I’m a stickler for almost every aspect of my life, and that includes how I use my Pixel devices. For years, I’ve been stuck with the same home screen layout on nearly every Pixel I’ve used, including app icon locations, folders, and widgets. So of course I did the same Pixel 10 Pro when I first got my hands on it a few months ago, especially the widgets.
In many ways, widgets feel like a weakly basic user feature that many people ignore, and if they don’t, they stick to the default widgets of phone maker suites like Google, Samsung, or the smaller Android phone maker Nothing. With that in mind, here are a few basic widgets (and a sort of niche option) that offer useful information at a glance.
To add widgets to your Pixel device, long press the screen and select Widgets. Now you can search for the desired widget and its layout.
The easier I can record things, the better
My whole life is in it Google Keepand in a typical day, I open the app at least 50 times to jot down notes for work-related tasks, save specific links for later, or write down groceries I need to pick up. I’ve used the recording platform for years and have always appreciated that it works across a variety of devices, including Android, iOS, and desktop.
The key to making Google Keep really useful is to get in and out of the app as quickly as possible. This is where the recording platform Android widget comes into play. I use the largest selection of widgets that show individual note pages for quick access, and I always keep my most used notes at the top for convenience.
This is a basic option, but still very useful
Before you take to the comments section to tell me that including such a basic widget on this list is stupid, hear me out. I set alarms for a lot of things, whether it’s to wake up in the morning, a reminder to go to bed, or something as simple as how long something is cooking. Like Keep notes, the sooner I get into the Pixel’s Google Clock app, the better.
designation Google Clock A widget in the top-right corner of the Pixel 10 Pro’s home screen lets me check if my alarm is set at a glance without opening the app. That way, I can go to bed knowing my alarm is set correctly without the urge to check my notifications one last time before falling asleep.
Keeping tabs on the weather at a glance is very useful
There are countless weather apps out there, but since I first got my first Android device in 2010, the HTC Desire HD, I’ve always relied on it. Weather Network. So naturally, when it comes to weather information at a glance, the Weather Network widget is my go-to on the Pixel 10 Pro.
I opted for the widget version, which includes four app icons on my phone’s home screen that show the temperature, how it actually feels, and the weather for the next few hours. This allows me to easily figure out whether to wear shorts or pants that day (if it’s summer, of course), as well as what clothes I need to dress my one-year-old son in.
Since he loves to play outside, whether it’s rolling around on a blanket, playing with the water table, or eating grass, this widget also helps my partner and I plan our days, especially at the weekend. For example, if it’s going to rain in the next few hours, we don’t need to put sunscreen on it – we can wait a few hours until the storm passes.
I prefer the little widget that lets you easily scroll through your appointments
Admittedly, I don’t use the Google Calendar widget much, but over the past year I’ve come to rely on it more often. I work from home and my partner is currently on maternity leave with our son, so scheduling can be a bit hectic at times. For example, if I have a meeting in the morning, he does everything in his power to avoid coming to my office in the basement and to keep my very cowabung son cooler (not an easy task).
With that in mind, my partner often asks me over breakfast what appointments I have. In some cases I know right away, but in other cases I’m not entirely sure. This is the place Google Calendar widget is included. With a quick swipe of my finger, I can scroll through everything I have planned for the day and get a clearer picture of what the next few hours will look like.
I can also just open the Google Calendar app, but like Google Keep, so much of my life is organized in different Google Calendars and it can be overwhelming at times. Scrolling through a widget that quickly presents me with a simplified version of the day’s appointments keeps me from having a disastrous scrolling session on my phone.
