Making a (smart) stack of widgets in iOS 14: that’s how it works

Since iOS 14, you can put widgets on the home screen of your iPhone, crisscrossing your apps. If you are a fan of widgets, you will soon notice that they take up a lot of space: you can store up to six widgets on your home screen. Unless you are going to stack widgets! In this article, we’ll show you how to make your own stacks and what Smart Stacks are.

The smallest size widget takes up the space of four app icons, the largest even sixteen. To save space, you can stack widgets. First you have to add individual widgets to your home screen. You do that like this:

• Hold your finger longer on the screen until the app icons start to wiggle.
• Tap the plus sign at the top left.
• Tap the widget you want to use.
• Choose a format and add.
• Drag the widget to where you want it.
• You can add more widgets via the plus sign at the top left.
• Tap Done.

Stacking Widgets iOS 14: How to Create Your Own Widget Stack

The widgets can be stacked and there is room for up to ten widgets in one stack. Important: The widgets you stack must all be the same size.

• Add at least two widgets to your home screen as described above.
• Hold your finger longer on the screen until the apps and widgets start to wiggle.
• Drag the widgets on top of each other.
• Tap Done.

Change widget stack order

You scroll through a widget stack by swiping vertically across the stack. The dots next to the widget stack show you where you are in the stack. If you don’t like the order of the widgets, you can adjust it as follows:

• Hold your finger on the widget stack for a little longer until a menu appears.
• Tap “Edit Stack” in it.
• Put your finger on the three lines behind a widget and drag it to the desired place in the list.
• Finally, tap the cross at the top right.

Remove widgets from stack

If you notice that you hardly ever use a widget, you can of course always remove it from the stack. You do that as follows:

• Hold your finger a little longer on the stack until a menu appears.
• Tap “Edit Stack”.
• Swipe a widget to the left (you will see a red bar with “Delete”).
• Finally, tap the cross at the top right.

What is smart turning?

If you are changing your own widget stack as above, you will see the option “Smart rotate” at the very top of the screen. If you set the switch behind this to green, your iPhone will adjust the order of the widgets during the day. For example, if you always listen to a Podcast in the morning, this widget is on top of the stack

Smart stacks

Above we explained how to create your own widget stacks, containing your own widgets. But you can also opt for a smart stack that is generated by your iPhone itself: a smart stack. The widgets shown are great for location, activity or time.

An example? Now that I am writing this article and have to take a screenshot, my iPhone decides that now is the time to show the butt of a pygmy hippo. Fantastic. Anyway: usually the selection is a bit more successful and the widget shows really relevant information. The weather forecast, for example, if you have to go outside for an appointment.

Here’s how to add a smart stack:

• Hold your finger on the screen a little longer, until the app icons start to wiggle.
• Tap the plus sign at the top left.
• Choose “Smart stack”.
• Choose a format and add.
• Drag the stack to where you want it.
• Tap “Done”.