I'm looking to maximise my Watch app's widget to be as up to date as possible. If we imagined the app was a simple step counter, and we wanted to display the users count as up to date as possible. We can conclude: We don't care about widget timelines beyond the current entry as we can't predict the future! We need to refresh the count as often as possible The refresh should be very quick with a straightforward HealthKit query, no networking or heavy work needed. We will assume the user has the complication/widget on their active Watch face. With the standard WidgetKit APIs we can expire the timeline after 15 minutes and in my experimentation a Watch app can usually update its widget timeline at that frequency if it's on the Watch face. I'm experimenting with two methods to try and improve refreshes further A user's step count might not have recently changed when the timeline update is called. I was therefore looking into the HealthKit enableBackgroundDelivery API (which requires the HealthKit Background Delivery entitlement to be enabled) to get updates limited to once an hour from a HKObserverQuery, I can then call the WidgetCenter.shared.reloadAllTimelines() from there. WatchOS also support the BGAppRefreshTaskRequest(identifier:"") and .backgroundTask(.appRefresh) APIs. I can request updates once every 15 minutes here too and then call the WidgetCenter.shared.reloadAllTimelines(). With option 1, this update opportunity is great as it will specifically update when there's new steps so even once an hour this would be helpful (A real shame to be limited to once an hour even if this used up WidgetKit standard reload budgets: FB13879817, FB11677132, FB10016177). But I can't determine if this update takes away one of the standard timeline expiration updates that already run 4 times an hour? Could I observe additional Health types to get additional updates? Do I need the Background Modes Capability as well as the HealthKit Background Delivery for this in Xcode or just the HealthKit one? With option 2, I can't find a suitable option in the (short) list of supported background modes in Xcode. Does not selecting any mean my app will get 0 refreshes from this route and so should not be implemented in my use case?

Is there any way to remove the hightlight on top and bottom of desktop widgets on iOS 26 ?

In WatchOS 26 you can now configure Apple Watch Widgets that use AppIntents instead of having a preconfigured option via AppIntentRecommendation. This is demonstrated in the Weather Details Widget. In that, the Intent has been set up such that the options have icons for each parameter. How can I update my Intent code to offer this? struct DataPointsWidgetIntent: AppIntent, WidgetConfigurationIntent { static var title: LocalizedStringResource = "Data Points Widget Configuration" static var description = IntentDescription("Configure the individual data point display for Widgets.") static var isDiscoverable: Bool { return false} init() {} func perform() async throws -> some IntentResult { print("DataPointsWidgetIntent perform") return .result() } @Parameter(title: "Show Individual Data Points", default: true) var showDataPoints: Bool? @Parameter(title: "Trend Timescale", default: .week) var timescale: TimescaleTypeAppEnum? static var parameterSummary: some ParameterSummary { Summary("Test Info") { \.$showDataPoints \.$timescale } } } enum TimescaleTypeAppEnum: String, AppEnum { case week case fortnight static var typeDisplayRepresentation = TypeDisplayRepresentation(name: "Trend Timescale") static var caseDisplayRepresentations: [Self: DisplayRepresentation] = [ .week: "Past Week", .fortnight: "Past Fortnight" ] }

Hello, I'm currently developing for visionOS using Xcode's latest beta version. I have a question regarding Widget Previews for visionOS 26: When I create a new Widget Extension target directly from a visionOS project, the generated code does not include the #Preview macro. Following the documentation, I manually added the #Preview macro to a Widget created within a visionOS project, but Xcode then displays an error stating that "This platform does not support previewing widgets." My interpretation is that Widget Previews are currently not supported for Widgets created specifically for visionOS in this beta version. Is this understanding correct? Or am I missing a specific way to implement previews for visionOS Widgets, or is there a particular project setting I might have overlooked? Any clarification or guidance on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Ios 26 clock widget not dynamically updating in mobile.

I am trying to run widgets on visionOS 26. Specifically I am trying to pin them to the simulator room's walls, however I am unable to do so. Is this a limitation with the visionOS simulator right now, or am I missing a trick here?

Is SFSymbol Customization officially valid as a method for using SVG in embedded widgets (lock-screen & watchOS)? I use this in UnitedPizzaHelper but wonder whether this is the prime cause why all widgets of this app gets missing on iOS devices? This issue only happened on at least 2 device in the recent 12 months (they are all on iOS 18, and one of them is running iOS 18.5... Rebooting device won't work.), and we currently have no clue how to troubleshoot this. Update: The guy running iOS 18.5 told me that the widgets are now discoverable after waiting for minutes. Seems that this is a random issue.

