This story is part of Focal Point iPhone 2022, CNET’s collection of news, tips and advice about Apple’s most popular product.
Apple’s latest iPhone operating system – iOS 16 – was released last week, and third-party apps were right behind it, with many launching new versions on the same day. The biggest added feature for apps in iOS 16 is the ability to provide information or functionality from the iPhone’s new customizable lock screen.
With the new iPhone lock screen, you can adjust the background, change colors and fonts, and add new widgets that stay on your screen when your iPhone is locked. Two types of widgets—round and rectangular—are located below the displayed time, while a third type—inline—appears as a bar above the clock.
You can add native Apple widgets from apps like Weather, Calendar, or News, or tons of third-party widgets from your favorite apps, even Google (coming soon). Check out some of the coolest widget apps for the new iPhone lock screen with iOS 16 below. For more on iOS 16, here are the first things you should do after you’re up and running, and why your iPhone might not have all the cool features of iOS 16.
iOS 16 apps to design your own widgets
Widgetsmith
Widgetsmith
Widgetsmith – a robust iPhone app for creating and editing your own widgets – debuted in 2020 when iOS 14 added widgets to its home screen. Now the app is adding its widget customization tricks to iPhone lock screens.
With Widgetsmith, you can create and customize all three types of lock screen widgets to add calendar items, text, weather updates, photos, and more.
ScreenKit
Screenkit
ScreenKit is another widget customization app that dives into lock screens with iOS 16. The app includes tons of custom icons and other aesthetic features.
ScreenKit makes it easy to create your own lock screen widget from scratch and then customize it further by changing the background, colors or decorations.
iOS 16 apps that trigger functions or other apps
Starter
Starter
Launcher widgets have been available for the Home screen and Today View for years. The app lets you create shortcuts to quickly access bookmarks, play music, launch other apps, or communicate with your most popular contacts via phone, message, or FaceTime.
You can now get most of Launcher’s features on your iPhone’s lock screen. Just touch your loved one’s face to send them a message or phone call.
Start
Launchify/screenshot by Peter Butler/CNET
Add quick shortcuts to your lock screen that go to your favorite iPhone apps or bookmarks with Launchify, a new app released on the same day as iOS 16. The app lets you import your own custom icons or use thousands from your own library.
The free version of Launchify lets you add just two circular widgets to your lock screen—a $17-a-year or $2-a-month subscription unlocks additional widgets and the ability to add apps that aren’t included in Launchify’s database.
iOS 16 utilities, trackers and social media apps with lock screen widgets
Flying
Flying
The popular flight tracking app Flighty has now been updated to include support for lock screen widgets. Now you can just look at your iPhone to get the latest updates on arrivals and departures.
You can also add lock screen widgets with a countdown to your trip, the time at your destination, a flight progress bar, or other detailed information about your flight, including gate number, seat allocation, and baggage claim information.
Social media giant Facebook surprised users on iOS 16 launch day by updating its iPhone app to include support for two widgets on the lock screen. You can add birthdays at a glance or top updates from your friends.
The birthday widget comes in both round and rectangular versions. The Top Updates widget is only available as a wider rectangular widget and includes your most recent Facebook notifications.
A dark noise
A dark noise
Ambient sounds app Dark Noise has become a popular tool for iPhone users who like to have background noise for sleeping or focusing. Now you can access white noise directly from the lock screen. Dark Noise has added all three types of widgets for the various sounds and noises included in the app.
Apollo for Reddit
Apollo for Reddit
Serious Reddit users will appreciate the new lock screen widgets from this third-party tracker app for the popular message board site. Apollo for Reddit developer Christian Selig has already created several new lock screen widgets to monitor Reddit activity at a glance while your iPhone is locked.
You can add widgets that show how your most recent post is doing, new messages in your inbox, your updated karma points, trending posts, or bookmarks to your favorite subreddits, among many options.
WaterMinder
Health-focused iPhone app WaterMinder helps you stay hydrated, and now you can get reminders to drink more water — right from your iPhone’s lock screen. The app has recently been updated to add eight styles of lock screen widgets.
You can now view your current water levels, see hourly and weekly graphs, and log your drinks right on your iPhone’s lock screen.
things
things
Things is a popular personal task manager for iPhone that allows you to create to-do lists and track your progress in completing them. A new iOS 16 update puts much of the power of Things directly on your iPhone’s lock screen.
Three new widgets from Things let you view tasks on your to-do list, quickly add a new task, or track your progress on your tasks. The Things lock screen widget defaults to the tasks on your Today list, but you can customize it to show other items like your inbox, deadlines, or shopping lists.
Colette
Colette
The useful Parcel package tracking app lets you monitor the progress of your shipments from 300 services, including UPS, FedEx, DHL and the US Postal Service. With its latest iOS 16 update, the app now adds the ability to track a specific package directly from your lock screen. Parcel screen lock widgets come in all three shapes – round, rectangular and inline.
More apps with new lock screen widgets for iPhone with iOS 16
Many more iPhone apps have updated or added lock screen widgets for use with iOS 16. Here’s a list of the programs we found that have new lock screen widgets:
For more information about iOS 16 and the new iPhone 14, learn why your iPhone might not get all the new features of iOS 16 and how to remove the new search button from the home screen.
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