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From: Andrew <andrew@spam.net>
Newsgroups: comp.mobile.android
Subject: Re: What does a Widget do that a one-tap shortcut to an Android Activity not do?
Date: Sat, 6 Jul 2024 22:51:16 -0000 (UTC)
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Arno Welzel wrote on Sat, 6 Jul 2024 22:22:13 +0200 :

>> What does a Widget do that a one-tap shortcut to an Android Activity not
>> do?
> 
> Display changing content. A widget is not just there to handle taps.

Ah. Yes. I think I remember seeing that. 
For example, for a weather app, the widget can display changing temperature
on the icon itself. I remember also that I had a charging widget once,
because my cable kept falling out of the damaged port so I needed to know
if it was charging at any given moment.

Here, for example, are my tests of charging direction widgets long ago:
 <https://i.postimg.cc/qvHYTf3L/charging01.jpg> Huge charging indicators
 <https://i.postimg.cc/cL7z1D7N/charging02.jpg> Customizable sound alert
 <https://i.postimg.cc/CKFQRjJn/charging03.jpg> All sorts of indicators
 <https://i.postimg.cc/jSX2j0Mj/charging04.jpg> Tested many battery apps
 <https://i.postimg.cc/sXBgKBsB/charging05.jpg> Usage & predictive graphs
 <https://i.postimg.cc/8CCjC1VT/charging06.jpg> Big percentage indicators
 <https://i.postimg.cc/yNrWgwVc/charging07.jpg> Everything you'd want
 <https://i.postimg.cc/gchrjS1L/charging08.jpg> Resize widgets to taste
 <https://i.postimg.cc/9fSngSyH/charging09.jpg> Charging settings & chimes
 <https://i.postimg.cc/Hs8srGDF/charging10.jpg> 4 hour slow charge
 <https://i.postimg.cc/W1D9dNqw/charging11.jpg> Fastcharge in about 2 hrs
 <https://i.postimg.cc/T1CkDhcC/charging12.jpg> Fastcharge in about 2 hrs
 <https://i.postimg.cc/zGvhGxSb/charging13.jpg> Fastcharge in 2-1/4 hours
 <https://i.postimg.cc/FK7RLSby/charging14.jpg> Multi-port USB chargers
 <https://i.postimg.cc/W1rgxwNB/charging15.jpg> Fastcharge in 2-3/4 hours 
 <https://i.postimg.cc/PJ2G9HsG/charging16.jpg> New battery settings
 <https://i.postimg.cc/tCHNgt40/charging17.jpg> Android 12 Battery Settings
 <https://i.postimg.cc/SR9dvgQd/charging18.jpg> Stop charging at 85%

>> In that prior thread, I mused about the possible difference between widgets
>> versus one-tap homescreen shortcuts to internal activities within an app.
>> 
>> Is there a difference?
>> 
>> What does a widget do that a one-tap shortcut to the Activity doesn't do?
> 
> It can display content and can take up much more space than a single icon.

Yeah. It can display content. That's the nice thing. Like charge status.

The bad thing is they tend to be huge, and only some can be downsized,
although almost never to the size of the icon (as I recall from long ago).

Thanks for reminding me of the difference between widgets and shortcuts.
Much appreciated.