noob question about widgets

[jinjin12]

so being new to android, i find this weird lol. so widgets are only available for apps that you have correct? and you can place either widgets or the app icon on the home screens?

also how do i resize widgets? i've pressed and held on the widget and the only options available are to drag somewhere else.

 

[greydarrah]

There are a few widgets that are only widgets, like Beautiful Widgets. These are typically clock/weather widgets. For the most part, a widget is an extra feature that comes with some apps, and you can put the app, the widget, or both on you home screens. For example, you might have a calendar app that also has a widget that is always showing your upcoming appointments for the current day (thus keeping you from having to open the calendar app). As far as resizing, it probably depends on the widget and the amount of available screen size you have on a particular home screen.

Having said that, I'd caution against going widget crazy on your home screens. Personally, I've found many widgets to be serious battery drainers...because they are always updating data, as opposed to most apps that update when launched. Some calendar widgets I've tried have been really bad about this, but that doesn't mean they all are. Try some out. If you find your battery dying extra fast, get rid of them. I like my clock/weather widget, but other than that, I never considered it an inconvenience to tap an app icon.

 

[PWC Realtor]

There are a few widgets that are only widgets, like Beautiful Widgets. These are typically clock/weather widgets. For the most part, a widget is an extra feature that comes with some apps, and you can put the app, the widget, or both on you home screens. For example, you might have a calendar app that also has a widget that is always showing your upcoming appointments for the current day (thus keeping you from having to open the calendar app). As far as resizing, it probably depends on the widget and the amount of available screen size you have on a particular home screen.

Having said that, I'd caution against going widget crazy on your home screens. Personally, I've found many widgets to be serious battery drainers...because they are always updating data, as opposed to most apps that update when launched. Some calendar widgets I've tried have been really bad about this, but that doesn't mean they all are. Try some out. If you find your battery dying extra fast, get rid of them. I like my clock/weather widget, but other than that, I never considered it an inconvenience to tap an app icon.

Also more widgets means more Ram being used. Not as big of a deal on the Nexus 4 but noticed it on the GNex.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[ppeklak]

so being new to android, i find this weird lol. so widgets are only available for apps that you have correct? and you can place either widgets or the app icon on the home screens?

also how do i resize widgets? i've pressed and held on the widget and the only options available are to drag somewhere else.

think of a widget as an optional "front" to an app. to get a widget, you'd still have to download the app (most times there is a full app as well as the widget, other times, when you open the app it just tells you how to add the widget, so it was meant to just be a widget).

not all apps have widgets, and not all widgets have apps. and yes, you can place just the static app icon on the home screen (like an iphone) or the widget itself which dynamically updates.

some widgets are re sizable in the stock launcher, or you can download a launcher like nova and everything becomes re sizable.

 

[Citizen Coyote]

not all apps have widgets, and not all widgets have apps. and yes, you can place just the static app icon on the home screen (like an iphone) or the widget itself which dynamically updates.

Just to clarify, you can have both the app icon and the app's widget running and on the same screen if you wish. You can even have multiple copies of a widget running if you really want to.