I am experiencing an issue with my watchOS app. My application updates a shared file, accessible by both the main app and the WidgetKit extension, during a WatchConnectivity background task. Following this update, I call reloadAllTimelines(). This functionality worked as expected on watchOS 10, even without Developer Mode enabled. However, after updating my device to watchOS 11.5, this API appears to be broken. My reasons for believing this API is broken are threefold: The functionality worked reliably on watchOS 10. On watchOS 11.5, enabling "WidgetKit Developer Mode" (found under Settings > Developer) resolves the issue, and my complications update correctly. When I enter watch face edit mode, the snapshot/preview displayed (which utilizes the same underlying logic as the timeline API) shows the correct data. This indicates that the data has been successfully received from the phone, and the widget is indeed reading the updated shared file. Despite this, the actual widget view during its resting phase never updates. It's worth noting that TimelineReloadPolicy functions as expected, but I cannot rely on this for my use case. My widget requires immediate updates upon receiving new data. Apple, please investigate this behavior.

I have a Health & Fitness widget that runs on iPhone and Apple Watch. As Health data access requires the device to be unlocked, the iPhone widget is already slightly limited in capability because of updates. With widgets further expanding to places like CarPlay, I know I can use the .disfavouredLocations{} API to try and prevent it being offered there. This is crucial as the widget functionality would be basically non-existent as your device is locked during CarPlay use. My problem is, on the Mac despite using the .disfavouredLocations{.iPhoneWidgetsOnMac} etc...., the widget can still be added in the "other unsupported section". And yet, in that section the Apple Fitness app widget is no where to be seen. Is there an API I am missing to completely remove a widget from the Mac widget gallery and hopefully CarPlay, Standby etc.... (all places where the device running the widget is usually locked -> No Health data)? Or does the Apple Fitness app have a private API to block it from these places where its function is not wanted and this isn't available to other apps?

With the advent of APNs pushs to Widgets, I would like to confirm some things. I understand that we have a budget of updates for it, however is the budget for APNs part of the budget for background updates? In other words, 1 budget for both or 2 separate budgets? Also, can we make a push to an individual widget, or are we essentially calling .reloadAllTimelines()?

Hi all, Since updating to iOS 18.4, I'm experiencing a regression with AppIntents triggered from Widgets. In my app, I use AppIntents inside a WidgetKit extension to control HomeKit devices. This setup was working perfectly up to iOS 18.3. However, starting with iOS 18.4, when the AppIntent is triggered from the widget and the main app is not running, the action fails with this error: Error Domain=HMErrorDomain Code=80 "Missing entitlement for API." UserInfo={ NSLocalizedFailureReason=Handler does not support background access, NSLocalizedDescription=Missing entitlement for API. } Interestingly, the exact same AppIntent works fine if the app is still alive in the background — it seems like the failure only occurs when the intent is handled by the widget process. This looks like a behavior change or new restriction introduced in iOS 18.4. Has anyone experienced the same? Is there a new entitlement needed, or a recommended workaround? Thanks in advance!

I am working on a widget that allows the user to specify a list of items. Each item is an AppEntity and has an id, a type and a name. In the DisplayRepresentation I have and icon / image for each type. So when I tap on the specified items option a list of user specified items comes up with the option to search, select, deselect items. This works nicely. I sort them suggested entities by type then name so the list is predictable. How would like to be able to have a group / type header for each type of item. However, I don't know how to do that with the AppEntities. Help would be appreciated. I noticed that HomeKit takes a different approach. They have a list of items at the bottom labeled "Choose Scene Or Accessory". You can move the items up / down in the list, you can delete, and add items. When you tap "Add an item" in the list it goes to a search screen where the items are grouped by the room and have the individual items beneath them. I don't like that you have to select one item at a time but I love having the headings for the rooms. The question here is how did they do that? Is there sample code somewhere that does something similar.

We have a widget bundle with multiple widgets. I'm adding a widget that is interactive (iOS 17 and higher). Our widget code is in a static library that gets linked into the widget extension target in our main app Xcode project. I have SwiftUI buttons constructed with the intent constructor in our UI See https://developer.apple.com/documentation/swiftui/button/init(intent:label:) When I press the button the timeline refreshes (conforming to TimelineProvider) but the perform method doesn't seem to be called. I've seen multiple pieces of advice and none of them seem to work. I've tried on a physical device and a simulator. I've tried adding an AppIntentsPackage. I've tried including the AppIntent code in the app and the widget. I've tried setting the openAppWhenRun to true and false and not setting it at all. I've tried simplifying the intent to just printing out a line to the console and returning a result. At this point I have no idea how to debug this and I don't know what else to try. I appreciate any helpful advice at this point.

Hello, I'm trying to create a widget using the WidgetKit framework. In this part, I'm using Intents along with a DynamicOptionsProvider. As shown in the Medium article below, I want to present multiple options when "Edit Widget" is tapped: https://levelup.gitconnected.com/swiftui-configurable-widget-to-let-our-user-choose-4a54e398f42f However, in this example, the options are provided statically. What I want to achieve is to display a list of devices based on the selected HomeId after the user selects a Home. I’ve set up the interface accordingly, but when I select a Home, the device list does not update. How can I make this work? The two options should be dependent on each other.

