Many of us felt disappointed when there were no widgets for iOS 5 announcements at WWDC. With the release of notification center in iOS 5, the possibilities of the widgets started emerging. Apple could have forgetten to point out the widgets API in their Software Development Kit (SDK) but the iOS developers have started developing them already. If you have noticed the iOS 5 beta 1, Apple has themselves included two of the most used widgets. One of them is the ‘Stock’ and another one is ‘Weather forecasting’. Let’s check out about the widgets development so far.
After the iOS Jailbreak which was made available immediately after the iOS 5 beta 1, iOS developers could bypass the Apple restrictions, use those APIs which were not possible before and develop the widgets. Besides those widgets already available in iOS 5 by default, developers created some of the fantastic widgets for the notification center that you have always desired for. All these widgets will be available after the final release of iOS 5 this fall. Unfortunately, as it seems, only people with a JailBroken iPhone, iPod touch, iPad would be able to use them. Here are some of example of the iOS 5 widgets which would be hosted in cydia from day one.
1) It is the enhanced version of the UISettings, one of the tweaks which have been modified to work as a widget acts as a instant control system on your notification center. You can toggle on/off the bluetooth, wifi, airplane mode, silent, brightness, respring etc. These are the functionalities which can be only accessed under the settings icon on springboard. Though, the customization option will appear on the multitasking bar respectively. It will be amazing if you could get them on the notification panel itself. Something very similar to what SBSettings does
2) Another important widget is the ‘Music information’. This widget, at the time of its release, will be able to control all the important functions such as play, stop, forward, reverse, etc right from the notification center itself. Currently, it only displays the music information but it is expected that developers would be able to integrate more things into it. It will be great for the music enthusiasts who want everything on the home screen.
3) In addition to the multi-touch interface patent, Apple has also patented the ‘user widget’ or widget modules. It may happen in the future that people will be able to create the widgets according to their own requirement and needs. Well, this is what the name implies so far. Let’s wait till Apple reveals the mystery behind it. iOS 6?
So, get ready to experience a whole new revolution of widgets in the iOS 5, either officially or unofficially remains a question. Are you excited about it?
