Use widgets on your iPad

With iPadOS 15 and later, you can use widgets on any page of your Home Screen. You can also swipe right from the Home Screen or Lock Screen to see a different set of widgets in Today View.

How to add widgets to your iPad Home Screen

iPad Home Screen showing widgets and apps 

  1. Touch and hold an empty area on your Home Screen, then tap the Add button  in the upper-left corner.
  2. Select a widget from the list on the left.
  3. Swipe left or right on the widget to choose a size, then tap Add Widget.
  4. Tap Done in the upper-right corner, or just tap your Home Screen.

 

How to add widgets in Today View on your iPad

iPad screen showing Today View with widgets 

  1. Swipe your finger to the right on your Home Screen until you see Today View.
  2. Touch and hold an empty area in Today View, then tap the Add button  in the upper-left corner.
  3. Select a widget from the list on the left.
  4. Swipe left or right on the widget to choose a size, then tap Add Widget.
  5. Tap Done in the upper-right corner, or just tap your Home Screen.

You can also drag a widget from your Home Screen into Today View. To see widgets in Today View, swipe to the right on your Lock Screen or on the first page of your Home Screen.

 

Add widgets from other apps

Many third-party apps also provide widgets. Widgets that have been updated for iPadOS 14 and later work the same as built-in iPad widgets.

If an app hasn't been updated, you can still use its widgets, but they behave differently. Here's how to use widgets that haven't been updated:

  1. Swipe all the way to the right on your Home Screen to show Today View.
  2. Touch and hold an empty area in Today View until the widgets jiggle.
  3. Scroll to the bottom of Today View, then tap Customize.
  4. Tap the Add button  next to each app widget that you want to add.
  5. Tap Done. The widgets you selected appear in a section at the bottom of Today View.

Edit your widgets

Some widgets allow you to customize their content:

  1. Touch and hold a widget to open the quick actions menu.
  2. Tap Edit Widget .
  3. Make your changes, then tap outside of the widget.

iPad screen showing the Reminders widget options

Rearrange your widgets

  1. Touch and hold a widget until it jiggles.
  2. Move the widget to where you want it to go.

As you move the widget, apps and other widgets on your Home Screen rearrange to make room for it.

Delete a widget

  1. Touch and hold a widget.
  2. Tap Remove Widget, then tap Remove to confirm.

Use widget stacks

iPad screen showing a widget stack scrolling through its widgets 

Widget stacks combine several widgets into one. You can scroll vertically through the widgets in a stack, or you can turn on Smart Rotate to let iPadOS show you relevant widgets automatically. For example, you might see Calendar during the day to show your upcoming events, and Maps in the evening to show your commute time.

Create your own widget stacks

You can create a stack using widgets that you choose, and then customize how it works:

  1. Touch and hold an empty area on your Home Screen or in Today View until the apps and widgets jiggle.
  2. Drag a widget on top of another widget of the same size. 
  3. Drag other widgets of the same size on top of the stack to add them. You can stack up to 10 widgets.
  4. Tap Done in the upper-right corner, or just tap your Home Screen.

Use a Smart Stack

A Smart Stack is an automatically selected collection of widgets that displays information based on factors like your location, activity, or time. The widgets in a Smart Stack rotate throughout the day to show the most relevant information.

To add a suggested Smart Stack:

  1. Touch and hold an empty area on your Home Screen, then tap the Add button  when it appears in the upper-left corner.
  2. Select Smart Stack in the list on the left.
  3. Swipe left or right on the Smart Stack to choose a size, then tap Add Widget.
  4. Tap Done in the upper-right corner, or just tap your Home Screen.

Edit a widget stack

  1. Touch and hold the widget stack.
  2. Tap Edit Stack. From here, you can reorder the widgets in the stack by dragging them up or down. You can also: 
    • Turn on Smart Rotate if you want iPadOS to show you relevant widgets from your stack throughout the day. 
    • Turn on Widget Suggestions to allow iPadOS to add widgets that you might find useful. 
    • Tap the Delete button  on a widget to remove it from the stack.
  3. Tap Done in the upper-right corner, or just tap your Home Screen.

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