The addition of a photo widget to your lock screen like a walk in the park thanks to Widgetsmith!
Widget support for the iOS Lock Screen is one of the most exciting aspects that comes with iOS 16. At the moment when this article was written, iOS doesn’t support an image widget for the Lock Screen. It is good news that you don’t need to wait until Apple unveils the widget to display Photos to the Lock Screen.
It’s possible to do this immediately using an app from a third party. In this tutorial we’ll be using Widgetsmith to add the widget to the screen of your lock. It quickly became a popular choice a few years ago after Apple initially introduced Home Screen widgets. You can now use it to create lock screen widgets and even for lock screen widgets.
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Download Widgetsmith onto your iPhone
As we mentioned you can utilize the app called Widgetsmith in your iPhone to add the Photo widget directly to the Lock Screen. You can also select an album to display images from. You can also browse all photos within it by a single click on the Lock Screen.
If you don’t have the application it’s necessary install it before you download. If not, you can go directly to the following section. Start the App Store via the home screen or from the app library on your device.
After that, tap the icon ‘Search’ from the lower right corner of the screen to continue.
Then, then type WidgetSmith into the search bar, then click the search button to proceed.
After the results have been loaded, click the “Get” button to download the application. You’ll be asked to authenticate your iPhone in order to download the application.
Create the Photo Widget in Widgetsmith
After downloading, open the app on your Home Screen as well as the App Library on your device.
Then, make sure you’re on the ‘Widgets Tab’ from the left-hand corner.
After that, go to the “Lock Screen” tab.
Then, scroll down and tap on the “Add rectangular widget” or Add Circular widget’ option to continue. The procedure is the same for both widget types. This is an example using this rectangular-shaped widget. This will add an overlay pane onto your screen.
Then, click on the option ‘Photo’ If you just want to show a single image within the widget. If you’d like to add slideshows, go to the next step.
Tap on the tab ‘Photo.
You can select a picture from your gallery, file or drag the image from another location provided by drag and drop on iOS.
An image preview for the image will be displayed. You can use a pinch to zoom in on the image or move the image around to alter it. You can also zoom in on faces or to isolate individuals by cutting off the background.
When you are satisfied, press the Save button. Once you are satisfied, tap the ‘Save.
If you want to show a slideshow, click on the ‘Photos in an Album’ option on the Widget tab.
Then, click on the tab ‘Album’ to continue.
The app will display an alert on your screen, asking permission to access your photos on your iPhone. Then, select “Allow access to every photo’, if you want the app to have access to all of your photos. If not, select the ‘Select Photos’ option and choose the photos you want to grant access to.
After that, choose the album you want to show in the widget by pressing it. The albums will be able to access pictures as per permissions given. If you display multiple images within the widget by using albums, it is possible that you will not be able to alter the thumbnail images.
Then, click on the Save button in the upper right corner to proceed.
Add the Photo Widget to Lock Screen
After that, exit the application and then lock your iPhone. After that, you can wake up the screen , and then unlock it by using Touch ID or Touch ID. You may also access to the Notification Centre instead of locking and unlocking your device once more. Hold and tap the screen for locking to open the Lock Screen selector page. Then, tap the button ‘Customize’ to continue.
Then, tap then the Lock Screen preview thumbnail from the left side to proceed.
Then, click on the “Add Widgets Block’ to add an additional widget. The overlay will appear on the pane of your screen.
Then, find and click on the ‘Widgetsmith’ option. This will bring you back to the overlay panel.
After that, swipe left to right to navigate to the Rectangular Widgets Option and tap it to add.
Now, you’ll be able to view your Photo display on the lock screen. The widget will show the album or picture you selected earlier in this tutorial. Click the ‘X’ button in order to shut off the overlay panel.
After that, press the button ‘Done’ from the upper right edge to store the modifications.
You can also click on the widget to show all photos stored within the photo album. But, be aware that the pictures will appear within the Widgetsmith application and you’ll be required to sign in when you have an access code in your phone.
Lock Screen widgets are definitely an incredible feature for iOS. You can also further customize the look of them by putting a photo widget appear on your screen. If your goal was purely aesthetic or you need to access a collection of images repeatedly during your day, we’ve you covered! The only issue is that the color of the images may appear a bit washed out.