When Apple announced iOS 8 way back in June, one of biggest announced additions to the iPhone software was the ability for apps to add custom widgets to the Notification Center. This enabled developers to extend their apps to be useful outside of the app itself. On September 17th, Apple released iOS 8 —and with it, app widgets— to the world. DailyAppShow has spent some time finding apps that best implements this new feature, and below are what we think to be the best 5 of the bunch.
Launcher
Much like the popular Launch Center Pro, launcher gives you a space in your notification center to set custom actions using various system settings and URL schemes. This enables a wide variety of wide variety of useful actions that are accessible wherever you are in your phone. Custom actions can include texting or calling a contact, asking Maps to direct you home with a single touch, and using the myriad features that other apps enable with URL schemes (such as Drafts to take a note quickly). The app is free to download, and has a $2.99 in-app purchase to enable more advanced features and more action spaces.
Evernote
Evernote is a powerhouse in the iOS productivity world, and the latest edition of the app brings with it a very useful new widget. As you may know, Evernote is a catch-all for all of your notes, pictures, ideas, and documents, and lets you quickly organize and process all of that stuff. The new widget lets you get to the most used tools in the app with a single touch. From anywhere on your phone, you can add to Evernote any text, photo, reminder, or list you want. This new tool will be extremely useful for those who use Evernote to power through and process all of the stuff that life throws your way.
ESPN SportsCenter
Professional sports are an important pastime to a huge number of people. While the ESPN SportCenter app has been a mainstay in the iOS app store for years, the latest update lets you get to the good stuff –game scores and updates– even quick with the new notification center widget. Simply log into the app and set what teams and news you want to see, and you’ll have instant and up-to-date info right in your notification center. This is likely the quickest way to find out your favorite teams’ scores wherever you are and whatever you’re doing.
Yahoo! Weather
Yahoo! Weather has been one of the best and most accurate weather apps for the iPhone in the last couple years. The app features a beautiful design and intuitive interface and has plenty of relevant weather related information. Yahoo has gotten into the fray of new iOS 8 features by adding a notification center widget that shows your current location’s temperature, condition, high and low for today, as well as predictions for tonight’s weather and a beautiful Flickr image that reflects the current condition. While this widget only has the basics, being able to quickly see the weather at a glance will be very useful.
Pedometer++
Pedometer++ taps into the M7 and M8 motion coprocessors in the last two generations of iPhones to track your movement in order to give you a step count, how far you’ve moved, and how many flights of stairs you’ve climbed. You can even set daily goals to reach for each category. The newest update brings a great new widget to your notification center so that you can keep an eye on your current step count, distance, and floors climbed. This convenient new feature will definitely help those who aim to maintain or upgrade their fitness, and gives a quick view into their progress.
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