{"id":223148,"date":"2025-12-09T05:46:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T05:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/223148\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T05:46:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T05:46:21","slug":"i-barely-need-to-unlock-my-samsung-anymore-after-adding-these-widgets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/223148\/","title":{"rendered":"I barely need to unlock my Samsung anymore after adding these widgets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like most folks, I used to unlock my phone dozens of times a day just to do simple things like check my inbox, see how many steps I\u2019d taken in the Samsung Health app<\/a>, and toggle noise cancellation on my Galaxy Buds. None of that is particularly hard, but when you repeat it dozens of times a day, the little bits of friction really add up.<\/p>\n

So I started putting the tools I use the most right on the lock screen. Now I can take a quick look, tap what I need, and move on. This saves me from unlocking my phone too many times and helps me avoid getting distracted.<\/p>\n

Reminders<\/p>\n

A quick nudge right when I need it<\/p>\n

\"LockScreenshot by Pankil Shah — No attribution required\"ReminderScreenshot by Pankil Shah — No attribution required\"ReminderScreenshot by Pankil Shah — No attribution required<\/p>\n

Like most people, I rely on reminders to make sure I don\u2019t forget important things. The problem is, most of the time these aren\u2019t time-sensitive things, so instead of setting a one-time notification, I\u2019ve added a reminder widget on the lock screen. Now those little notes like \u201cbuy the anniversary present\u201d and \u201ctake your medicines\u201d stare at me the moment I pick up my phone. <\/p>\n

This way, I don\u2019t have to open the app or worry about the reminder notification getting lost. It\u2019s a simple add-on that gives me peace of mind, knowing that I won\u2019t forget anything important.<\/p>\n

Samsung Health<\/p>\n

Motivation every time I wake the screen<\/p>\n

\"HealthScreenshot by Pankil Shah — No attribution required\"WidgetsScreenshot by Pankil Shah — No attribution required\"HealthScreenshot by Pankil Shah — No attribution required<\/p>\n

Keeping an eye on my daily activity used to be something I\u2019d only think about when Samsung Health notified me that I\u2019d hit a goal. As someone who works from home and barely needs to walk for anything, I definitely need a nudge every now and then. <\/p>\n

Adding the Samsung Health widget to my lock screen turned those occasional reminders into a steady source of motivation. It shows me my daily step count, active time, and calories burned. And when those numbers look low, I get that tiny guilt-driven spark to move a bit more. <\/p>\n

Gmail<\/p>\n

My inbox is always within reach<\/p>\n

Email is one of those things I need to check way more often. Notifications do help, but they also get buried. And there are always those emails I promise myself I\u2019ll get back to later but somehow forget about the moment I swipe them away.<\/p>\n

The Gmail widget on the lock screen solves all of that in the simplest way. I can glance at my inbox, scroll through emails, and tap on one to open it. It keeps important emails front and center where I can\u2019t ignore them, and I can also pick which account I want to keep an eye on.<\/p>\n

\"Person<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\tThe Gmail App Has a Secret Swipe That\u2019ll Save You Hours
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

This tiny customization makes a big difference in your inbox flow.<\/p>\n

Galaxy Buds Manager<\/p>\n

Sound control without unlocking<\/p>\n

\"GalaxyScreenshot by Pankil Shah — No attribution required\"BudsScreenshot by Pankil Shah — No attribution required\"WidgetsScreenshot by Pankil Shah — No attribution required<\/p>\n

My earbuds are practically glued to me throughout the day, which means I\u2019m always switching between noise control modes and checking the battery. Before, that meant opening the Galaxy Wearable app or using the home screen widget. Neither of the two is exactly convenient when all I want to do is turn the noise cancellation on or off.<\/p>\n

Galaxy Buds Manager widget solves that problem for me. I can easily switch between active noise-canceling, transparency mode or even turn off touch controls. Battery levels are also right there, so there are no surprises, like my earbuds dying halfway through a meeting.<\/p>\n

Asana<\/p>\n

My workday checklist, front and center<\/p>\n

\"AsanaScreenshot by Pankil Shah — No attribution required\"AsanaScreenshot by Pankil Shah — No attribution required\"AsanaScreenshot by Pankil Shah — No attribution required<\/p>\n

Asana is where all my article tasks and deadlines live. It\u2019s basically my second brain for work. Instead of opening the app every time I want to check what\u2019s due next, the Asana widget brings everything to my lock screen. I can skim through upcoming tasks, see deadlines, refresh the list, and even add new ones if something pops into my head.<\/p>\n

It turns my phone\u2019s lock screen into a dashboard. If you rely on a different project management tool<\/a> or even your calendar, you can add that to your lock screen instead.<\/p>\n

About adding lock screen widgets on Samsung phone<\/p>\n

\"LockScreenshot by Pankil Shah — No attribution required\"AddScreenshot by Pankil Shah — No attribution required\"HealthScreenshot by Pankil Shah — No attribution required<\/p>\n

By default, One UI only allows a handful of widgets under the lock screen clock. They are useful, but the 4×1 space can feel limiting. To add widgets from third-party apps, you need to download the Good Lock app on your phone. Once done, get the LockStar module.<\/p>\n

After that, the setup is easy. Simply tap and hold on the lock screen to edit it, tap LockStar<\/strong> at the bottom, and choose App Widgets<\/strong>. From there, you can add and arrange widgets exactly where you want them. Once added, you can tap a widget to resize it or adjust its transparency.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a small trade-off when you start loading up the lock screen<\/a> with every useful widget you can find. That is, your lock screen notifications sit right on top of them. So when a bunch of alerts pile up, your beautifully organized widgets get buried underneath them.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a problem once you clear the notifications, but it\u2019s still something to keep in mind. Hopefully, Samsung gives us a better way to balance alerts and widgets in a future update because the potential here is too good to hide behind a wall of missed messages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Like most folks, I used to unlock my phone dozens of times a day just to do simple…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223149,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[257],"tags":[18,19,17,279,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-223148","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-mobile","12":"tag-technology"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115688033625212781","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}