The Origin
Every time we saw the same old widgets on iPhone home screens, we couldn't help but wonder: can we do something different?
Since iOS 14 introduced widgets, Apple opened a door for users to customize their home screens. But for most users, that door was only half open — you could choose from system-provided widgets, but you couldn't truly design your own.
That's why Craft Widgets was born.
Design Philosophy
We followed three core principles when designing Craft Widgets:
1. Simple and Intuitive
The best tools should be "invisible." Users shouldn't need to learn complex workflows — drag, adjust, save — three steps to create a custom widget.
2. Rich Expression
We offer 200+ carefully designed templates covering the most common everyday scenarios. Each template has been refined through multiple rounds of visual optimization to ensure great results on any wallpaper.
3. Community-Driven
Individual creativity has its limits. Through the community sharing feature, users worldwide can publish their creations and build upon others' designs.
Technical Challenges
During development, we encountered several interesting technical challenges:
- TimelineProvider refresh mechanism: iOS widgets don't update in real time — we needed to carefully design Timelines to balance data freshness with battery life
- Rendering consistency: Preview effects in the editor must exactly match the actual widget on the home screen
- Performance optimization: Maintaining rich visual effects while ensuring optimal memory usage and loading speed
What's Next
Craft Widgets is about to launch on the App Store. We look forward to hearing from every user and will continue to iterate and refine the product.
If you're interested in Craft Widgets, follow us on social media to be the first to know when it launches.