It's always nice to have a juicy iOS rumour, and this one's a doozy: Apple is reportedly working on an interactive widget system codenamed InfoShack for the version of iOS that'll ship with the iPhone 14. Unfortunately there are apparently multiple versions of it in development so it's not clear which, if any, of the leaks we've seen so far resemble the finished feature. But there's enough here to be interesting, not least because it looks like Apple is borrowing from Android.
Why interactive widgets are a great idea
We were hoping for interactive widgets in iOS 15, but they didn't make the cut. And that's a shame, because interactive widgets are wonderful things: I used loads of them back when OS X had Dashboard, which brought interactive widgets to the Mac back in 2011 before they were unceremoniously shuffled into the Notifications Centre instead.
The problem with iOS 15's widgets is they don't do anything: they're just links to apps, albeit very pretty ones. So my weather widget doesn't switch views, my Omnifocus widget doesn't enable me to change Perspectives or dates, and so on. Even something as simple as an interactive Calculator widget would be handy, saving me an unlock and a swipe when I'm working out a tip.
According to LeaksApplePro there is still a great deal of work to be done before these widgets are ready for prime time, but I really hope they make it into the final iOS 16 release: with the iPhone in particular, it's often the little things that make the biggest difference to your day-to-day life.
Upgrade to smarter living
Get the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products straight to your inbox.
Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).
-
Android phone prices could soon soar for just one reason
Price of the brick goin' up
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
Leaked Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra case shows a shift back to the mundane
Samsung's next flagship might not be quite so unique.
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
Is this the foldable phone that has Samsung most worried?
Another folding phone has just launched, this time with Loewe design
By Chris Hall Published
-
When is the iPhone 16 coming out? Could Apple's on-sale date be a surprise?
The iPhone 16 has already bucked trends once
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra concept renders show a potential iPhone beater
Samsung might be cooking up a beauty
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
Huawei is set to shake up the foldable phone market sooner than we thought – tri-fold handset imminent
Huawei's plan is unfolding soon
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
OnePlus Nord 4 review: heavy on the metal, light on the price
Buying on a budget? The metal-bodied OnePlus Nord 4 is a very smart choice indeed
By Basil Kronfli Published
-
Key Samsung Galaxy S25 features revealed by Samsung itself
Samsung is building the hype as rivals are set to unveil their own flagships
By Max Freeman-Mills Published