Learn how to place extra large landscape and portrait app widgets on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac Home Screen and desktop to see even more information without going into the app.
Up until now, you could add small, medium, and large app widgets to the iOS Home Screen and the Mac desktop, provided the app supported them.
iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 Golden Gate now give app developers the option to add an extra-large widget size.
- On iPhone, the extra large widget comes in just portrait orientation and takes up one full Home Screen page.
- On iPad, the extra large widget is available only in landscape orientation.
- And on Mac, the extra large widgets can be in both landscape and portrait orientations.
As of now, just a handful of core Apple apps like TV, Contacts, Calendar, Home, Files, Music, Photos, Podcasts, and Smart Stack support the extra large widget size. But third-party apps should catch up soon.
One more thing to note is that the same Apple app may not support the extra large widget on all platforms. For instance, the Contacts app on iPadOS and macOS has the extra large option, but it doesn’t on iOS.
You can add the extra large widget by following these simple steps, which are nearly the same as adding widgets in previous versions of iOS and macOS.
On iPhone or iPad
There are two ways to go about it.
Touch and hold an app icon, and if it supports the extra large widget size, its icon will not be grayed out, as shown in the screenshot below. Just tap the extra large widget option on the right side, and the app icon will convert into a huge widget.
If the above steps don’t work for you (remember you’re using beta software) or if you want to add the extra large widget while keeping the app icon, follow these steps instead:
1) Touch and hold an empty spot on your iOS 27 or iPadOS 27 Home Screen until all apps start shaking.
2) Tap the paintbrush icon in the top-left corner and select Add Widget.
3) Select Smart Stack, Calendar, Music, or one of the other supported apps to see the available widgets.
4) Swipe left to see all widget sizes until you see the extra large option. There is no label that says ‘Extra Large,’ but you can figure it out by looking. Finally, tap Add Widget, followed by the checkmark to add the massive widget.
On Mac
If you already have an app widget on your desktop, just Control-click or right-click on it and select the Extra Large or Extra Large Portrait option, as available. The widget will transform into a large size.
You can also add a new extra large widget by following the full set of steps:
- Control-click anywhere on your macOS 27 Golden Gate desktop and select Edit Widgets.
- Select an app on the left side.
- Check the available widget sizes, and you should be able to figure out the extra large options in landscape and portrait orientations. Hover the pointer over it, and click the green plus button to add it to your Mac’s desktop.
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