{"id":2238,"date":"2026-06-09T14:21:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T13:21:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mag.certideal.com\/?p=2238"},"modified":"2026-06-09T14:31:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T13:31:33","slug":"ios-27-is-making-the-home-screen-more-useful-with-xl-widgets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mag.certideal.com\/en\/ios-27-is-making-the-home-screen-more-useful-with-xl-widgets\/","title":{"rendered":"iOS 27 is making the home screen more useful with XL widgets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Apple keeps turning the iPhone home screen into something less static, less decorative, and much more practical. With iOS 27<\/strong>, the feature that stands out is not necessarily the flashiest announcement from WWDC, but it could genuinely change how people use their iPhone every day: a new extra-large widget format<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until now, Apple offered three main widget sizes on iPhone: small, medium, and large. In practice, that meant 2\u00d72<\/strong>, 4\u00d72<\/strong>, and 4\u00d74<\/strong> blocks. With iOS 27, a new 4\u00d76<\/strong> format joins the lineup. Put simply, a widget can now take up almost an entire iPhone screen, with enough room to show far more than a quick preview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A widget that is no longer just a shortcut<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since iOS 14, widgets have improved a lot, but they have often been stuck between two roles: showing a quick piece of information or acting as a prettier shortcut to an app. The XL format changes that balance. A weather app can display several days of forecasts without forcing you to open it. A productivity app can show more tasks, projects, or deadlines. A sports, finance, or health app can surface more data at a glance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is where this feature gets interesting. Apple is not just making widgets bigger. It is nudging the iPhone toward a personal dashboard<\/strong> approach. You unlock the screen, look at it, understand what matters, and tap less. It sounds minor, but in real-world use these small changes often matter more than many keynote-friendly features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A response to increasingly larger iPhones<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The timing makes sense. Modern iPhones have bigger displays than ever, yet the home screen still feels very close to what it was years ago: a grid of icons, a few widgets, and pages to swipe through. The XL widget finally gives that space a more meaningful role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On an iPhone Pro Max, this format could feel very comfortable. On a smaller model, it may feel too dominant. That is probably the main drawback: a widget this large can turn the home screen into one big panel. Useful for some, too much for others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple is still keeping resizing fairly natural. Widgets can be enlarged or reduced by dragging the bottom-right handle. In the first beta, support appears to be limited to some Apple widgets, but developers should have time to adapt their apps before the public release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A small feature, but a clear direction<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Next to AI-powered Siri, Apple Intelligence improvements, performance upgrades, and plenty of system refinements, this XL widget may look almost secondary. Still, it says a lot about where iOS 27 is going. Apple seems less focused on visual shock value and more interested in reducing friction. Fewer taps, more useful information, and a smoother experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That may be the real point. The iPhone no longer needs to reinvent the home screen every couple of years. It needs to make better use of the space it already has. A well-designed XL widget can save several app openings per day. A poorly designed one will just become a giant block of clutter. Developers will make the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What this could change for apps<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The apps with the most to gain are the ones that deal with lots of information: calendar, tasks, fitness, smart home, finance, news, music, and weather. A banking app could show balances, recent transactions, and useful shortcuts. A smart home app could bring together cameras, lights, and temperature. A media app could display several items to resume or read later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The risk is turning the widget into a mini website glued to the home screen. A good widget should stay readable, immediate, and clean. More space should not mean more clutter. Quite the opposite: the XL format will force serious apps to organize information better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final thoughts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The XL widget in iOS 27 is not the loudest feature in the update, but it has the feel of something people may underestimate at first and then keep on their main home screen. Apple is slowly turning the home screen into a more active space, closer to a personal control center than a simple app launcher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To me, this is the right direction. Not revolutionary, of course. But it fits the way the iPhone has evolved: larger, more personal, and more focused on immediate information. Now it is up to developers to build widgets that are genuinely useful, rather than just inflated versions of what already exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FAQ<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When will iOS 27 be available?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The developer beta is already available after WWDC 2026. The public release is expected in the fall, as usual for major iOS updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How big is the new XL widget?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The new format uses a 4\u00d76<\/strong> grid, compared with the 4\u00d74<\/strong> layout of the classic large widget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will all widgets support it at launch?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Not necessarily. In the first beta, support appears to be limited to some Apple widgets. Compatibility should expand as developers update their apps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will the XL widget be useful on every iPhone?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It should be especially useful on larger iPhone models. On smaller iPhones, it may take up too much space depending on how each app uses it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Apple keeps turning the iPhone home screen into something less static, less decorative, and much more practical. With iOS 27, the feature that stands out is not necessarily the flashiest announcement from WWDC, but it could genuinely change how people use their iPhone every day: a new extra-large widget format.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2237,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mag.certideal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mag.certideal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mag.certideal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mag.certideal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mag.certideal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2238"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mag.certideal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2239,"href":"https:\/\/mag.certideal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2238\/revisions\/2239"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mag.certideal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mag.certideal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mag.certideal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mag.certideal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}