget, but switched that with spotify and a smaller clock widget.
I have tried using other widgets but I found myself always opening the App instead.
There is a niche of users that can't live without them though.