What’s new in widget

Asked on 10/03/2024

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In the latest updates presented at WWDC, widgets have received several enhancements, particularly in watchOS 11. Here are some of the key updates:

  1. Interactive Widgets: Widgets can now be interactive, allowing users to perform actions directly from the widget without opening the app. This includes the ability to use buttons and toggles within the widget. For example, a home widget can let users lock or unlock their door directly from the widget.

  2. Accessory Widget Group: A new view template API called Accessory Widget Group has been introduced. This allows for creating a view in an accessory rectangular widget with up to three different pieces of content, enhancing glanceability and interactivity.

  3. Relevant Widgets: Widgets can now specify relevant contexts, such as time of day or location, to appear in the smart stack at the most useful times. This makes widgets more actionable and intelligent.

  4. Live Activities: Live activities have been extended to watchOS, allowing iOS-based live activities to automatically show up on Apple Watch. This includes new formats for displaying live times and dates in widgets.

  5. Customization: Widgets can be customized with different colors and shapes using view modifiers, and they can deep link to different parts of an app.

For more detailed information, you can refer to the session What’s new in watchOS 11 (02:29) and What’s new in SwiftUI (10:45).

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