7 widgets I always add to my home screen on every Android phone

I’ve always felt that app widgets don’t get nearly enough credit for the convenience they provide. They are great for checking important information at a glance and going directly to specific application features. That’s why my home screen setup doesn’t find the right wallpaper or prefer icon packs. For me, it’s all about choosing the right widgets.

Over the years, I’ve settled on a few widgets that I can’t live without. In fact, setting up a new Android phone is never complete for me until I have them all.

Between wireless earbuds, a smartwatch, and the occasional Bluetooth speaker, there are sometimes too many devices to keep track of. That’s why battery widget is so important to me. It gives me an overview of everything, so I can quickly see what’s going down before heading out.

Sure, I can check the battery level from the Quick Settings panel, but it’s not nearly as detailed. For example, it shows the battery level of the earbuds, but it doesn’t. For that, I have to search for the Bluetooth menu or open the Galaxy Buds Manager app.

With Battery Widget, all that information is available on the home screen at all times. I also love that it’s fully resizable. This allows me to choose a size that covers all my devices without wasting space. This widget is built-in on my Galaxy S26, but it’s not exclusive to Samsung phones. Pixel phones and other Android phones offer similar battery widgets.

After months of bouncing between browsers, I finally settled on Brave. At the same time, I also added its widget to my home screen and it quickly became one of my favorites. First, it puts my bookmarks front and center so I can go straight to the website I need instead of looking at my recent tabs first. If I’m looking for something else, the built-in search bar is right there.

The widget also has a convenient shortcut to open an individual tab. That means I don’t have to long press the browser icon or dig through menus every time I want to browse privately. So yes, it’s about reducing friction.

For better or worse, I’ve come to rely on Gemini more than I expected. To that end, I’ve replaced the search bar on my home screen with a Gemini widget. Yes, removing the Google search bar is something you can do on a Galaxy phone — sorry, Pixel users.

Jokes aside, the main advantage is that this simple widget has access to all of Gemini’s shortcuts. I can start a conversation, type prompt, launch camera and start screen sharing. I mostly use Live and Video shortcuts so I can start talking to Gemini or point the camera at whatever I’m watching and ask questions about it. It’s very handy when I encounter something I don’t know.

I admit, most of my widgets help me get things done faster. However, the Digital Wellbeing Widget is not one of them. Instead, it’s there to remind me when I’ve spent too much time on my phone. I have a small 2×2 widget that tells me my screen time and the three most used apps of the day.

Personally, app timers never work for me because I always ignore them. The widget is very useful. It lets me know how much time I’ve spent on my phone every time I return to the home screen. A list of top apps tells you whether that time was spent on something worthwhile or just doom-scrolling.

The Samsung Health Widget takes its place on my home screen in the same way as the Digital Wellbeing Widget – Visibility. I’ve found that I’m more likely to stay on top of my goals when I can see my progress throughout the day.

I mainly use the widget to track my step count and make sure I reach my goal of 6,000 steps (don’t judge). The widget also shows my step count from previous days, along with active time and calories burned. If you don’t have a Galaxy phone, Google Fit offers a similar widget.

I don’t use Google Maps often enough to justify giving it a permanent place on my home screen, but I rely on its location sharing feature every day. My wife and I share our locations through Google Maps, so I’ve added the Share Location and Friends Location widgets to my secondary home screen. These are simple 1×1 shortcuts that allow you to go to the Google Maps location sharing menu.

Mostly, I use them to check when she goes home at night or to share my location when I’m out. There are other ways to share location, but I like how Google Maps displays a battery indicator. That way, if my phone dies and I suddenly go offline, she knows not to worry.

I have a terrible memory, so whenever I come across something I want to remember, I make a note. It could be an essay idea, a reminder to pay a bill, or a simple shopping list. I rely on Google Keep for everything, so having its widget is a no-brainer.

What I love about it is its versatility. This simple widget lets me create a text note, take a photo, record a voice note, or create a checklist. I have a shortcut to add whatever I want to save. Most popular note-taking apps offer similar widgets, so whether you use Samsung Notes, Evernote, OneNote, or something else, you’ll likely find a widget like this one.

Honestly, I wish I had more widgets on my home screen. But the thing about widgets is that it’s easy to overdo them. Add too many and your home screen is sure to get cluttered. I’d argue that even seven widgets is pushing it, but luckily, a UI allows me to create layers of widgets to keep everything under control.