ios-widget-design
iOS Widget Design
Design widgets as glanceable, context-specific extensions of an app — never as compressed app screens. The current source of truth is Apple’s Widgets Human Interface Guidelines. Before making a new design or review recommendation, read the iOS/iPadOS decision guide. When a design needs an artboard, measured layout, or a claimed size in points, also read the WidgetKit family and dimensions reference. If a requested behavior depends on a recently changed WidgetKit API or system appearance, verify it against Apple’s current documentation.
Scope
Use this skill for WidgetKit widgets on iPhone and iPad: Home Screen, Today View, Lock Screen, and StandBy. It covers product decisions, information hierarchy, visual design, gallery states, accessibility, and SwiftUI handoff.
Do not apply it to Live Activities, Control Center controls, full app screens, watch complications, or macOS/visionOS widgets unless the request explicitly includes them. A live, frequently updating task or event generally calls for a Live Activity rather than a widget.
Start with the right widget
- Identify the single user need the widget serves, the moment it is viewed, the content that must stay fresh, and the destination or action it enables.
- Choose only the widget families that add a distinct, useful perspective. A larger family must reveal additional meaning, information, or actions; it must not merely scale up a smaller layout.
- Treat each supported context as a separate design condition. State any missing product assumptions rather than inventing a complex feature set.
- Include signed-out, empty, unavailable, stale, and loading states when they can occur. Authentication messaging should explain the value of signing in.