9 Best iPhone Lock Screen Widgets

Your usual bland iPhone lock screen gets a big improvement starting with iOS 16.

Using lock screen widgets, you can add information from a variety of apps to view at a glance. And with the iPhone 14 series, widgets are an always-on part of the screen.

We highlight some of the best iPhone lock screen widgets available.

To add a lock screen widget, tap down on the existing one and select Customize button at the bottom of the screen to change a current lock screen. Print + to create a brand new lock screen.

Widgets are available for placement under date and time. There are two different sizes available. Below some suggested widgets are all your apps with lock screen widgets.

For a more comprehensive look at all the iPhone changes, check out our guide on how to customize the lock screen with iOS 16.

Here are some of the best lock screen widgets available from third-party apps.

1. Start

Launchify provides a different type of lock screen widget. Instead of information from an app, you can launch any app you can think of from the lock screen. With just a few steps, you can select the app to add the lock screen and an image to use. Along with the app icon, you can choose a custom image or symbol. When you’re done, just tap the icon and your chosen app will launch immediately, and with the iPhone 14 Pro line, you don’t even need to unlock your iPhone.

The free version of the app allows you to place two app widgets on the lock screen. A subscription is required to use unlimited widgets. Subscribers can also add custom icons to an app and create a custom app to launch from the lock screen.

Download: Launchify (free, in-app purchases available)

2. Apollo for Reddit

Apollo for Reddit is a unique app that actually makes using the sometimes chaotic social network better. With just a little work, you can customize the Reddit experience for you.

And the app is ready for your lock screen with a huge amount of widgets. One of the best options is a trending posts widget that allows you to select a favorite subreddit, while the widget will cycle through trending posts throughout the day. You can also choose a subreddit shortcut widget. Other fun options include a karma widget, a recent post widget, and even a distance scrolled widget that shows the total distance your fingers have scrolled while using the app.

Although the app is free, there are two subscription levels available to unlock a variety of features.

Download: Apollo for Reddit (free, subscription available)

3. CARROT Weather

CARROT Weather is an all-round winner when looking for a weather app. It’s one of our favorite ways to bring fun complications to the Apple Watch. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that the app also offers a number of great widgets for your lock screen.

There are more than 20 widgets to choose from. While there are the usual suspects like hourly and daily forecast charts, there are smaller widgets with data points, and even including CARROT’s trademark snark.

The app is free with some features. However, to unlock most of the app offerings and lock screen widgets, you need to subscribe to one of the available tiers.

Download: CARROT Weather (Free, Subscription Available)

4. Flying

Air travel is usually never relaxing. But the powerful Flighty app can always make sure you’re on top of your flight. Offers a large number of great features such as live streaming of data and even the ability to see where your flight is 25 hours before scheduled take off.

Some great lock screen widgets you can choose from include the ability to see a countdown to your journey, weather for the arrival city, live status of a flight along with departure gate and time. An in-flight progress bar will even work offline.

The app is free and provides basic usage. A subscription is required to unlock most features and to get the most out of the lock screen widgets.

Download: Flighty (free, subscription available)

5. ETA

And when you’re not flying, ETA is a perfect way to see more information about your trip on the ground. Regardless of whether you drive, walk, cycle or use public transport, the app can show a travel time to any location.

So that makes it a perfect app to add lock screen widgets for quick viewing. There are three different options to choose from. A single location widget shows the travel time and any delays on a route. Select it to see turn-by-turn directions in the selected navigation app. A live list widget shows on-time travel to multiple destinations. Finally, a calendar widget will monitor your calendar for meetings with associated locations. If one is found, you will see the travel time to the location and estimated time to travel.

Download: ETA ($4.99, in-app purchases available)

6. Pedometer++

Keeping track of your step goals can sometimes be difficult, even on the best of days. Pedometer++ allows you to quickly and easily use an iPhone as a pedometer to track daily and weekly goals.

Great lock screen widgets help you see your daily progress without even opening the app. You can see daily step count, goal completion percentage/step count or steps/distances/floors in one widget.

Download: Pedometer++ (free, in-app purchases available)

7. LockFlow

With each passing year, Siri Shortcuts provide a great way to maximize how you use an iPhone. Surprisingly, Apple didn’t include a built-in way to launch shortcuts from a lock screen widget. But the completely free LockFlow does a good job of filling the gap. Just enter the exact name of the shortcut you need to run, select an icon that appears on the lock screen, and then add it to the lock screen widget.

Download: LockFlow (Free)

You’ve probably heard the name Widgetsmith. The app helped start the home screen customization trend that came with new features in iOS 14. So it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that the app is also a great place to customize the lock screen widget sections.

Just like the home screen, there are a wide variety of different ways to customize the lock screen widgets. Some choices include time, data, weather information, and even a photo. With just a few taps in the app, you can create your own widget.

While the app is free, a subscription is needed to unlock more themes and fonts and use the weather, air quality, and pollen data widgets.

To find out how easy the app is to customize your home screen, read our primer on how to use Widgetsmith.

Download: Widgetsmith (free, subscription available)

9. Fantastic

Fantastical takes the regular calendar to a new level. The great app can handle any meeting or appointment you can throw at it. Some features include natural text analysis and time zone support.

The app’s lock screen widgets will keep you updated on your schedule with upcoming events and a calendar widget.

The free version of the app allows you to easily manage basic events. A subscription will unlock additional features such as multiple calendar sets and more collaboration and customization options.

Download: Awesome (Free, Subscription Available)

Lock screen widgets give iPhone users a great way to see the information that matters to them without even touching the handset.

And these apps are a great way to start customizing your lock screen.