I need to implement a VPN connection from the ios 17 widget without opening the main application. (I have seen such an implementation in other applications) How can this be implemented?

I am seeing a really weird behavior with Live Activities. The Live Activity is always appearing on the simulator. However the Live Activity is only appearing on my physical device when there is no other widget in the widget bundle shown below. @main struct HoerspielWidgetsBundle: WidgetBundle { var body: some Widget { // Uncomment the line below and the Live Activity will no longer appear // UpNextWidget() PlaybackLiveActivity() } } Annotating that var with @WidgetBundle has no effect. There are no logs indicating an error, the function to request a Live Activity does not throw and the status of the activity is active. Both the widget and the Live Activity are working fine otherwise. NSSupportsLiveActivities is set to true in the correct Info.plist file. I am not running any beta software and the physical iPhone is on the newest version (iOS 18.5). Using the template when adding a new target in Xcode, I was able to set up a similar app where the Live Activity works as expected. I am really at a loss here which additional information I should provide or how this issue can be resolved. Thank you for your help.

I've noticed that the when starting live activities via a remote push-to-start notification, the live activity widget consistently succeeds in displaying on the lock screen. However push-to-update token is not always received by the task observing the pushTokenUpdates async-sequence. Task { print("listening for pushTokenUpdates") for await pushToken in activity.pushTokenUpdates { let token = pushToken.map {String(format: "%02x", $0)}.joined() print("Push token: \(token)") } } The log will print "listening for pushTokenUpdates" however occasionally the "Push token: ___" line will not be present even when the widget has displayed on screen. This happens even if the "allow" button has been selected on live activities for that app. The inconsistent behavior leads me to believe there is an issue at the ActivityKit level. Would appreciate any feedback in debugging this!

I'm working on an iOS app with a Widget. I am able to display the Widget on the iPhone 16 Pro Simulator. It doesn't appear on iPad mini 6th gen., though. Anyway, I want to make sure that it works on an actual device. If I try to add the Widget to the Home Screen, I cannot find it in the search list on iPhone XR and iPad 9th gen. If I set the target to that of the widget, Xcode gives me the following error. SendProcessControlEvent:toPid: encountered an error: Error Domain=com.apple.dt.deviceprocesscontrolservice Code=8 "Failed to show Widget 'some bundle ID' error: … I hope that's not a sign of trouble. So how do you debug a Widget on an Actual Device? I've read some topics like this one here. Thanks.

I have an objective-c watch app and have added a swift widget style compilation to it and am having problems. The complication works fine but the name in the iPhone watch app complication picker stubbornly remains as the watchkit app name despite me trying various ways of changing it. Here are the various CF bundle name and display name values I am using: phone app values CFBundleIdentifier - com.Distribution-Systems-Associates.Tennis-Watch-v1 CFBundleName - $(PRODUCT_NAME) CFBundleDisplayName - Tennis Scorekeeper watchkit app CFBundleIdentifier - com.Distribution-Systems-Associates.Tennis-Watch-v1.watchkitapp CFBundleName - Tennis Scorekeeper CFBundleDisplayName - Tennis Scorekeeper WatchKit extension CFBundleIdentifier - com.Distribution-Systems-Associates.Tennis-Watch-v1.watchkitapp.watchkitextension CFBundleName - Tennis Scorekeeper CFBundleDisplayName - Tennis Scorekeeper __Watchkit complication __ CFBundleIdentifier - com.Distribution-Systems-Associates.Tennis-Watch-v1.watchkitapp.watchkitextension.Tennis-Watch-V1-Complication Changing the values in the complication doesn't seem to matter. Every other name in both my iPhone and watch apps are as expected. ChatGPT suggested that I try adding a localized name in the watchkit app but that didn't seem to do much of anything useful. I have run this though Chat quite a bit to see if I could get any accidental insights that way and while it has been interesting, it has also been not terribly helpful. I didn't post any of the complication code because that seems to be fine. However, I can do that if needed. The complication works as intended (starts the app). The various names everywhere else show up as intended. It's just that this one name refuses to be overridden. Thoughts?

Attempting to launch a widget in Debug mode on Sonoma from Xcode 15 is failing with the following message: attach failed (Not allowed to attach to process. Look in the console messages (Console.app), near the debugserver entries, when the attach failed. The subsystem that denied the attach permission will likely have logged an informative message about why it was denied.) Looking in console I see this message: macOSTaskPolicy: (com.apple.debugserver) may not get the task control port of (MacGalleryWidget) (pid: 1851): (MacGalleryWidget) is hardened, (MacGalleryWidget) doesn't have get-task-allow, (com.apple.debugserver) is a declared debugger(com.apple.debugserver) is not a declared read-only debugger What Xcode settings should I be looking at to rectify this? I suspect I may have something that's out of whack.