YOU can unlock special versions of apps on your iPhone Home Screen with a simple gesture.
Once you’ve found it, you might never want to go back to the old version.
It lets you instantly transform your app into a widget-style display instead.
The trick won’t work on all apps – but it does work on some popular ones, including WhatsApp.
It’s part of the new iOS 18 update to your iPhone, which rolled out in September.
First check if you’ve got the update by going into Settings > General > Software Update.
Then go to your Home Screen and pick an app.
Try a default Apple app that you’re likely to have, like Apple Music.
Instead of just tapping on it, press and hold to pull up the Quick Actions menu.
At the top or bottom, you should see various different app shapes.
It’ll be on the far-left option by default, which is just a standard app icon.
But try choosing one of the others and you’ll find that the icon suddenly converts to a widget.
The widgets get bigger and add more detail the further right you go on the list of size options.
For instance, the biggest Apple Music icon option shows the music you were just listening to, as well as an option to play, plus other Recently Played tracks.
Just note that if you choose a bigger widget, it’ll take more space on your Home Screen, potentially kicking other apps to the next page.
But you can move it around to a better position if you want, just like any other app.
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iOS 18 devices – can your iPhone get it?
Here are the devices that can get the new iOS 18 update
- iPhone SE (2nd generation)
- iPhone SE (3rd generation)
- iPhone XR
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 15
- iPhone 15 Plus
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 16
- iPhone 16 Plus
- iPhone 16 Pro
- iPhone 16 Pro Max
And if you change your mind, simply hold down on the widget to bring it back to its normal size.
It’s not just Apple apps that offer this feature.
For instance, try holding down on the WhatsApp icon if you use it.
The biggest widget for WhatsApp will show your four most recent chats.
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So you can tap on any of the chat icons from the Home Screen to instantly navigate to that specific conversation.
It’s significantly faster than having to tap into the app first to find the chat.
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Sadly, not all apps support this feature.
But you’ll probably find that more apps add this functionality over time, given that it’s still very new.
