DB Labs
iPhone Photo Widget Overview
The Photos widget displays a rotating selection of photos from your library directly on the home screen. It comes in three sizes (small, medium, large) and can show either Apple's curated "Featured Photos" highlights or photos from a specific album you choose. The widget refreshes approximately hourly. It also works on the Lock Screen (iOS 16+) as a smaller thumbnail widget. The best experience comes from pointing the widget at a curated Favorites album with only your best photos.
How to Add the Photos Widget
1 Enter Edit Mode
Press and hold any empty area of your home screen until the app icons start jiggling. This enters home screen edit mode. If there is no empty space, press and hold any app icon to jiggle them.
2 Open the Widget Gallery
Tap the + button in the top left corner of the screen. The widget gallery opens, showing all available widgets organized by category and search.
3 Find the Photos Widget
Type "Photos" in the search bar at the top, or scroll through the list to find Photos. Tap the Photos widget to open the size selector.
4 Choose a Size and Add It
Swipe left and right to preview the available sizes — small (2x2), medium (4x2), and large (4x4). Tap Add Widget to place it on your home screen. Drag it to position it where you want.
5 Customize the Album
Long press the newly added widget and tap Edit Widget. Tap the Photo option to choose between Featured Photos or a specific album from your library. Tap any album name to select it. Tap anywhere outside the widget editor to save.
Choosing the Right Album for Your Widget
The album you choose determines how good your widget looks day-to-day. Here are the best options:
- Favorites: The best choice for most people. Open the Photos app and heart your very best photos to add them to Favorites. The widget then cycles through only your top shots. This is the most curated option.
- Featured Photos: Apple automatically selects highlights from your library — good shots, significant events, and well-composed photos. This is the default and requires no effort, but includes some variety you might not prefer.
- Custom album: Create an album specifically for your widget — such as "Widget Photos" or "Family Favorites." Add the photos you want to see daily. This gives you full control.
- Shared Album: You can even point the widget at a Shared Album — useful if a family member has a shared album of kids' photos you want to see throughout the day.
Lock Screen Photo Widget (iOS 16+)
In iOS 16 and later, you can also add photo widgets to your Lock Screen. Long press the Lock Screen, tap Customize, then tap the lock screen panel. Tap the + icon to add a widget. Photos offers a small thumbnail widget for the Lock Screen that shows a single highlighted photo.
The Lock Screen photo widget uses the same Featured Photos algorithm as the home screen widget — it shows an Apple-curated highlight from your library and changes throughout the day.
Choosing the Right Widget Size
- Small (2x2): Shows one photo cropped to a square. Works well in the corner of a page. Lower resolution due to the small display area.
- Medium (4x2): Shows one photo in a landscape crop. Works well alongside app icons in a row. Good balance of size and home screen space.
- Large (4x4): Full-size photo widget takes up most of a home screen page. Ideal for a dedicated "photo page" with minimal apps.
Making Your Widget Photos Look Their Best
The photo widget crops photos to fill the widget frame, which can cut off parts of your photos. For the best results:
- Favor landscape photos for the medium widget and square-composition photos for the small widget.
- High-contrast, bright photos tend to look better on the home screen than dark, low-light shots.
- Photos with a clear subject centered in the frame survive cropping better than wide landscapes.
- Make sure your album contains only your actual best photos — blurry or poorly composed shots will be highlighted on your home screen.
If your photo library has lots of blurry shots mixed in with great ones, clean up the library first using Swype Photo Cleaner before adding your best photos to your Favorites album for the widget.
Fill Your Widget with Only Your Best Photos
Your photo widget is only as good as the photos in it. Clean out blurry shots, duplicates, and screenshots — then fill your Favorites album with the keepers. Swype Photo Cleaner makes the cleanup fast.
Free · iPhone · iOS 16+ · 100% on-device, zero uploads
Free · iPhone · iOS 16+