WHATS NEW FOR WIDGETS
Generated on 7/31/2024
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Apple introduced several new features for widgets at WWDC 2024. Here are the key updates:
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Interactive Widgets: Widgets can now include multiple interactive areas, allowing users to perform actions directly from the widget without opening the app. This feature is available on iOS, macOS, and now watchOS. For example, the interactive home widget in watchOS 11 lets users lock or unlock their door directly from the widget (What’s new in watchOS 11).
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Accessory Widget Group Layout: This new layout allows for more information and interactivity by accommodating up to three separate views. It supports deep linking to different parts of your app and includes button and toggle initializers for performing actions directly within the widget (Platforms State of the Union).
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Relevant Contexts: Widgets can now specify one or more relevant contexts, such as time of day, location, or routine, to ensure they appear in the smart stack at the most useful times. This makes widgets more timely and contextual (What’s new in watchOS 11).
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Customization Options: The new accessory widget group layout allows for customization of colors using the container background view modifier and the foreground style view modifier. This helps in making the widgets visually consistent and appealing (What’s new in watchOS 11).
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Live Activities on watchOS: Live activities from iOS will automatically show up on Apple Watch, allowing for seamless integration and interaction. This includes new formats for displaying live times and dates, which are customizable and adapt to the size of their container (What’s new in SwiftUI).
For more detailed information, you can refer to the following sessions:
Platforms State of the Union
Discover the newest advancements on Apple platforms.
Bring your app’s core features to users with App Intents
Learn the principles of the App Intents framework, like intents, entities, and queries, and how you can harness them to expose your app’s most important functionality right where people need it most. Find out how to build deep integration between your app and the many system features built on top of App Intents, including Siri, controls and widgets, Apple Pencil, Shortcuts, the Action button, and more. Get tips on how to build your App Intents integrations efficiently to create the best experiences in every surface while still sharing code and core functionality.
What’s new in SwiftUI
Learn how you can use SwiftUI to build great apps for any Apple platform. Explore a fresh new look and feel for tabs and documents on iPadOS. Improve your window management with new windowing APIs, and gain more control over immersive spaces and volumes in your visionOS apps. We’ll also take you through other exciting refinements that help you make expressive charts, customize and layout text, and so much more.
What’s new in watchOS 11
Explore new opportunities on Apple Watch, including bringing Double Tap support to your watchOS app, making your Smart Stack widgets even more relevant and interactive, and displaying your iOS Live Activities in the Smart Stack.