Widgets that earn their place on the home screen
A good widget answers a question the user has often without opening your app: what's next, what changed, what's the number today. The design challenge is that widgets are a constrained, non-interactive canvas that the launcher renders on your behalf — you don't get a normal Activity, so state, sizing, and refresh all work differently.
We design widgets around a single clear job, then build them to resize cleanly and update on a schedule that respects the battery. Users keep widgets that are genuinely useful and remove ones that feel like clutter, so restraint is part of the craft.
- Jetpack Glance (Compose-based) widgets for modern apps, or RemoteViews for broader reach
- Responsive layouts that adapt across widget sizes and launcher grids
- Tap actions that open the right screen or trigger an action directly
- Efficient refresh via WorkManager or update intervals that don't drain battery
- Configuration screens so users can set up the widget when they add it
- Android 12+ dynamic color (Material You) so widgets match the user's theme
Data, updates, and the constraints that matter
Widgets can't update every second — the OS limits how often they refresh, and battery is the reason. So the real design question is how fresh the data needs to be and how to fetch it cheaply: cached values, periodic background work, or an update triggered by an event in your app.
We match the update strategy to the content. A stock ticker, a to-do count, and a delivery status each want different refresh behavior, and getting that mapping right is the difference between a widget that feels alive and one that feels stale.
- Update strategy matched to content: periodic, event-driven, or on-demand
- Local caching so the widget shows something useful instantly, then refreshes
- Background refresh via WorkManager with battery-friendly constraints
- Interactive widgets on Android 12+ where the platform supports richer actions
- Graceful empty and error states when data isn't available
- Lock screen and Quick Settings tiles as complements where they fit your use case
More on android apps
Frequently asked questions
Can a widget update in real time?
Not truly real time — Android limits widget refresh frequency to protect battery life. We design widgets to show cached data immediately and refresh on a sensible schedule or when a relevant event happens in your app, which covers almost every practical use case.
Do we need a widget if we already have an app?
Only if there's information users check often. Widgets shine for glanceable data and one-tap shortcuts. If your value is deeper interaction, the app itself is the right home. We'll give you an honest read during a free consultation rather than building a widget for its own sake.
Will the widget work on all launchers?
Widgets are rendered by the launcher, and most support the standard widget framework. Some third-party launchers and manufacturer skins handle sizing and refresh slightly differently, so we test against the launchers your users are likely to run.