iOS home screen widget ads

My home screen has continued to evolve over the past few years. I remember when widgets were introduced. People who have exclusively used iPhones their entire lives were amazed, while Android users rolled their eyes seeing us marvel at a UX pattern that has existed for years.

For how much I interact with technology, the way I use my phone is pretty basic. My home screen has the phone and messages app as well as a $SPY stock widget. That’s it. Everything else is buried in my app library to avoid distraction.

However, widgets are an enormously popular feature for many iPhone users, particularly younger ones. The average person now spends north of 3 hours on their phone daily. This got me thinking… what if we monetized this experience? Apple could use its existing UX and replace widgets with ads.

As a default concept, this is an absolute nightmare. However, it could be a potential way to subsidize the cost of their devices, or potentially they could do some sort of ad rev share model similar to X. Regardless if this went live it would definitely stir the pot.

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