Owners of modern smartphones, such as Honor Magic 5 or Honor 90, often strive to make their desktop not only beautiful, but also functional. Widgets are a great way to quickly access important information without unlocking your phone or opening unnecessary apps. However, the interface Magic UI, based on the Androidbase, has its own features of placing elements that may not be obvious to beginners.
In this article we will analyze in detail the process of adding various types of widgets, from standard clocks to custom photos. You'll learn how to pin things to your Home screen so you'll always know the weather, your schedule, or your battery life. We will also touch on the issues of optimizing space and adjusting the size of elements to suit your personal preferences.
Preparing the workspace and basic principles
Before you begin installing new elements, you need to free up space on the main screen. The system Magic UI uses a grid, where each widget occupies a certain number of cells. If there are not enough free cells, the object simply will not fit into the selected place, and the system will offer to move the existing icons.
First, remove unnecessary application shortcuts or move them to folders. This will create a continuous area for large information blocks. Remember that free space is critical for large widgets such as calendars or photo frames to display correctly.
It's also worth checking your screen grid settings to see how many elements will fit on one page. In some firmware versions, you can change the density of icons, which directly affects the available area for widgets.
- 📱 Free up at least 2x2 cells for standard blocks of information.
- 🗑️ Remove unused shortcuts or move them to other pages.
- 📐 Check the grid settings in the design menu to optimize space.
⚠️ Attention: When you move icons to free up space, the system can automatically create new desktop pages. Be careful not to lose important applications at the end of the list of screens.
Standard algorithm for adding widgets
The main method of installing interface elements is universal for most devices based on Android. You need to perform a long press (long tap) on any free area of the main screen. This action will activate the editing mode and call up the lower menu with available options.
In the menu that appears, select the item Widgets. You will see a complete list of all available elements, grouped by application name. Here you will find both system utilities and blocks from installed third-party apps.
Find the desired application in the list and expand it by clicking on the arrow or simply scrolling the list to the right. Some applications, for example Google or Weatheroffer several design and size options. Select the appropriate option and hold it with your finger.
Action: Long press → Drag to screen → ReleaseDrag the selected item to an empty space on the desktop and release your finger. If the space is occupied, the widget will “stick” to the nearest free zone or offer to move other icons. After placement, you can immediately change its size, if this is supported by a specific type of widget.
☑️ Installation algorithm
Adjusting sizes and customizing elements
Many users do not know that most widgets support changing geometry. After placing an item on the screen, tap and hold it for a few seconds until a frame with markers around the edges appears. This is a signal that the size editing mode is activated.
Drag the handles on the borders of the frame to stretch or shrink the widget. Please note that resizing is not available for all block types. For example, weather widgets often have fixed proportions, while calendars or notes can be stretched almost infinitely.
Additional style settings are available for some system elements, such as clocks or switches. Click on the gear icon or select Settings in the widget context menu to change the watch face color, background transparency, or font.
| Widget type | Change size | Change style | Transparency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clock | Yes (often) | Yes | No |
| Weather | Limited | Yes | Partially |
| Calendar | Yes | No | No |
| Photo | Yes | Yes (frame) | Yes |
| Switches | No | Yes (icons) | Yes |
Use transparent switch widgets so that they fit harmoniously into any wallpaper without overlapping the background pattern.
Working with photo and gallery widgets
One of the most popular functions on smartphones Honor is the ability to display a slide show of personal photos directly on the home screen. This turns your smartphone into a personal photo frame. To implement this task, use a standard widget Gallery.
Add a gallery widget to the screen in any convenient way. When you first start it, the system will prompt you to select an album or specific pictures to be displayed. You can create a separate album for the widget so as not to show unnecessary screenshots or documents.
In the widget settings you can select the frame rate. This can be a change every time the screen is turned on or on a timer. A choice of transition effect between images is also available, which makes the animation smoother and more pleasing to the eye.
⚠️ Attention: Active use of the photo widget increases battery consumption, since the processor has to constantly decode high-resolution images.
Some users prefer to use third-party applications to create complex photo collages in the form widgets. Such solutions allow you to place several photos at once in one grid cell, creating unique compositions.
How to save battery when using a photo widget?
Set the update interval to “When the screen turns on” instead of automatically changing by timer. This will significantly reduce the load on the processor in standby mode.
System utilities and quick switches
For maximum efficiency with your smartphone, it is recommended to use system utilities widgets. On devices Honor with a shell Magic UI there is often a set of widgets for quick access to functions that would otherwise have to be found in the notification “curtain”.
You can place switches for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, flashlight or Do Not Disturb mode on the main screen. This is especially convenient when the phone is on the table and you need to quickly activate a function without swiping your finger across the entire screen.
Also useful are system monitoring widgets that show the current RAM load RAM or free space on the internal storage. Although modern versions manage memory well on their own, visual control helps you close heavy applications in a timely manner. Android They manage memory well on their own, visual control helps close heavy applications on time.
- ⚡ Add a Memory Cleanup widget to quickly free up resources.
- 🔦 Place the flashlight switch at the top of the screen for easy access.
- 📶 Use the network widget to monitor your Internet speed in real time.
The interface allows you to combine different types of switches in one 4x1 or 4x2 block, creating your own control panel. This gives more freedom than the standard quick access panel.
Solving problems with display and updating
Sometimes users encounter a situation where the widget stops updating or appears as a black square. This is most often due to aggressive power saving that limits background app activity. To fix this, you need to go to the battery settings.
Find in the list of applications the one whose widget is not working, and change the power management mode to No restrictions or Manual control, allowing autorun and work in the background. This is guaranteed to solve the problem with frozen data.
Another cause of failures may be a lack of RAM. If there are too many heavy processes running on the system, Android can unload widgets from memory. In this case, rebooting the device or clearing the cache of the problematic application helps.
⚠️ Attention: The interface and names of menu items may vary slightly depending on the firmware version Magic UI (4.0, 5.0, 6.0, 7.0) and the regional version of the device.
If the widget stops updating, in 90% of cases the problem is solved by allowing autostart and background work in the battery settings for a specific application.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Why does the weather widget show incorrect data?
Check the permissions of the "Weather" application. Make sure that geolocation access is enabled in "Only when used" or "Always" mode. Also update the location manually by clicking on the update icon inside the widget.
Is it possible to change the transparency of the widget background?
With standard means Magic UI this is not possible for all widgets. To fully customize the transparency and background, it is recommended to use third-party launchers or special applications for creating widgets, such as KWGT.
How to remove a widget from the home screen?
Press the widget with your finger for a couple of seconds until the menu appears or the moving mode begins. Drag the object to the top of the screen, where the inscription Delete or the trash icon will appear, and release your finger.
Do widgets affect the speed of the smartphone?
Yes, a large number of active widgets, especially those that constantly update data from the Internet (news, social networks, weather), can consume RAM and battery power, which in theory can slightly slow down the device.