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Widgets: Pros and Cons

On a computer with a constant power supply (I'm mostly referring to desktops) widgets make sense because you can glance at any info and not have to worry about your electronic device dying. However on a smartphone I've always found widgets to be absolutely useless. They are just a drain of battery. Especially on a device like the iPhone 4 where apps open very quickly, why do I need a widget draining my impressive battery life? Back when I was on android, I only had one widget and that was to show news headlines.
 
govena said:
On a computer with a constant power supply (I'm mostly referring to desktops) widgets make sense because you can glance at any info and not have to worry about your electronic device dying. However on a smartphone I've always found widgets to be absolutely useless. They are just a drain of battery. Especially on a device like the iPhone 4 where apps open very quickly, why do I need a widget draining my impressive battery life? Back when I was on android, I only had one widget and that was to show news headlines.
Click to expand...

I doubt they make widgets mandatory. Just don't use them.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.3.4; en-gb; Nexus S Build/GRJ22) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

Where are people getting this idea that widgets are a huge drain on battery? Every single widget that polls any kind of data (weather, social feeds and RSS) on my Nexus has polling interval configuration settings.
Of course if you have an application configured to update every 15 minutes, it'll use more data and battery but if you reduce the amount of time it polls for new data, the impact is far less.

I don't need things to update so often and some are set to manually refresh when I want them to.

Can anyone here provide real world examples of widgets that have killed their battery and the applications? Did you attempt to configure it in any way at all?
 
I don't care for widgets, but one thing I do want is something like SBSettings. (Or on Android how when you slide down the status bar you have the options to turn on/off WiFi, 3G, brightness, and so on.)
 
ChazUK said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.3.4; en-gb; Nexus S Build/GRJ22) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

Where are people getting this idea that widgets are a huge drain on battery? Every single widget that polls any kind of data (weather, social feeds and RSS) on my Nexus has polling interval configuration settings.
Of course if you have an application configured to update every 15 minutes, it'll use more data and battery but if you reduce the amount of time it polls for new data, the impact is far less.

I don't need things to update so often and some are set to manually refresh when I want them to.

Can anyone here provide real world examples of widgets that have killed their battery and the applications? Did you attempt to configure it in any way at all?
Click to expand...

Back when I had an Android phone, I used widgets (yes, I adjusted their settings too) and I compared a week of widget use with a week of no widget use. I did notice the battery did indeed take a hit from widgets. From MY personal experience widgets did indeed reduce my battery life enough for it to bother ME. This is just a personal thing. Some people like widgets and use them. Others prefer not to use them and have extra battery. It just depends on the person.
 
Fliesen said:
or just a widget that allows you to turn wifi on / off right from the homescreen without having to go into Settings -> Wi-Fi
(or Settings -> General -> Bluetooth, for that matter)
Click to expand...

this. it is so much of a pain to turn off wifi. ive submitted numerous requests of this feature.

Wicked1 said:
Not a big fan of Widgets because then it will look like Apple is copying Android
Click to expand...

everyone says its copying however, apple gets many of its ideas from jailbreaks and the summit your request on apple.com/feedback. its not really copying if users request it. the only way you copy is if you copy the same way its executed. thats the way i see it at least.
 
Shenaniganz08 said:
so why the hell do i need IMMEDIATE weather updates ?

or immediate facebook updates draining my battery all day ?

I've never understood the point of widgets for a mobile device

but im willing to change my views if someone has a good example
Click to expand...

Widgets are pretty cool. I dont use a lot of them but i do have a few that work for me.

Here is one of my pages with two widgets on it that i like. The PowerAmp music player is an awesome App that comes with a widget of different sizes.

snap20110603_193030.jpg
 
I like widgets and see why some may love them.

I don't think I really need them though. I can take the extra second to open the app or setting I want to access.
 
Matthew9559 said:
I like widgets and see why some may love them.

I don't think I really need them though. I can take the extra second to open the app or setting I want to access.
Click to expand...

You say that now.....til you see just how many Apps you download come with a widget, and there are many of them.
 
I wouldn't protest to a nice weather widget. As well as clock and calendar. It's convenient sometimes, unless they just clog the screen. Then, it just gets muddled and less efficient.
 
govena said:
On a computer with a constant power supply (I'm mostly referring to desktops) widgets make sense because you can glance at any info and not have to worry about your electronic device dying. However on a smartphone I've always found widgets to be absolutely useless. They are just a drain of battery. Especially on a device like the iPhone 4 where apps open very quickly, why do I need a widget draining my impressive battery life? Back when I was on android, I only had one widget and that was to show news headlines.
Click to expand...

Amen to this

I guess what it comes down to is, do you use your phone for work or entertainment

For a teenage kid who is bored/ADD he needs something that updates constantly, and its not a big deal if his battery dies at school

For me though battery life is important, and I really don't need updates every single minute, its not like I can even check my phone that often.

Plus I live here in Los Angeles, ie our weather is always Sunny 70-75 F why would I need weather updates that change with GPS ?

NOW

on a desktop, with a large screen, more processing power, and unlimited power, I can see why widgets make sense


edit

ooh google search bar, I like that ( will have to see if there is a JB hack for that)
snap20110603_193030.jpg
 
kdarling said:
This whole thread is an echo of the posts before the iPhone got multitasking:

"It's okay for a laptop, but not for a smartphone."

"I don't understand why anyone would want it."

"It'll just use up my battery!"
Click to expand...

And once Apple introducts widgets, the same fanboys will claim it is revolutionary and magical and how Apple's implementation blows away Android's and WP7. Some things never change :p
 
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Shenaniganz08 said:
For a teenage kid who is bored/ADD he needs something that updates constantly, and its not a big deal if his battery dies at school
Click to expand...

How on earth do you attribute a widget with people who suffer with ADD? What an idiotic statement.
 
kdarling said:
This whole thread is an echo of the posts before the iPhone got multitasking:

"It's okay for a laptop, but not for a smartphone."

"I don't understand why anyone would want it."

"It'll just use up my battery!"
Click to expand...
As are all things before Steve Jobs has blessed them. :)
Then they're magic and how did we get by without them...
 
Because (most) of the time, Apple finds a way to make those things (like widgets) functional on their devices. They ARE a stupid idea, and we'll bash them to the hills before - because they are oft implemented poorly.
 
I see the point of widgets if Apple lets third party developers create some. If you are limited to 10 widgets that Apple gives, then I don't see that much of a point.

My take on widgets:

Even so, I probably wouldn't use the widgets. A lot of them seems unnecessary to me or would eat too much data/battery life when I have no desire to use them. If I want to check Twitter, then I'll check Twitter. If I want to check my time, I'll look at the status bar. If I want to check weather, I'll open the weather app. It's not like the weather is going to change to a noticeable degree where I'll need to keep checking it (or have a widget for it). If it's 75 at noon, and 76 at 1PM, I'm not going to notice it, much less care about knowing that there is a difference.

I'm the kind of person (if I had an Android), I'd still rather open the full fledged Facebook App rather than use the widgets. The widgets would be merely for aesthetics. But at least 3rd parties can develop widgets which could make a few handful ones.
 
Widgets are nothing more than the equivalent of the desktop browser menu bars. Waste of space, time and intrusive for most people. While I agree iOS could use improving widgets are not the answer. If I want widgets I'll buy a Mongaloid phone or JB.
 
For the last time, WIDGETS DON'T EAT YOUR BATTERY!

I currently have an 'SBS settings-like' widget, a weather forecaster for the next 5 days, my calendar appointments for the next 3 days and a simple RSS feed. They will only poll every couple of hours and use virtually no battery. I get 2 days use out of my 'droid, I never got that on my now defunct 3GS.

I do enjoy the iOS ecosystem, but FOR ME, widgets and notifications are now almost irreplaceable.
 
Alaerian said:
Exactly. I don't believe widgets are necessary at all. If it's too much of a hassle to open the TWC app to check the coming weather, then apparently it's already not that important to you.

Why on earth do you need a weather widget anyhow? All a widget is going to do is show you the current status - pretty sure you can look out a window for that.
Click to expand...
Lol. Agreed.
 
kdarling said:
This whole thread is an echo of the posts before the iPhone got multitasking:

"It's okay for a laptop, but not for a smartphone."

"I don't understand why anyone would want it."

"It'll just use up my battery!"
Click to expand...
It was a valid point, and would still be, if it was 'real' multitasking as we know it, and not fast app switching.
 
i just don't get the huge desire some people have for widgets. Now a better notification system in iOS 5, yes. But the ability to see the weather at this exact moment, without having to go through the horribly laborious task of taping on the weather icon?! :eek: /sarcasm off

I'll take better battery life and tap the weather icon.
 
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